1652 Shilling Oak Tree

Coin Details

Description

The Oak Tree shilling is the primary type coin of the second major design series in Massachusetts Bay Colony silver coinage, struck approximately 1660 to 1667 at the Hull Mint in Boston. Mintmaster John Hull and partner Robert Sanderson oversaw production using significantly improved die-making techniques compared to the earlier Willow Tree series. Letter punches were now employed to create more uniform inscriptions, though the tree itself continued to be hand-engraved into each die. The obverse features a broad, spreading oak tree with clearly defined branches and foliage, encircled by the legend MASATHVSETS IN. The reverse displays XII (twelve pence) within a double ring of beads, surrounded by NEW ENGLAND AN DOM 1652. As with all Massachusetts colonial silver, the date 1652 was retained throughout production, representing the year of the original legislative authorization rather than the actual year of coinage. Several die varieties are cataloged in the Noe reference, distinguished by differences in tree form, legend spacing, and minor details. The shilling was the workhorse denomination of the series, produced in greater quantities than the smaller fractions. Planchets were more regularly shaped than their Willow Tree predecessors, reflecting improved manufacturing methods, though they still display the characteristic irregularities of hand-hammered coinage. The Oak Tree design is traditionally associated with the Charter Oak of Connecticut legend, though there is no direct historical connection. The tree motif was chosen as a distinctly New England symbol to replace the austere NE punch mark of the first coinage, which proved too easy to counterfeit by clipping silver from the blank areas around the small central stamps.

Rarity Notes

Rare. Approximately 100-200 examples survive across all die varieties. The most available of the Oak Tree denominations, though still scarce by any standard.

Cross References

Noe 1-8; Salmon; Whitman 350-380; Crosby