The pine tree shilling was a type of coin minted and circulated in the

thirteen colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...

. The Massachusetts Bay Colony established a mint in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1652. John Hull was Treasurer and mintmaster; Hull's partner at the "Hull Mint" was Robert Sanderson. Prior to 1652, the Massachusetts financial system was based on bartering and foreign coinage. The scarcity of coin currency was a problem for the growth of the New England economy. On May 27, 1652, the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from th ...

appointed John Hull, a local silversmith, to be Boston's mint master without notifying or seeking permission from the British government. Coins were issued in denominations of 3 and 6 pence and 1 shilling. The first pieces bore the letters "NE" and the denomination "III", "VI" or "XII". The coins were smaller than the equivalent sterling coins by 22.5%. Later pieces, struck between 1652 and 1660 or 1662, bore the image of a willow tree, with an oak tree appearing on coins produced between 1660 or 1662 and ca. 1667. However, the most famous design was the final one to be issued, the pine tree type, struck between ca. 1667 and 1682. The coins circulated widely in North America and the Caribbean. The pine tree shillings nearly all bore the date "1652". This was the date of the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislation sanctioning the production of shillings by the "Hull Mint" operated by John Hull and Robert Sanderson. The date was maintained by the Hull Mint in order to appear to be complying with English law that reserved the right of coin production to the crown, as in 1652,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

was a Commonwealth ( King Charles I having been beheaded three years previously). The coins were struck by John Hull and Robert Sanderson, two Massachusetts settlers. The image of the pine tree on the later coins is thought to represent the export of tall timber, used among other things for the mainmasts of British ship of war. The implication of respect owed to the colonies as the source of this vital war material would become sharper with the

Pine Tree Flag The Tree Flag (or the Appeal to Heaven Flag) was one of the flags used during the American Revolution. The flag, which featured a pine tree with the motto "An Appeal to Heaven," or less frequently "An Appeal to God", was originally used by a squ ...

flown during the American Revolution.">NMAH , Legendary Coins & Currency: Massachusetts Pine Tree Shilling, "1652" (struck 1667–1674)
/ref> The mint was closed by the English government in 1682 and the Colony's charter was revoked two years later by Charles II on the advice of colonial administrator Edward Randolph.

References

https://historyexplorer.si.edu/resource/massachusetts-pine-tree-shilling-1652-struck-1667-1674 https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1082064 {{Shilling Currencies of British Overseas Territories