Q.David Bowers
The trade of the province increasing, especially with the West Indies, where the buccaneers or pirates at this time were numerous, and part of the wealth which they took from the Spanish as well as what was produced by the trade being brought to New England in bullion, it was thought necessary, for preventing fraud in money, to erect a mint for coining shillings, sixpence, and threepence with no further impression at first than NE on one side and XII, VI, or III on the other; but in October, 1651 [an error in dating; it should be 1652] the Court ordered that all pieces of money should have a double ring with this inscription, MASSACHUSETTS, and a tree in the center on one side, and NEW-ENGLAND in the year of our Lord on the other side.
The first money being struck in 1652, the same date was continued upon all that struck for 30 years after; and although there are a great variety of dies, it cannot be determined in what years the pieces were coined. No other colony ever presumed to coin any metal into money. It must be considered that at this time there was no King in Israel. No notice was taken of it by the Parliament or by Cromwell; in having been thus indulged, there was a tacit allowance of it afterwards even by King Charles II, for more than 20 years; and although it was made one of the charges against the colony when the charter was called in question, no great stress was laid upon it. It appeared to have been so beneficial that during Sir Edmund Andros' administration endeavors were used to obtain leave for continuing it, and the objections against it seemed not to have proceeded from its being an encroachment upon the prerogative, for the motion was referred to the master of the mint, and the report against it was upon mere prudential considerations. It is certain that great care was taken to preserve the purity of the coin. I do not find, notwithstanding, that it obtained a currency anywhere, otherwise than as bullion, except in the New England colonies. A very large sum was coined. The mint master, John Hull, raised a large fortune from it. He was to coin the money of the just alloy of the then new sterling English money; and for all charges which should attend melting, refining, and coining, he was to be allowed to take fifteen pence out of every twenty shillings. The Court was afterwards sensible that this was too advantagous a contract, Mr. Hull was offered a sum of money by the Court to release them from it, but he refused to do it. [The accuracy of this statement was questioned by Crosby and others who could find no records to substantiate it.] He left a large personal estate, and one of the best real estates in the country. Samuel Sewall, who married Hull's only daughter, received with her, as was commonly reported, 30,000 pounds in New England shillings . .
The initial Massachusetts silver coins produced under the June 11, 1652, authorization consisted of three denominations: threepence, sixpence, and shilling. Although no precise record of the coinage has survived, it is presumed that each piece is made by striking it twice. First, at the top near the border of the planchet, today considered the obverse by numismatists, the letters NE were stamped by a prepared punch. Then on the reverse side of the piece, and at the other end of the planchet (so that the NE impression would not be flattened), the denomination III, VI, or XII was stamped with another prepared punch.
The simplicity of these coins caused problems, so an official order was issued on October 19, 1652, which provided: For the prevention of washing [dissolving the silver metal by acid] or clipping [trimming slivers of silver from the edge] of all such pieces of money as shall be coined within this jurisdiction:
It is ordered by this Court and the authorities thereof that henceforth all pieces of money coined as aforesaid shall have a double ring on either side, with the inscription MASSACHUSETTS and a tree in the center on one side, and NEW ENGLAND in the year of our Lord on the other side, according to this drawing here in the margin. [Here was shown a crude sketch.]
While clipping and washing seemed to have been problems at the time, surviving specimens of the NE coinage rarely show evidence of such damage. This is paradoxical, for later issues with tree designs often are found with extensive edge clipping. It is believed that coinage of the NE series commenced sometime after June 11, 1652, and ended as soon after October 19th as the preparation of new dies permitted.
Numismatists today have identified six different minor die varieties of the NE shilling, the piece coined in the greatest quantities. Three different obverse NE punches and four different reverse XII punches were used in various combinations. Of the sixpence, two different die variations occur, although it is believed one may have been a contemporary counterfeit. Of the threepence, just one die combination is known, the obverse NE die being from the same punch as used on the larger sixpence.
Following the order of October 19th, 1652, the design was changed accordingly. Obverse dies were prepared for three denominations: threepence, sixpence, and shilling. Surrounding the center tree was the legend in abbreviated form MASA THVSETS IN, and on the reverse, NEW ENGLAND AN DOM, with 1652 in the center, and the denomination expressed as III, VI, or XII.
The tree, amorphous in shape, consists of curls and squiggles, rather than a depiction of any particular botanical species. Collectors today refer to this general type as the Willow Tree coinage.
The Willow Tree pieces were apparently produced by crude means, for all known specimens show evidence of multiple strikings. It is probable that the blank silver planchet discs were placed between steel dies and struck two or more times with hammer blows. No provision was made for securing the dies tightly to maintain their alignment, so succeeding blows cancelled out portions of the earlier impressions. Coinage of the Willow Tree series continued for a number of years, probably to about 1660.
The date remained constant as 1652 on this and on later coinages. It has been suggested that this was to mislead the British authorities into thinking that the silver coinage was a temporary situation, for the coinage had no authorization from the crown. In practice, this question raises several doubts. Massachusetts, under jurisdiction of a royal governor, openly operated a mint for many years after 1652. This obvious situation, plus the continuing presence of freshly-minted silver coins in circulation, belies any allegations that coinage was kept a secret.
Sir Thomas Temple lived several years in New England during the Cromwell government. After the Restoration he returned to England where King Charles II queried him about affairs in the Massachusetts colony. His Majesty complained that the colonists had invaded the royal prerogative by coining their own money. Temple, whose heart lay with the inhabitants of Massachusetts, informed the king that the colonists were not acquainted with detailed matters of law and that there was no wrong intent or intended crime when they coined their own money.