Pine tree shilling (small planchet)
Date1652 (struck ca. 1675-1682)
Struck by
Hull & Sanderson
MediumSilver
DimensionsDiameter: 24mm
Credit LineGift of the Lasser family
Object number2002-77,12
DescriptionObverse: Pine tree within beaded circle, outer legend within beaded border.Reverse: Legend within beaded border, date & denomination within beaded circle at center.Label TextThe General Court of Massachusetts Bay authorized silversmiths John Hull and Robert Sanderson to strike shilling, sixpence, and threepence coins at Hull's Boston facility in 1652. The last of Hull and Sanderson's tree series of coins, the pine tree issues, are certainly the most famous.
The final type produced at the Boston mint was the small-planchet pine tree shilling, struck between the late 1670s and 1682 when operations shut down permanently. These coins were made on smaller, thicker, and rounder metal disks than their predecessors because they were struck on a screw press, a type of machine used to make American coins until the 1830s.
Noe-16, Breen-53Inscription(s)Obverse: "MASATHVSETS IN"
Reverse: "NEW ENGLAND AN DO," and "1652 XII" within central border of beads.ProvenancePurchased from Stack's (NYC) sale of material from Laird Park, 26 May 1976, Lot 11.
