Before the Philadelphia Mint began to produce the first of the nation's regular issue circulating coinage in 1793, multiple series of coins and tokens – some of them unauthorized, some even counterfeit – circulated on American soil.
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The 1694 Carolina and New England Elephant tokens, which both bear an elephant on the obverse, are believed to have been struck in England and intended as tokens, or promotional pieces to spark interest in the American Colonies. Shown is a heavily circulated example of a Carolina piece.
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All images courtesy of HeritageAuctions.com.
The first coinage from the Colonial period, the Massachusetts silver coins known as the New England coinage, was an illegal issue, since the Massachusetts Bay Colony had no authority from the British crown to produce its own coins. Shown is a (1652) shilling. Also produced in 1652 were New England threepence and sixpence.
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King George I issued a royal patent in 1722 to Englishman William Wood to produce 100 tons of copper coins for the American Colonies. The Rosa Americana series draws its name from the reverse design. An example is shown above.
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Although little is known about them, 1776 Continental Currency dollars are believed to be the first dollar coins struck in what became the United States. The pieces were struck in pewter, brass and silver versions. The piece shown bears the inscription eg fecit, meaning someone with the initials eg made it. Today, eg has been identified as New Jersey engraver Elisha Gallaudet.
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The first U.S. coins issued by the federal government under provisions of the Articles of Confederation are the 1787 Fugio cents.The silver half disme, valued at five cents, was among the denominations established by Congress in 1792 under legislation that created the first United States Mint.
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The silver half disme, valued at five cents, was among the denominations established by Congress in 1792 under legislation that created the first United States Mint.
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Some of the issues are extremely rare, with only a fraction of their original mintages known to exist today. Coins, tokens and counterfeits that circulated in early America can be categorized into two broad classifications.
The first classification is "Colonial," representing those issues dating from 1652 to 1783. The second is the post-Colonial period from 1785 to 1792.
According to Coin World News Editor William T. Gibbs, writing in chapter 2 of the 2006 Coin World's Price Guide to U.S. Coins: Prices and Value Trends, the post-Colonial period issues "include coins issued by individual states under authority of the Articles of Confederation, the first federal coins issued under the same authority, and various pattern and experimental pieces."
Illegal beginnings
The first coinage from the Colonial period, the Massachusetts silver coins known as the New England coinage, was an illegal issue, since the Massachusetts Bay Colony had not received royal authority to produce its own coins.
Massachusetts used the overthrow of the British throne at the conclusion of the nearly 25-year-old English Civil War in 1649 as its excuse for overstepping its authority.
The General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony gave authorization to John Hull and Robert Saunderson to produce coinage for use in the Colonies. Massachusetts released four series of silver coins from 1652 to 1684.
The undated New England coin series produced and issued in 1652 consisted of silver pieces in denominations of threepence (iii), sixpence (vi) and shillings (xii). The designs were very simple: ne stamped on the top of the obverse and the denomination in Roman numerals stamped at the top of the reverse, each set in a cartouche.
Hull and Saunderson's mint in Boston soon began producing the first of its three series of "Tree" coinage – Willow, Oak and Pine – with the Willow Tree coins in 1653, continuing through 1660, when the Oak Tree coinage was introduced. The Pine Tree coins were issued from 1667 through 1682.
Even though Charles II had been returned to the English throne in 1660, Massachusetts colonists rejected royal authority to stop Colonial coin production.
According to Dr. Philip L. Mossman in Money of the American Colonies and Confederation, cessation of coinage production in Massachusetts didn't occur until the Colony's charter was revoked.
Lord Baltimore issues
The next coinage issued for the Colonies was produced for Maryland. The coins are known as the Lord Baltimore coinage, named after Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, who inherited almost full control of the Maryland colony from his father.
Believing in 1659 that he had the right to coin money on behalf of the Colony, Calvert – who never set foot on his American property over which he served as governor – placed an order for coins with the Tower Mint in London. The silver coins, bearing Calvert's portrait facing left on the obverse and a shield on the reverse, were denominated as a penny or denarium, the fourpence or groat, the sixpence, and shilling.
Calvert's authority to have the coins produced was challenged by Tower Mint officials who ordered his arrest, according to Mossman. Calvert appeared before the Privy Council to defend the charges, according to Mossman, but no disciplinary action was apparently taken.
The coins were produced and allowed to circulate.
In 1688, four years after Massachusetts' charter was revoked based partly on its defiance of crown authority to produce coins, the crown apparently granted a franchise to Richard Holt, an agent for tin miners, to strike and issue for domestic use nearly pure tin token coinage. These pieces are known as American Plantation tokens, "American Plantation" being a moniker for the Colonies.
According to Gibbs, the English crown had previously granted tin miners the authority to strike tokens denominated as farthings and halfpence. The pieces issued by Holt were designated a farthing, denominated on the reverse as 1/24 of a real. The obverse depicts a rider on horseback facing right, with four shields on the reverse.
"The petition to produce an American token coinage survives, but no copy of a patent does," according to Gibbs. "A tin token was produced, but whether it was struck under a royal patent that has since been lost or was struck illegally is uncertain. According to researcher Walter Breen [in his Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins], the Tower Mint struck the pieces, which would suggest a royal patent had been granted."
King George I issued a royal patent in 1722 to Englishman William Wood to produce 100 tons of copper coins for the American Colonies. The Rosa Americana series, as these coins are called, draws its name from the reverse design, depicting either a rose. The king's portrait appears on the obverse. Wood produced coins denominated halfpenny, penny and twopence. The first issues were undated, with other pieces dated 1722, 1723, 1724 and 1733.
Weeks before receiving the patent for the Rosa Americana coins, Wood was granted a similar patent for a token coinage for Ireland. George I's portrait from the Rosa Americana series was used on the Irish pieces, which also carry a seated figure with harp design on the reverse and the word hibernia. Halfpenny and farthing pieces were produced with the dates 1722, 1723 and 1724.
Unpopular in Ireland, the Wood's Hibernia token coinage were shipped to the American Colonies where they circulated.
Virginia, which was granted coining rights with its original charter in 1609, exercised those rights in 1773, two years before the Revolutionary War broke out between England and the American Colonies.
Virginia's General Assembly authorized the production of a copper halfpenny, a measure approved by the crown. The Tower Mint in England struck the coins, bearing a portrait of George III on the obverse and a crowned shield on the reverse. A silver piece, referred to as a shilling, dated 1774 and bearing the same designs as the copper halfpenny is believed, according to Breen, to have been a pattern for a halfpenny or guinea. The coins were not released into circulation until 1775, 50 days before the start of the Revolutionary War, because Virginia's treasurer refused their dispersal without royal approval.
Royal coinages and issues approved by Colonial officials ended with the Declaration of Independence. The period from 1776 to 1783 was not totally devoid of coinage, although paper currency issued by authority of the Continental Congress and individual states filled most of the monetary needs of the era.
Revolutionary issues
The coins attributed to this period are the 1776 Continental Currency dollars, struck in pewter, brass and silver versions; coppers authorized under the authority of the New Hampshire House of Representatives; and unofficial coppers from Massachusetts.
The 1776 Continental Currency dollars are considered by some researchers to be patterns, while others believe them to be coins, although little is known about their issue.
The design devices appearing on the 1776 pieces were already in use on paper money authorized Feb. 17, 1776, by the Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin had recommended the Fugio-sundial rebus and interlinked chain of rings for the paper money.
On the obverse of the metallic pieces appears the sundial with the legend fugio, for "I fly." Thirteen linked rings appear on the reverse, each inscribed with one of the names of the first 13 states. At the center is we / are / one encircled with the inscription american congress.
Additional information can be found in Eric P. Newman's 1776 Continental Currency Coinage & Varieties of the Fugio Cent.
In Early Paper Money of America, Newman explains that the Continental Congress intentionally excluded the $1 denomination from the paper money it authorized from July 22, 1776, through Sept. 26, 1778. Some researchers conclude that this argument is evidence that the metallic Continental Currency pieces were intended to circulate as official coinage, since no $1 notes existed.
The first Continental Currency dollar coins, according to Breen, were struck in New York City, with a later issue in Philadelphia where the Continental Congress had fled to in order to avoid the British Army.
New Hampshire became the first state to authorize coinage when William Moulton was empowered to produce a copper coinage in 1776.
According to A Guide Book of United States Coins, commonly called the "Red Book," "Although cast patterns were prepared, it is believed they were not approved. Little of the proposed coinage was ever actually circulated."
The obverse features a tree and the date, with the reverse exhibiting a harp.
The 1776-dated coppers unofficially attributed to Massachusetts are of unknown origin. The first of three versions shows a crude pine tree on the obverse with 1d lm at its base and the inscription massachusetts state around. On the reverse is a Liberty figure, seated on a globe with a liberty cap in her right hand, a staff in her left, and a dog at her feet.
Inscribed around is liberty and virtue.
The second issue features an American Indian with a bow on the obverse and a seated Liberty of the type as seen on the first issue.
Sometimes called the Janus copper, the unique third piece's obverse shows three heads, one facing left, one straight ahead and one facing right, with an inscription around.
The goddess of Liberty appears seated on the reverse, facing right, resting against a globe inscribed goddess liberty 1776.
Unofficial tokens
In addition to coins issued during the pre-Confederation period, tokens also played a role in daily circulation, some more than others.
These issues comprise the 1694 Carolina and New England Elephant tokens; Vice Populi halfpenny and farthing tokens; and John Chalmers silver tokens. All of these tokens were private products issued without governmental approval.
The Elephant tokens, both series of which bear an elephant on the obverse, are believed to have been struck in England and intended as tokens or promotional pieces to spark interest in the American Colonies.
The Carolina reverse is inscribed god / preserve / carolina and / the lords / proprieters / 1694.
The New England reverse is inscribed god / preserve / new / england / 1694.
The Higley or Granby coppers dated 1737 and 1739, were produced without permission by the owner of a copper mine in Granby, Conn., Samuel Higby.
The obverse design depicts a deer and the reverse, depending on type, either one or three axes. The first tokens issued have the denomination as threepence. Later pieces bear the Roman numerals iii below the deer, with a new reverse inscription value me as you please.
voce populi tokens – the Latin inscription translating to "voice of the people" – are 1760 copper Irish farthing and halfpenny pieces that circulated in the Colonies with other copper tokens and counterfeits.
Chalmers, a Maryland silversmith, produced in Annapolis what some believe were examples of coinage proposed for the Continental Congress. The silver tokens – denominated threepence, sixpence and shillings – are all dated 1783.
The first pieces struck bear a pair of clasped hands. The reverse depicts 12 interlocked rings, a five-pointed star within each, with a 13th ring with star linked at the bottom, symbolizing the unification of the nation.
Confederation releases
The Articles of Confederation, ratified by the 13 states on March 13, 1781, provided for strong states rights, but a weak national government.
The Articles did deal with coinage matters.
The provision allowed for the "United States in Congress" to have the sole right to regulate the alloy and value of each coin struck under its authority or that of each state.
Three states – Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts – seized the opportunity to produce copper coins, as did Vermont, which at the time of establishing its own mint, was an independent republic.
New York followed a different path by regulating existing coppers in circulation in 1787, banning coppers weighing below an established standard and devaluing others.
Connecticut authorized its mint in 1785 as did Vermont. New Jersey and Massachusetts followed suit, both in 1786.
Connecticut produced at a mint in New Haven as well as by a separate subcontract undenominated coppers dated 1785 through 1788 inclusive.
The coppers' obverse bear a laureate portrait facing either right or left, some varieties wearing mail. The reverses depict a seated figure resembling Britannia along with the date.
The abbreviated obverse inscription auctori connec. translates to "by the authority of Connecticut." The reverse inscription in Latin, inde: etlib: translates to "independence and liberty."
In 1787 and 1788, Massachusetts, under its authority, issued copper half cents and cents.
The common obverse depicts an Indian, standing, with bow in right hand and arrow in left. Inscribed around is commonwealth, split by the Indian device.
The common reverse depicts an eagle with downturned wings, with arrows representing preparedness for war in its right talons and the olive branch for peace grasped in its left talons.
One 1787 Massachusetts cent variety has the olive branch and the arrows transposed, held in the opposite talons.
Copper coinage was issued by New York in 1786 and 1787, principally by two private mints, one in New York and one in Vermont.
An obverse portrait believed to represent George Washington appears on the 1786 issue. The reverse features a seated female figure facing right, holding the scales of justice and a pole with liberty cap.
The 1787 issues depict on the obverse an eagle with downturned wings with e pluribus unum inscribed around. The reverses depict the coat of arms of the state of New York.
The Machin's Mills operations near Newburgh, N.Y., also produced coppers of Connecticut, Vermont and New Jersey, as well as imitation George III halfpence, according to the Red Book.
Ephraim Brasher, a New York goldsmith and jeweler, issued gold coins (commonly called doubloons and named after their issuer) in 1786 and 1787.
The designs of the 1786 Brasher issue resemble those on the Spanish colonial coins struck at the Lima Mint in Peru. The 1787 pieces depict on their obverse a mountain range with the sun rising behind it and river in front, similar to part of the New York coat of arms. The reverses depict an eagle with shield.
A horse's head, plow and a Latin version of the state's name, nova caesarea, grace the obverses of the New Jersey coppers dated 1786, 1787 and 1788. The reverses depict a shield and e pluribus unum.
Dated 1785 to 1788, inclusive, the coppers of Vermont employ a number of obverse and reverse design devices.
Obverses included laureate portraits facing either right or left; while on other pieces a sun rises out of the clouds with a plow below.
Reverse designs include an all-seeing eye surrounded by arrows and rays, and on others a seated female figure, facing either left or right.
First U.S. coins
The first U.S. coins issued by the federal government under provisions of the Articles of Confederation are the 1787 Fugio cents.
The designs are modified versions of devices found on the 1776 Continental Currency dollars and Continental Currency notes.
The obverse features the sundial design with inscriptions fugio and mind your business, while the reverse depicts the interlinked chain of 13 rings.
Between the end of the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution on June 21, 1788, speculative coinage patterns appeared, along with a number of private tokens, among them some that circulated.
The 1783 nova constellatio patterns, so named for the inscription translating to "New Constellation," are considered by some researchers to represent the first patterns for a national coinage.
Bearing an all-seeing eye within a burst of rays with stars in between on the obverse, the patterns depict on the reverse libertas and justitia (Liberty and Justice) around a wreath within which is inscribed u.s with the denomination below.
The copper piece is denominated 5 units; while the silver pieces are represented by the bit, also known as 100 units; the quint, or 500 units; and the mark, or 1,000 units.
George Washington was the subject of a multitude of privately produced and issued tokens that experienced circulation. Washington's portrait can be seen on the obverses of some of the private issues in military garb with or without a wreath on his head. On others, Washington can be found with a laureate bust, his shoulders draped in a toga.
Reverse designs included various eagles, wreaths and seated figures. Some of the issues are inscribed with the face value of one cent.
Provisions within the U.S. Constitution, which had gone into effect in March 1789, empowered Congress to coin money and regulate its value while stripping states of that privilege.
Mossman explains that permitting each state to produce its own coinage and regulate its values would have created an economical nightmare.
While some members of Congress favored coinage depicting Washington, the chief executive balked at such a notion because of the monarchial implications of presidential portraits.
With the passage of the Mint Act of April 2, 1792, Congress authorized gold, silver and copper coins to be denominated based on the value of the metal they contained. Congress also adopted an allegorical representation of Liberty as the primary design device.
As approved, the copper half cent and cent had no legal tender values. The silver denominations approved by the Mint act were a 5-cent half disme, a 10-cent disme, a 25-cent quarter dollar, a 50-cent half dollar and 100-cent unit, or dollar.
A gold $2.50 quarter eagle, $5 gold half eagle and $10 gold eagle were also approved.
Collectors interested in any of the previously outlined series of coins and tokens that pre-dated the services of the United States Mint should be cognizant of the specialty collector group, the Colonial Coin Collectors Club Inc.
Publishers of the quarterly publication, The C4 Newsletter, the organization is devoted to the collecting and study of numismatic items issued before the establishment of the U.S. Mint on April 2, 1792.
Information about the organization can be found online at www.colonialcoins.org.
