World Coins from Early America Set
Boosibri
Posts: 11,873 ✭✭✭✭✭
In Early America coins from around the world were the standard medium of exchange, dominated by the Spanish milled coinage of Mexico and Spanish mints in the colonies. I have worked with the PCGS Set Registry team to form a compilation of coins representative of the countries and coinage which played a role in our early nations monetary history. Every so often, a few of the forum members will participate in a longer narrative on each of the issues.
For the set I tried to pick the issues which would be most representative of the circulating coinage of the time across the nations vying for power in the region. Spain, England, France, Portugal and the Netherlands all maintained a hold on territory, trade and influence in Colonial America and are represented in the set.
World Coins Circulating in Early America
The set includes the following, currently at 27 coins, 3 pages of 9 coins in the PCGS Digital Album:
Spanish Milled Silver: 1/2R, 1R, 2R, 4R, and 8R. These coins would have been a staple in every day life with the larger 8R serving in trade and the smaller 1/2R to 2R being common in everyday commerce. The series comes in two major divisions, Pillar style depicting the Pillars of Hercules, and the Portrait style which depicts one of three monarchs, Charles III, Charles IV, and Ferdinand VII. An example of each of the Pillar denominations and one of each denomination of Portrait, from any monarch, is included in the set.
Spanish Milled Gold: The gold of the Spanish Colonial mints largely came from Colombia, Chile and Mexico. Spanish gold was in high demand throughout the world and would have circulated heavily in Colonial America. An example of each denomination is included in the set.
The Spanish 2 Reales or Pistareen: The Spanish 2 Reales, commonly called the pistareen circulated extensively in Colonial America. Paper money was often denominated in pistareens giving weight to its place in Colonial times.
Portuguese/Brazilian 4000R (Moidores) and 6400R: The Portuguese 4000R and 6400R were also commonly circulating gold piece and represent Portugal in the the set.
Netherlands Ducat: The Ducat was a common gold coin used in trade with the Netherlands. It was minted from the 1500's through to present time.
Dutch 1/2 Daalder and Lion Daalder: The New Netherlands colony, present day New York, saw these two dutch denominations freely trade not just in the Dutch colony but throughout the region with hoards found in Maine and dug examples as far south as Maryland.
French Sou Marques: A billon coin (25% silver, 75% copper) were struck in France for the colonies in Canada to alleviate the shortage of circulating coinage. Examples of this issue frequently circulated in Canada and New England.
French Louis D'Or: The standard gold coin from France and certainly present in Colonial America. The wreck of the Le Chameau has special place in colonial times with the sinking of the ship in 1725 and eventual recovery in 1965.
French Ecu: This crown sized coin would have been the French comparable to the Pillar dollar or Lion Daalder in trade.
1749 British Farthing and Halfpenny: While farthings and halfpennies of various dates would have circulated in Colonial times, the 1749 date is special. In 1749 a large shipment of farthings and halfpennies, equal to roughly 1/3rd of the mintage, arrived in Boston on the ship the Mermaid in payment to colonists for the Lewisburg expedition of Cape Breton Island. They are the only dated issues officially authorized by the crown to circulate in America.
British Guinea: Like the Ducat and Louis D'Or, the British Guinea was the representative gold coin from Britain.
Comments
The Dutch Lion Dollar or Leeuwendaalder was first minted in Holland in 1575. The Lion Daalder became the choice for Dutch global trade due to its debased silver content relative to other Dutch issues.
The Lion Daalder circulated throughout the world, from in the Middle East (with some even minted in Farsi), to the Dutch Colony of New Netherlands or present day New York. In the colonies the issue was often called the “Dog Dollar” as the poor strike and eventual wear made the lion appear as a dog.
Lion Daalders have been found in the earth from Maine to Maryland with the a notable recovery coming from the shipwreck the H.M.S. Feversham which crashed leaving New York to the St. Lawrence seaway.
With the rise of the Spanish Milled Dollar (Pillar) starting in 1732, the Lion Daalder faded from commerce but not before lending its name to what would become the largest circulating silver coin in the United States, the Dollar.
Picture curtosy of MidLifeCrisis
Latin American Collection
That's a beautiful lion daalder with exceptional detail (I would expect no less from the MLC collection!).
Bravo! Thank you Boosibri...your efforts to create this PCGS Registry Set are to be commended. It was long overdue. I look forward to seeing more of your posts in this thread. And you've inspired me to renew my own collecting efforts in this area.
And thank you Kaz for your comment.
Well your collection inspired me to start collecting in this area!.
How about penning the post on one of the issues? I know the least about the French pieces if you want to have a go?
Latin American Collection
Sure!
As Boosibri noted in the OP, the French Louis D'Or was the standard gold coin from France and certainly present in Colonial America. The wreck of Le Chameau has a special place in colonial times with the sinking of the ship in 1725 and eventual recovery in 1965.
Here is my example and a bit of history.
Le Chameau (The Camel) was a 44-gun, 600-ton, French man-of-war, the pride of the French navy, "one of the fastest and best equipped line-of-battle ships in the royal navy of France". On the night of August 27, 1725, the future of Colonial French Canada was dashed to pieces on the rocks off Cape Lorembec, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Le Chameau was lost with all of her 316 passengers and what amounted to several years’ worth of funds for the French colonies in North America. Not only was this specific disaster devastating in terms of souls and monies lost, but the Chameau’s passenger manifest was a virtual “Who’s Who” of the French colonial aristocracy – people who had and were to have been the elite of their nation’s colonies in North America. A generation of leaders went down with that ship.
Le Chameau was loaded with supplies, money and dispatches. In addition to new recruits for the garrisons - some as young as fourteen years of age – Le Chameau had aboard a number of French civic and ecclesiastical dignitaries, including: the new Intendant of Canada, Me. de Chazel; the Governor-Elect of Three Rivers, De Louvigny.
While trying to make the mouth of Louisbourg harbour, Le Chameau was swept in upon the hard rocky shore. Much of the wreck was washed ashore and was picked up by those sent from Louisbourg. Cast up from the sea were 180 bodies. A burial, en masse, was carried out with the missionary priest at Baleine officiating. There was no sign of the aft part of the ship having come ashore, so it was hoped that some salvage might be made of her guns and treasure, particularly as the rock on which she broke up was covered at low tide by only a few feet of water. The next season some soldiers who were skilled divers were sent from Quebec and were employed at the wreck. The treasure, however, was not located. The criticism, as may be found in the official correspondence, was that the local authorities waited too long to get proper people and recovery equipment in place, as was apparently available at Quebec.
In 1961, a discovery of cannons scattered on the sea bottom alerted Alex Storm, a diver working part-time on a fishing trawler from Louisbourg. Braving the dangerous tides and freezing waters at Kelpy Cove, Storm carefully mapped the wreckage of the Chameau to locate the treasure compartment. The recovery team enlisted the services of John Ford to attribute the coins, and compensated him by letting him keep the best of them for his own collection. Storm's discovery triggered a rising interest in the wealth of shipwrecks off Nova Scotia's waters and brought legislation to protect them. It is interesting to note that Le Chameau went down in a storm in 1725, that the first person to attempt salvage in 1726 was named Tempete, or "Storm", and that she was "raised" by Alex Storm in 1965, more than two centuries later.
In the 1970s, a large portion of the recovered artifacts and coins were placed on auction in New York. What Storm and his associates did not realize, however, was the full extent of what was onboard the Chameau at the time of her loss. The balance of her million-livre specie cargo was to go undiscovered up to the present time. Captain Robert MacKinnon subsequently filed for and received title of claim to what now is known as the CBNS-1 site. As President of Artifact Recovery and Conservation, Inc (“ARC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of SEA-I, he continues to oversee the recovery and conservation of thousands of additional coins and artifacts from the Chameau and other historic vessels located at this multi-shipwreck site.
(Information from various Internet sources)
This is just awesome Brian. MLC has gotten me to add a piece or two in this genre. Curse you Mark!!!!
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Nice work on getting this registry up and going with PCGS, Brian. Great writeup on the Le Chameau wreck by MLC. I look forward to reading informative posts in this thread in the future. Well done, gentlemen!
Great thread and history of the shipwreck..... These coins certainly are an important part of our history. Cheers, RickO
Not sure why but that Lion makes me think of the Wizard of Oz
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Great thread! I really enjoy the education and seeing these beautiful coins ... look forward to more. Thanks for sharing them with us!
ANA LM
USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
Good idea!
YN Member of the ANA, ANS, NBS, EAC, C4, MCA, PNNA, CSNS, ILNA, TEC, and more!
Always buying numismatic literature and sample slabs.
Very interesting - thanks for sharing!
Now this is OT and not pertinent to the pictured specimen, but your dang post made me think of the "Whizzer of Oz."
Okay, flame me now.
Great thread. Thanks for the write up MidLifeCrisis
Was there any consideration for including a 1758 British shilling and a 1758 6d? I am note sure if the research supports inclusion or not... I do believe both denominations were struck in a large quantity and beyond 1758.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
I did consider if the set needed some British silver but didn't specifically consider the 1758. Is there special significance for 1758 dated shillings and 6p's?
Latin American Collection
I believe both denominations were struck in the large quantities extending well after 1758. It was the last date for George II coinage. I believe these two denominations circulated in NA. I suppose that you could consider a just a 6d and a shilling from any reign though.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Thanks for the great history lesson.
The Spanish 2 reales or pistareen is well deserving of a place in any set of Colonial American coins. These coins from main land Spain circulated freely in the colonies, arriving originally in the 1720’s in the tobacco colonies and reaching widespread circulation in other parts of Colonial America and the West Indies.
The Spanish pistareen differed from its colonial cousin in both design and weight. The design of the pistareen features the cross and shield with the shield featuring the Bourbon crest. Roller mills first introduced in Segovia using German technology produced coins with a slight curve from the roller dies. Unadulterated specimens today have a rolled shape although many today have been flatted out of ignorance. If you are looking to add a pistareen to your collection be sure to find one with a demonstrable “rolled” appearance.
As wars were waged the crown came under financial pressure and debased the currency in 1707. The pillar style coins were minted in the colonies partially for international trade. As foreign traders would have resisted the debased silver, the colonial milled coins remained with 20% more silver than their main land counterparts. This difference in relative value made the pistareen a real working coin which would have circulated with common people as a part of everyday commerce.
Get yourself a real colonial and buy a pistareen!
BB's Coin
MLC's Coin
Pistareen denominated paper money - from JK Americana
Table of exchange from early American
Latin American Collection
Well done!
It might be fun to ride along.
How about a new set for you Dr. K
Latin American Collection
It might be just what the Vagabond Doctor ordered!
That's a wonderful set to be working on.
Thanks for the informative posts Boosibri and MidLifeCrisis!
Here's mine. I thought the minute details were well struck on this one.
I see a new set has surfaced in the registry...The Vagabond Collection
Latin American Collection
Bump so MLC can find the thread (which is woefully inactive) when he posts on the 1749 British Farthing and Halfpenny tonight.
Latin American Collection
1749 - An Important Year in Colonial Numismatics
During the first decades of the English colonization of North America the settlers needed to obtain their own small change. The only small change coins to gain general acceptance throughout the colonies were British coppers. Although British silver and gold coins were not allowed to be exported to the colonies, there was no restriction on the export of coppers.
The largest shipment of British coppers to be sent to the colonies arrived in Boston on the ship The Mermaid. The British parliament sent Massachusetts Bay almost twenty-one long tons of Spanish silver coins (653,000 troy ounces in 217 chests) as well as ten long tons of English coppers (in one hundred casks), in order to reimburse the Colony for the assistance it provided to the Lewisburg expedition on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, during the French and Indian War. According to the Massachusetts Currency Reform Act of January 26, 1749 the total reimbursement was equivalent to £183,649 2s7 and 1/2d in British sterling. The coppers included over 800,000 halfpence and more than 420,000 farthings all dated 1749; approximately thirty percent of the entire mintage for the year.
Although the shipment had long been expected, the space the coins took up was more than the colonists had anticipated. The ship arrived in Boston harbor on Monday September 18, 1749 and the commander of the Mermaid, Captain Montague, along with one of the colonies London agents, William Bollan, who had accompanied the shipment from England, went to the Governor's Board to inform them they could take possession of the funds. However, the shipment was so large there was no place to secure the coins. The records of the General Court states the situation unfolded as follows:
Voted, that Ezekiel Lewis & Samuel Danforth, Esquires go with Mr. Treasure Foye to his House in King's Street, & see if there be any convenient Place for Lodging the publick Money there, & treat with the Tenant about her Removal in Order to the Treasurer & his familys removing thither.
Mr. Lewis reported thereupon that the Committee had viewed the House (which they found well accommodated for receiving the said Money) & discoursed with the Tenant, who could by no Means be persuaded to remove out of it.
Voted thereupon, That a brick Arch be built in the Cellar of the House where the Treasurer now dwells for the Reception of the Province Money from on board his Majesty's Ship Mermaid as soon as may be, & that Samuel Danforth & Andrwe Oliver Esquire assist the Treasurer in the said Affair. (Crosby, p. 227; King's Street is now known as State Street)
Source: University of Notre Dame, Department of Special Collections at http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Br-Copper.intro.html
BB's Farthing
MLC's Halfpenny
Mermaid (1749) - Ship's Plan
Description Scale: 1:48. A plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines, and the longitudinal half-breadth 'Mermaid' (1749), a 24-gun Sixth Rate. Note that while this plan is unnamed, the dimensions correspond to Joshua Allin's design for 'Mermaid' (1749). Signed by Joseph Allin [Surveyor of the Navy, 1749-1755].
Date made 1748-1749
Artist/Maker Allin, Joshua
Place made Navy Office
Credit National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Source: Royal Museums Greenwich website at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/385425.html
Good one MLC!
Latin American Collection
I am a little surprised that the 1749's have not garnered more attention in recent years as they are now included in the Redbook. Examples in AU and below are frequently encountered however if you can find a nice MS example it is really a scarce coin.
Living in England I look for examples at every show and to date I have bought two farthings, the one in my collection pictured above and another of roughly equal quality. I have yet to see a halfpenny anywhere near as nice as MLC's coin. The halfpenny is clearly the more difficult of the two denominations in my opinion.
Latin American Collection
Boosibri, you are to be commended. You've done something good. I admire you and your effort. Thank you.
I concur with the sentiments of others. Combining history with coins adds meaning to both.
A new addition to my WCIEA set. @Cardinal has come in strongly into the Registry!
Latin American Collection
resurrecting this post...
@cardinal has picked up in a major way in the registry set, @topstuf was posting on this today as was @Yorkshireman. Im not sure what happened to @MidLifeCrisis...
I picked up a few Portuguese 4000R's recently. The "moidore" was one of the most common circulating gold coins in early America along with the Portuguese and Brazilian 6400R of half Joe.
Up until 1755 Portugal was a major economic trading power, rivaling Spain for dominance however in 1755 a massive earthquake measuring 8.5-9.0 struck off the coast of Lisbon. Those who weren't killed by the quake, then had to face the massive tidal wave measuring up to 66ft tall swept in from the ocean. If you were lucky enough to survive the quake and the tidal wave you then had to face the massive fires that sparked which ultimately engulfed most of the city. Portugal went into a period of near dictator ship in the period afterwards and never again reach the levels of trade and influence as it has prior to that massive quake.
Here is my new 4000R for my set, as of yet ungraded.
Latin American Collection
Love the stylized 0 and 6 in the date.
8 Reales Madness Collection
Wasn't around these boards when this post was started. The gold French Louis D'Or piece above is just stunning!
Great thread. Will be focusing some attention to this area.
Recent addition to my WCIEA set:
Fabulous strike, surface and color for an issue which one must usually compromise of at least one of those three and usually more like two of three.
Latin American Collection
Love your set, Brian.
Here is my lion Daalder.
Great post! Love reading the history and looking at some beauties!
We need to resurrect this thread! It is fabulous!
I agree. Boosibris's early American foreign coin collection Is wonderful. Not just the coins themselves but the history behind them. Maybe he's moved on to other interests. But.......if you're not a buyer but just someone like me who likes to look at these coins, you can get your fix at Coin Rarities Online. That's what I do. Also, the guy who runs the place, John Ange, is top notch. Only bought one coin from him and it's a beauty. Cheap too.
P.S. I must add this. The one coin that I purchased from CRO was not expensive. But, it was top QUALITY for the grade. To me that is important. "CHEAP" was a bad word choice on my part.
@Hydrant John at CRO is indeed one of the "good guys" in the business.
@Boosibri I am glad this thread popped back up! Fabulous coins.
SO WHAT WAS THE COIN ?
SHOW A PICTURE ....
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
The coin was a very common 1836 Capped Bust half. I don't know how to post pictures. And don't care to. It is an XF-45. I have many in higher grades but that one is my favorite. QUALITY....QUALITY....QUALITY!!!! After I bought it, the previous owner sent me a PM about it.. He was,I think, sorry to give it up. Something to think about boys and girls.......QUALITY trumps grade.
EVERY TIME. ALL THE TIME
Glad that there is interest in this thread!
I have not moved away from the set but am patiently waiting for a few specific examples to fill the wholes in the non-Spanish part of the set.
For the Guinea, Ducat and Portuguese I plan to add coins dated from 1776 to add to the appeal of the set.
For the Ecu I need a really choice 1725-H Ecu which is the type from New Rochelle represented in the Le Chameau wreck
Here is an upgrade to my 1/2R which stands as the best I have ever seen and tied for finest graded with another piece I owned.
Latin American Collection
Fun thread and great stuff
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Brian your a patient buyer and it shows .
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
SHAZAM! on that 1/2 R!
I'm sort of working on this set, too. Looking forward to posting my pics of the Ecu I bought to fill that slot.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars
Philip V 8 Escudos in MS65 - Finest graded for the type. Thanks to Mr E
Latin American Collection
@Boosibri Dose my gold escudo from Madrid count as a early America coin because it might have circulated in the U.S. even though it was minted not in South or Central America?