1652 "As a mark of their soveraignty, they coyn mony" Edward Randolph, Kings Agent

[steelheadwill]

1652 "As a mark of their soveraignty, they coyn mony" Edward Randolph, Kings Agent

Hi all,
haven't posted anything in a while so I figured I'd show this dirty piece of silver.
Hunted a new site and spent an hour in the pasty mud with not much to show,
on the steep hillside along the water I noticed lots of scrap metal and trash,
made my way up the hill gathering all the copper and brass I could eyeball.
Turned on the Safari, stock coil was all I had with me,
amazingly I picked a signal from the trash, dug an 1878 IH, check the hole,
another 1878...
check the hole, another signal, different numbers.
Big root in the way, pulled some dirt from underneath, small silver coin
Take a close look, hmm 1652, that's familiar. wrap in leaf and secure it.
scan again, another signal. looks to be a Charles II Groat, now that's a rare find over here.

Very Strange, coin spill over older coin spill ? Anyway this was a first for me...

No pix of The IHs or the groat cause they got put somewhere safe in my truck
They'll turn up sometime.

This morning I identified my Oak threepence as a 'Noe-28', an 'R-6, 13-30 examples known' and she appears to be almost uncirculated and well struck (for Ma Silver) under that dirt.
Diagnostics on this one are easy, both legends start at lower left, 5 in date squashed.

Shown as an example is the Wurzbach plate coin of this variety, in the description he notes:

"Crosby could not find a specimen good enough to furnish a proper description. Excessively rare"

I take this to mean that he obtained a better specimen than Crosby, and was right proud of the fact.

Breen notes "All specimens I have examined are dogs, due to weak striking and weakly cut dies".

These quotes give you some idea of the apparent jealousy and competitiveness of collectors and 'experts' on Massachusetts silver.


given the condition of the best example I could find, I think mine is a looker.
Apparently these coins don't appear much in higher grades.

And a photo of a stern Colonial Governor from the period.


Trees seem to be sprouting all over this year.
Thanks for looking & HH Everyone

 

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[oxbowbarefoot]

Herbie, that's a heck of a coin! My BANNER vote is in! I can't wait to see two Oak Tree's up top at the same time

 

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[joeyfresh]

AWESOME coin Herbie. Four 17th century Mass silvers is unbelievable! As much as I love Virginia, I may have to move back to New England!!

 

[Steve in PA]

Wow Herbie, that one is a beauty! Definitely BANNER material.

 

[Evolution]

That's awesome!! One coin spill over another so many years apart. What are the odds. Incredible finds there.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Man, that's a fantastic find. You must be on top of the world. To find these coins, which so many covet, and you've dug so many of them?!! Well, all I can say is that you're doing something right, either in research, or hunting, or creatively...something. Just keep doing what you're doing.

Congrats on what should EASILY be a Banner Find.


Cheers,


Buck

 

[docbars]

Awesome find

 

[cfdfire]

Great find and good to see this post,thank you.

 

[steelheadwill]

You find MA silver like others can't even find Spanish!

That coin looks more corroded than pitted so should clean up well.

I hope so, would you attempt cleaning this yourself if you had found it ?
Guess the grass is always greener over the other side, I'm always hoping for a nice Cob,
Found two, both are toast....

 

[artyfacts]

Outstanding as always Herbie.

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

I hope so, would you attempt cleaning this yourself if you had found it ?
Guess the grass is always greener over the other side, I'm always hoping for a nice Cob,
Found two, both are toast....

You've got my stats beat: I'm at 2 Mass silvers and 0 cobs. A nice cob is now at the top of my wish list.

 

[steelheadwill]

WONDERFUL FINDS! I'm in awe of the wonderful coins & historical items that you unearth. Always look forward to seeing more!
My father's ancestors settled in early 1600's in what's now Massachusetts, New Hampshire & Vermont, so colonial items from these states are of special interest to me. My dad, who was born & raised in Keene, N.H. was apparently the first of the family in several hundred years to head south for warmer climes when he moved to Washington, D.C. as a very young man. Several times in the past, I visited the Keene area, which is so beautiful, and saw some of the well-made houses that my great-grandparents & other family members had built with their own hands. These houses are no longer in our family, but it feels good that people still live in & enjoy them. Andi

Thanks Andi,
There is an active local MD club in the Keene area, I went out there for their 'Best o New England 19'
festivities last year, George Streeter organizes these events that raise money for
St Judes Childrens Hospital and the Wounded Warrior Project.
He also arranges some very successful MDing trips worldwide, Carribean, England and Europe,
My hat's off to this man for his efforts to further our MDing public image and charitable causes
through the "Professional Treasure Hunters Historical Society" and the 'Bone' events.
Take a look, there's a lot of good info here: Streeter's :: Home of The Treasure Hunter's Gazette, BONE, and PTHHS

 

[steelheadwill]

VERY NICE COIN!

Groat Are you sure? That would be very unusual!

Indeed, wasn't exporting silver to the colonies a capitol offense?
this was a pretty smooth coin, bust right and a 'II' on the side.
I'll be looking for it today.

 

[steelheadwill]

Congrats on a terrific Mass Silver coin. It looks really well-struck with lots of detail. You must be one happy guy! May I ask, are you searching along a shore line that is salt water, fresh water, or brackish water? That three-pence is banner all the way.

Thanks Silver Tree, looks like you have a fine shilling there on your avatar, is it a large planchet pine
My shoreline searches are salt water, which makes for issues with condition, even a mile inland you can tell
that salt has affected the metal, they are markedly different from those recovered several miles inland.
BUT, since the coast was where first settlement was made, and more commerce occurred, the type and age of
recoveries are better in general.
If you're in the northeast shoot me a pm...

 

[steelheadwill]

You've got my stats beat: I'm at 2 Mass silvers and 0 cobs. A nice cob is now at the top of my wish list.

Thanks Oxbow,
Cobs will turn up, from what I read, a lot of the silver in the tree coins came from the 'Caba de Barras',
one report states that a major reason for starting the mint was the large influx of Spanish silver brought to Boston
by the 'Boucaniers' in the 1640s, which by design were more subject to clipping...
Did your lovely shilling undergo any cleaning before you took the photos ?
Best wishes & HH

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

Thanks Oxbow,
Cobs will turn up, from what I read, a lot of the silver in the tree coins came from the 'Caba de Barras',
one report states that a major reason for starting the mint was the large influx of Spanish silver brought to Boston
by the 'Boucaniers' in the 1640s, which by design were more subject to clipping...
Did your lovely shilling undergo any cleaning before you took the photos ?
Best wishes & HH

I have read a little on the history of the Mass silvers, but I would love to find some more resources. The pictures in the post are after a quick rinse in a puddle. I did a more thorough rinse afterwards, it definitely looks better now. Once I get access to a camera that has a really nice macro setting I will post some more pics.

 

[steelheadwill]

Outstanding as always Herbie.

Thanks Arty,
Got a theory on why 4 diverse coins were found in one hole.
there are several pieces of evidence I've found that bear this out.
The old cartpath was widened and the top surface was scraped off and pushed over the hillside in the late 19th century, along with everything that was lost on that path since first settlement.
As stated, the four coins were recovered almost accidentally after detecting maybe 20 square feet of area.
( iron whomp whomp whomp)
In between all the iron pipe, rusting barrels, modern trash, dense undergrowth and vicious thorns could be a lot more goodies.
Research brought me to the general area, chance brought my coil over the coins.
I haven't been back since my first visit.
When I told the property owner about the coins,
I was cut short and asked to just make sure to inform him if I recover any gold.
Well, a hammered gold has always been my grail
Got enough of those darned milled ones
HH All !

 

[steelheadwill]

I have read a little on the history of the Mass silvers, but I would love to find some more resources. The pictures in the post are after a quick rinse in a puddle. I did a more thorough rinse afterwards, it definitely looks better now. Once I get access to a camera that has a really nice macro setting I will post some more pics.

Nice to find good items far from the sea, even a mile inland there is salt in the dirt,
I got a wire brush for my grinder, maybe I'll try to make this one prettier

 

[JustinNH]

Great find!

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

Nice to find good items far from the sea, even a mile inland there is salt in the dirt,
I got a wire brush for my grinder, maybe I'll try to make this one prettier

Surely you jest ,

stab me in the eye with a rusty spike to make that visual go away

 

[Erik in NJ]

Very nice find indeed! Can you post the titles of the books that your quotes are from in your original post? Would like to see that James II too--I found a James II crown (gun money) a number of years back, but that was found in England and I guess after he was off the English throne (1698 if my memory is correct--which it may not be ) It's also in a safe place somewhere in my house--I will have to try and find it again one of these day, LOL.