Cut Oak Tree Shilling - Noe-1 Var. & Indian Fish Hook from English Brass

[Silver Tree Chaser]

I found this cut Oak Tree shilling, Noe-1 Variety, at a buddy's site back on 4/8/13. I've een lurking on this forum for a long time. I made some good finds last year, but posted little of it. I recently decided to start posting this year to contribute more. I kept delaying on a post of the cut shilling, as I was trying to stay current with my most recent finds. Anyway, I got the cut coin and an Indian fish hook likely made from English brass at an Indian site in SE New England. It's a fantastic place to hunt. My buddy has found several cut brass arrowheads at this site. I was hoping for an arrowhead, as I'd never found a brass point. I found the cut Oak Tree shilling about 20 minutes into the hunt. I then ran sweeps up and down the field staying at the same general location. After about 2-3 hours, I found the brass fish hook. I think that a small fragment is missing, but I'll gladly take the fish hook as it is.







The find of a cut Oak Tree shilling is just a little bittersweet. I found a fantastic Noe-14 Tree shilling back in 2006, and a cut coin does not pack quite the same punch. But I am very thankful for a great find, my 2nd piece of Mass Silver, and the Indian fish hook cut from brass. The two finds together are quite a combination and well-represent the history of this interesting site. Thanks to my buddy for a great day of detecting.

Interestingly, I found a cut coin exactly one week before finding the Mass Silver. It's a well-worn Connecticut copper, but it appears to have some type of silver coating on it. It has no corrosion so typical of coppers dug from a field in my area of New England. Perhaps it may have been a counterfeit of some sort to pass the coin at a higher value. Regardless, it fooled me for most of the day until I got home for a closer look. Funny thing - it was April Fool's Day, and I was the victim of a 200+ year old April Fool's joke.

Good Hunting!

 

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[plymouthian12]

Jim?
looking good

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Jim?
looking good

Yes - It's Jim. Well, aren't we hard-core detectorists? Almost midnight on a weekday, and we're up looking at the TNet forums.

 

[plymouthian12]

hahha thought i recognized that coin someday you'll bring me haha

 

[Argentium]

I'm actually kind of surprised at the number of these really early oak and pines found over this last 30 days or so , I seem to
remember about 4 or 5 - something like that ! (in no way am I implying that these are anything but extremely rare !) terrific,
find !!!

 

[hogge]

Great Find!

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

Nice pruned Oak Tree! It's great to see more MA Silver being found. Keep pounding that site as it may hold more. As you know, my cut Pine Tree was followed by my complete Oak Tree from the same site. By the way, that is only the 4th cut Massachusetts silver I have seen posted on T-Net. Myself, Bill D.(VA), and Bill Ladd have found cut Pine Tree Shillings, but this was the first cut Oak Tree Shilling I have seen. Fantastic find for sure!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Awesome find STC!! Must be nice to have the opportunity to at least have a chance to get your coil over one of those sweet Mass silvers. I don't believe I've ever heard of one coming from down my way except for a small cut piece from a NOE-11 pine tree shilling I dug a few years ago. Guess it was rare for them to have extended their circulation this far south. Congrats again on a great find. By the way, how deep was your coin and what machine were you using?

 

[cntrydncr1]

congrats! most of us can only drool over finding one of those!

 

[JustinNH]

Excellent find!

 

[g-olden years]

Delightful, informative post - thanks! I love your fish hook as it reflects a quieter, more natural lifestyle. Looking forward to your next post! Andi

 

[chiloquin]

Excellent digs! We on the West Coast can only drool over Mass. silver. HH

 

[pepperj]

Very cool digs, liking the cut silver, also great ID on the hook many would have thought it's just a bent nail.

 

[oldsalty19]

 

[Erving]

I'd love to find any part of a tree coin, and the fish hook is a unique find also. Congrats on both finds.

 

[jewelerguy]

regardless, that oak tree is fantastic. being cut, it has a certain historical character that no complete coin has

 

[wvwildman]

nice find congrats HH

 

[VERMONTIS]

Nice oak tree! Fish hook is a KILLER find I wish relics could talk and tell the story=ED

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Awesome find STC!! Must be nice to have the opportunity to at least have a chance to get your coil over one of those sweet Mass silvers. I don't believe I've ever heard of one coming from down my way except for a small cut piece from a NOE-11 pine tree shilling I dug a few years ago. Guess it was rare for them to have extended their circulation this far south. Congrats again on a great find. By the way, how deep was your coin and what machine were you using?

Bill - Although the coins were intended for circulation in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, they circulated up into Canada and down to the Caribbean Islands (some islands had posted exchange rates for Mass Silver). Dug specimens have been recovered throughout New England, and the rarest specimen, a NE six-pence, was found in New York back in 1990. A ship out of New York, the H.M.S. Feversham, wrecked in 1711 and went down with a load of coins, including 126 Mass Silver coins. These Mass Silver coins were salvaged back in 1996, but their condition was rough from oxidation after spending 280+ years in Davy Jones locker! Mass Silver circulated pretty far south on the East Coast (as you've proved), but it's primarily a New England specialty. It's why I focus most of my searching on colonial-period sites.

I found the coin with my Minelab Explorer SE with a slim-line coil. I just purchased a new 11" DD coil for my Explorer and hope for good results. I dug the coin at a depth of 6" to 8", but it was a plowed field. It could have easily been right near the surface. A field offers the best chances for finding Mass Silver. In my opinion, the detector is a small part of the equation. I believe that it's all about the sites (and the research leading to the sites). My only other Mass Silver (my avatar) was found with a Fisher CZ-6 that I had been using for 13 long years.