Are You Fascinated by Colonial Era Coins? I Am!
MidLifeCrisis
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I began collecting colonial era coins around 2007. I've formed a few collections over the years, including colonial era coins with traceable provenance and foreign coins that circulated in early America. Over the last couple of years, I moved away from colonials in favor of building a type set of key date US coins, but I've been bitten by the colonial bug again.
I think what fascinates me about colonial era coins is the time period, before the existence of the US mint. What the early colonists accepted as money - state coppers, foreign coins, privately produced tokens - speaks to the birth of our nation and the hardships people faced in every day life. Appropriate topic to reflect on this Independence week.
Do you collect colonials? Why or why not? What aspect of them do you find most interesting?
I don't own any currently, but here are a few from my past collections...
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As the "ultimate lightweight," I have collected the pre-constitutional coins by type. I am far from having all of the coins that are listed in the Red Book, but I do have somewhat large group of pieces.
My favorites are the Massachusetts silver pieces because they were, by far, the most successful. They were issued for 30 years, from 1652 until 1682, and they were circulating well past those dates.
The "NE" and "Willow Tree" coins are priced well past my pay grade, but I do have some Oak and Pine Tree coins. Here they are.
Oak Tree Two Pence. The Massachusetts General Court, which was the ruling body of the colony, demanded that John Hull make these coins.
Oak Tree Shilling, 1660-1667
Pine Tree Threepence. These coins are scarcer than the larger Mass. silver, but bring about the same price because they are less popular with collectors.
Pine Tree sixpence. This is my best preserved piece of Massachusetts silver. This is the most common variety, Noe 33, of the sixpence. I have never seen an example of this variety that was not off-center.
Large Planchet Pine Tree Shilling. This is a Noe-1 which is thought the be the most attractive variety. These coins are bent because they were struck on a device called a "rocker press." It had a back and forth motion instead of up and down. This will will never get a CAC sticker because it has AT on it. That's okay, because it didn't cost me $20,000+.
Small Pine Tree Shilling. At the this point, the British had brought back the monarchy, and the Massachusetts General Court figured their coinage was "on borrowed time." They gave John Hull a lifetime right to produce coins, instead of the usual seven years. Hull had a screw press and started pumping out these coins as fast as he could. He produced only shillings.
And so complete the circle, sort of, here are some wampum beads. I bought these from a reliable source, and I think they are the real thing. And no, the string this is on IS NOT the original. The General Court made these beads "legal tender" before they the authorized the Massachusetts silver.
This is a start. I'll post more if this string takes off. There are others here who have far more coins than I do.
I'm little surprised that this thread has not drawn more posts.
Here are a couple of Massachusetts pieces from the Confederation (not colonial) period.
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont, which was not a state, had their own state coinages. Only Massachusetts ran its own mint. The mint produced cents and half cents. These were the only coins that had the word "CENT" on them.
Their mint layout was odd. The copper was rolled at a facility in Dedham, Massachusetts and then taken by horse cart to Boston to be struck. The coinage came to an abrupt end when the state leaders figured out that it cost more to make the coins than the face value of the coins.
Among the state coinages, the Massachusetts coins were the best executed.
Massachusetts Half Cent. This piece came from the Eric P. Newman collection. It was busted out of its NGC holder and moved to a PCGS holder, though not by me. The grade is MS-64 Brown. NGC had graded it MS-65.
Massachusetts Cent. This one is graded AU-58.
Lightly dipping my toes into the water.
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The 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is only two years away. Colonial coins have become a bit more affordable due to the large supply that has come on the market the past few years. Don’t forget about colonial paper money. I recently picked up a Sword in Hand note printed by Paul Revere, one of our greatest colonists. The historical significance of this note is second to none.
I have a few Colonials.
Yes but those from Latin America. The USA also has some great coins from that era.
Don’t forget about France and Netherlands, among others.
I grew up in NJ, with colonial history all around. Yes, where I was day-to-day was relatively modern, but the oldest house in my town had been moved to my street shortly before I was born (so I spent years walking/driving past a mid-1700s home), and I was a short drive from colonial estates and Washington's headquarters in Morristown. I didn't get an NJ copper until right after I graduated college, but even before I owned one, it was a piece of history that tied my hobby to the area I called home.
I also picked up a Fugio while in college. It's to the greater northeast and colonial era what the NJ copper was to my home.
There are many other colonials I'd enjoy owning, both appreciating the designs and the history, but I'm still largely priced out when I consider what level of quality I'd want. And as much as I like coins, I've also found a lot of enjoyment collecting colonial paper, which has the added benefit of knowing who specifically may have handled the piece. This note was signed by John Hart, whose signature you'll find a few inches away from a very famous John Hancock, among others.
I just meant Latin America in the sens that is what I collect personally. I am sure many other countries have great coins as well I simply do not know them (lack of books and lack of time to study outside my area of interest).
Pre Federal coinage is my main focus, but nothing like the quality posted so far! Some fifty years ago as a teenager I bought a 1788 New Jersey copper and was instantly fascinated by them. I mostly went the type coin route, one oak tree shilling and one pine tree, an elephant token, a St. Patrick halfpenny and a farthing, the different denominations and several types of Rosa Americana and Hibernias, Nova Constellatios, a Vermont landscape and a couple bust type, a couple Massachusetts cents and a Virginia Halfpenny. I started doing New Jerseys by die variety but they were just too costly, I ended up with 30 some varieties. Now I am mostly into Connecticuts by variety, I have 77 I believe, and French colonials. The French 1640 countermarked douzains, are especially interesting to me, I have probably 30 or so different types. Add to that some Machin's Mill coins, and some other odds and ends. If I could concentrate on one series I could have quite a collection but I guess I am just too eclectic.
I too have put together type sets of colonial, and foreign that circulated in the US prior to 1857. The foreign has been the most fun, the want list never ends. As subsets I put together type sets of coins found in Jamestown and Williamsburg - quite the array of countries and many very tough to locate.
I remember well your former collection. It was so compelling and interesting. I'm not surprised you continue to have interest.
I do like colonial era coinage since it would complement my affection for federal early copper coins. However, the reason I don't collect them is that I don't want to try and collect everything. I drifted away from type set collecting and want to be careful that I don't spread my money across too many collecting pursuits.
Additionally, I like pattern coinage. I kinda think colonial coinage is similar in the sense that it is more of a niche focus. I suspect both areas would be harder to sell when that time comes since the market is narrower.
I really also like colonials but have only a few. And I have pictures of only one, a Chalmers three pence. I acquired it from CRO a few years ago. It's graded AU53+.
Two coins I wish I had pictures of (and won't until PCGS improves their photos) are a Hiberna 1/2P, harp left that I acquired directly from the Eliasberg auction in 1996 (which PCGS graded as MS60) and a Virginia halfpenny that I acquired from Bowers and Merena in 1995 (which PCGS graded as MS64RD). I had both graded immediately after PCGS started grading colonials.
My lone Fugio. One of my favorite in my collection
I put together a 'box of 20' colonials which I thought summarized the genre quite well. It is a surprisingly affordable pond to go wading into compared with early US/gold, and I think even more interesting. Sorry for the poor pic but here's my 20 -
[Edit: I put stuff like the Fugio (in my avatar) and C-Nova in a separate category, as they recognize the new USA and are thus no longer "colonials"]
Tim, interesting to put the C-Nova in a separate category. Bar cent would go there as well I suppose. “Non Federal USA” ??
I have always had an interest in the early history of the United States, starting with the early colonies and into the early years after establishment of the first mint at Philadelphia. Collecting coins from this era, either struck in the colonies, or imported for use locally was a natural extension of this interest.
This is my small collection of colonial and pre-federal coins:
My only one that I ever owned. Wish I had kept it. Not sure it it circulated as coinage.
@Eddi I like your collection. A lot of history comes alive in it.
I agree with the lure of the series. I had assembled a nice sampling ( not the highest grades but I felt respectable) before my interested shifted. Maybe it was the unique designs of the era that struck me the most and the history that were linked to the colonial subsets. While I started to build a type set using the Red Book, NGC eventually came out with a basic set definition that offered me a road map to focus on As time went on, I did focus on some specific subsets that I enjoyed to collect. I eventually liquidated my set via Heritage Showcase auctions and while is fun to see the activity on the auction it was also a little sad.
Over my 10 years or so, I had used NGC registry where I was proud to have had 48 1st place awards and as my interest slowed other members picked up & overtaken me ( of course the big name collections are usually not in these registries). I still had 3 top sets when I sold off my set -
Wood's Hibernia,
Rosa Americana, &
Hibernia Voce Populi coins .
(PS: I mentioned NGC registry as they permitted PCGS listings and thus I could list my entire collection)
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While I started to build a type set using the Red Book, NGC eventually came out with a basic set definition that offered me a road map to focus on
@retirednow - I use the PCGS Early American Coins and Tokens Basic Design Set (1616-1820), which consists of the following coins:
Massachusetts Silver Oak Tree
Massachusetts Silver Pine Tree
Maryland Coinage
New Jersey St. Patrick Coinage
American Plantation Token
Rosa Americana Coinage
Woods Hibernia Coinage
Virginia Coinage
Elephant Token Halfpenny
Higley Copper
Voce Populi Coinage
Pitt Token
Rhode Island Ship Medal
Chalmers Coinage
French Colonies Billon Coinage
French Colonies Sou 1767
Continental Dollar
Nova Constellatio Copper
Immunis Columbia
Massachusetts Copper
Connecticut Copper Bust Left
New York Excelsior
Machin’s Mills Copper
Nova Eborac Copper
New Jersey Copper Head Right
Vermont Copper Plow
Vermont Copper Bust Right
North American Token
Bar Copper
Auctori Plebis Token
Mott Token
Kentucky Copper
Franklin Press Token
Myddelton Token
Castorland Medal
Talbot Allum & Lee Cent
Washington Triumpho Token
Washington Military Bust
Washington Draped Bust
Washington 1791-95 'Washington President' Obverse
Washington Undated Liberty & Security
Washington Success Medal
Fugio Cent
I ignored the traditional “colonial” list to a degree. For example I skipped the Franklin and Mott tokens. Skipped the uber expensive coins/tokens as well. Added a bunch of state “varieties” tho, which are really very different types and should be included in a good representative set. I tried to focus on coins/coppers that actually circulated here rather than the traditional items.
I did have that series started at PCGS but since PCGS did not permit NGC slabs I stuck with NGC.
NGC has their US Colonial Complete Design Set, 1616-1820 with 58 coins - I recall being short 2 or 3 before I bailed out of colonials. They a have another registry - US Colonial Basic Design Set, 1652-1796 w/ 144 pieces. In any case I still enjoy looking at the pieces on line in these registries and auction cat's. Good luck with the rest of your collecting
OMG ... My Mother was Right about Everything!
I wake up with a Good Attitude Every Day. Then … Idiots Happen!
There are some in the PCGS Early American Coins and Tokens Basic Design Set that I don't have any interest in owning, don't believe belong in the set, or are prohibitively expensive. But I use the set as a guide.
I also use smaller, more specific sets - such as Fugio Cents with Major Varieties - to help me keep track of my collections and stay focused.