🥇 BANNER The find of a lifetime! 1652 Pine Tree Shilling!

[Donnie B from VA]

This past Sunday I found the find of a lifetime, a 1652 Pine Tree Shilling at a site in Connecticut. I don't post much on here but thought I would share it with you.

 

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[Iron Patch]

Thank you for your kind comments. My digging buddy, and friend, Dan, told me that colonists would hoard their nicer coins and spend the worn and clipped ones. This coin may have been hoarded or was lost very soon after leaving the mint. I am afraid to touch it!

I have a rule for my very best. I never handle it, or let anyone else handle it, over a hard surface... even just a few inches. I always make sure there is a soft place to drop. I started doing that about a month into detecting, finding an extremely rare button and selling it for enough to equal what I paid for my detector. I was so damn paranoid that if I had to move the button for some reason it would be on a towel in a very large cardboard box. lol And when I shipped it, it was triple boxed, and wrapped and taped... all to make good and damn sure everything went as planned. It's very funny to think about now, but like I said I still do the same thing, just not to the same degree.

 

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[Donnie B from VA]

I have a rule for my very best. I never handle it, or let anyone else handle it, over a hard surface... even just a few inches. I always make sure there is a soft place to drop. I started doing that about a month into detecting, finding an extremely rare button and selling it for enough to equal what I paid for my detector. I was so damn paranoid that if I had to move the button for some reason it would be on a towel in a very large cardboard box. lol And when I shipped it, it was triple boxed, and wrapped and taped... all to make good and damn sure everything went as planned. It's very funny to think about now, but like I said I still do the same thing, just not to the same degree.

I'm afraid to touch it and the coin still has dirt on it. I sprayed it with some water in the field to get the mud off it and am leaving it the way you see it in my photos. One of these days I may work up enough courage to soak it in some distilled water for 30 minutes to see if any more dirt comes off but I am in no hurry. It looks good the way it is and I actually like the dirt giving some contrast to the coin. It is safely locked away now in an archival, mylar, flip.

 

[dfallis1]

Welcome to the Banner Board. Congrats! Well deserved.

 

[462]

Awesome find, congratulations! I was wondering how long it was going to take for someone to knock my 1796 Dime out of the first spot on the banner. Hopefully I'll find one of these some day.

 

[Donnie B from VA]

Welcome to the Banner Board. Congrats! Well deserved.

Awesome find, congratulations! I was wondering how long it was going to take for someone to knock my 1796 Dime out of the first spot on the banner. Hopefully I'll find one of these some day.

Thank you for the kind comments. 1700's US Mint Silver is still on my bucket list!

 

[Patriot Relics]

Up on top where it belongs, stunning and historic

 

[Davers]

You must be looking at a rarer variety. I seen two sales for Noe-16 graded at MS62 and sold for 25-30k. His grade and over-all condition is well below that of course, so divide that number by several times to start. Then consider the demand probably isn't too high as there's many known in similar condition being a more common variety, so drop the number again. I don't know what it's worth but would think a few grand, maybe 4 or 5k?, but I'm sure it wouldn't sneak through a grader without being marked cleaned or environmental damage... and have to think that's a little more hurtful when there's competing examples.

Retail / Reality always sux!.lol

In better news glad to see this "finally" made 'Banner'.

A BIG Congatz .. To Hat Man Donnie V VA

 

[Davers]

Heck Yeah

I'm afraid to touch it and the coin still has dirt on it. I sprayed it with some water in the field to get the mud off it and am leaving it the way you see it in my photos. One of these days I may work up enough courage to soak it in some distilled water for 30 minutes to see if any more dirt comes off but I am in no hurry. It looks good the way it is and I actually like the dirt giving some contrast to the coin. It is safely locked away now in an archival, mylar, flip.

I'm with you / As my earlier comments stated.
Mylar flips even scare me . OCD

For Real Great to see it up top man.
Davers

 

[Iron Patch]

Retail / Reality always sux!.lol

In better news glad to see this "finally" made 'Banner'.

A BIG Congatz .. To Hat Man Donnie V VA

Hit a rarity 7 or higher and the reality would be pretty sweet.

 

[Davers]

Like many others on this forum I jump on regularly and scan Today's Finds, which is always so busy it's hard to keep up. Of course, always eyeball the Banner, and it had been a few weeks since anything made it to the top (despite some amazing posts). Refreshing the page this morning I saw your find right away and knew exactly what it was before even following to the post. Unbelievable...those of us in Mass consider the tree shillings Holy Grails, as many others do, but it has some special significance in our state. Right in Boston, in 1670 or so, you have the local authorities giving permission to settlers John Hull and Robert Sanderson to begin minting coinage as one of the first revolutionary acts of independence by the Puritan colonies. Even the Massachusetts General Court order in and of itself tells such a rich story....

"…all persons what
soever have liberty to bring in unto the mint house at Boston all 
bullion plate or Spanish Coin there to be melted & brought to the
 allay of sterling Silver by John Hull master of the said mint and his sworn officers, & by him to be Coined into 12[SUP]d[/SUP] : 6[SUP]d[/SUP] : & 3[SUP]d[/SUP] pieces which 
shall be for form flat & square on the sides & stamped on the one
side with N E & on the other side w[SUP]th[/SUP] the figure XII[SUP]d[/SUP] VI[SUP]d[/SUP] & III[SUP]d[/SUP]—
according to the value of each piece, together with a privy mark—which shall be Appointed every three months by the Governor & known 
only to him & the sworn officers of the mint."

Colonists in Boston brought their silver to the mint house in a variety of forms; jewelry, candlesticks, foodservice pieces, and, of course all manner of Spanish silver coinage, to be transformed into these humble coins. Imagine the history and the stories that little disc of silver has seen. It's this direct connection to the past that I love most about this hobby, and in particular this coin and its brethren that keeps me out there battling weather and brush and bramble, ticks and mosquitos and aches and pains for even a chance to hold a piece like that.

Donnie, congratulations on your once-in-a-lifetime find, thanks for the opportunity to see it. You've got me wanting to take a sick day and get into the woods!

Steve

Thanks for the History lesson.
It truly does make one imagine just what that Silver has been through before it was a Coin.

 

[Ahab8]

Very happy to see this at the top Donnie. Hope to see you pull another one day

 

[Davers]

Sorry for cluttering up everyone's 'likes' but I like to learn & I learned A-lot from this thread.

WTG!!!
Donnie from VA

 

[Goldiver]

What a fantastic coin! Gorgeous condition too! I appreciate you sharing it with us.

Steve

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

yes, a Banner Find, for sure! Good job, it will be hard to beat...!
What's your next goal, on your Bucket List..., eh?

 

[Donnie B from VA]

Up on top where it belongs, stunning and historic

Retail / Reality always sux!.lol

In better news glad to see this "finally" made 'Banner'.

A BIG Congatz .. To Hat Man Donnie V VA

Very happy to see this at the top Donnie. Hope to see you pull another one day

Sorry for cluttering up everyone's 'likes' but I like to learn & I learned A-lot from this thread.

WTG!!!
Donnie from VA

What a fantastic coin! Gorgeous condition too! I appreciate you sharing it with us.

Steve

Thank you everyone for the kind comments. I'm still on Cloud Nine. I still can't believe I found this coin. My great friend, and digging buddy, Danny, was taking a lunch break and sitting on a log watching me from about 30 feet away. When I got the signal it was loud and sweet and I called out to Danny, "this sounds good!" Danny was actually close enough that he heard the signal through my headphones which I always wear with one ear cocked off to the side of my head. I dug a large plug because I scratched a coin 22 years ago and I have never forgotten that one. I flipped the plug and the coin was laying in the bottom of the hole waiting on me. I knew it was a silver coin and I thought I knew what it was because I could see words on the outside edge. I called out to Danny and said, "I got something good!" "Is it a copper?" "No. It's better!" "Is it a shoe buckle?" "No. It's better!" By this time, Danny had reached me and the hole and I was so nervous I asked him to pick it up out of the hole. "What is it?" "You don't want to know!" "I don't want to know?" "Pine Tree Shilling!" "OMG!"

 

[btjbtj]

Sooo jealous. Congrats! -Lisa & John

 

[Donnie B from VA]

yes, a Banner Find, for sure! Good job, it will be hard to beat...!
What's your next goal, on your Bucket List..., eh?

Sooo jealous. Congrats! -Lisa & John

Thanks! My next goal on the bucket list will be either a New England, Oak or Willow Tree! Wouldn't that be great!?

 

[Silver Tree Chaser]

Congrats on making banner. I didn't get my vote in on time (last night), as I first wanted to read the entire thread, which kept going, and going, and going. Anyway, I suspected that you had plenty of momentum to make it to the top owing to such a worthy find in pristine condition. Thanks for some of the details on the recovery. I've had some recent success searching in the woods, but most of my best finds have come from fields. Your impressive recovery from the woods offers a lot of encouragement to keep hammering those cellar holes. In regards to having your coin authenticated (slabbed), conserved, and other possible considerations, time is on your side. Get as much feedback from others who have been through the process and then make an informed decision after deciding what you hope to achieve. Congrats on a huge find!

 

[trdking]

Like many others on this forum I jump on regularly and scan Today's Finds, which is always so busy it's hard to keep up. Of course, always eyeball the Banner, and it had been a few weeks since anything made it to the top (despite some amazing posts). Refreshing the page this morning I saw your find right away and knew exactly what it was before even following to the post. Unbelievable...those of us in Mass consider the tree shillings Holy Grails, as many others do, but it has some special significance in our state. Right in Boston, in 1670 or so, you have the local authorities giving permission to settlers John Hull and Robert Sanderson to begin minting coinage as one of the first revolutionary acts of independence by the Puritan colonies. Even the Massachusetts General Court order in and of itself tells such a rich story....

"…all persons what
soever have liberty to bring in unto the mint house at Boston all 
bullion plate or Spanish Coin there to be melted & brought to the
 allay of sterling Silver by John Hull master of the said mint and his sworn officers, & by him to be Coined into 12[SUP]d[/SUP] : 6[SUP]d[/SUP] : & 3[SUP]d[/SUP] pieces which 
shall be for form flat & square on the sides & stamped on the one
side with N E & on the other side w[SUP]th[/SUP] the figure XII[SUP]d[/SUP] VI[SUP]d[/SUP] & III[SUP]d[/SUP]—
according to the value of each piece, together with a privy mark—which shall be Appointed every three months by the Governor & known 
only to him & the sworn officers of the mint."

Colonists in Boston brought their silver to the mint house in a variety of forms; jewelry, candlesticks, foodservice pieces, and, of course all manner of Spanish silver coinage, to be transformed into these humble coins. Imagine the history and the stories that little disc of silver has seen. It's this direct connection to the past that I love most about this hobby, and in particular this coin and its brethren that keeps me out there battling weather and brush and bramble, ticks and mosquitos and aches and pains for even a chance to hold a piece like that.

Donnie, congratulations on your once-in-a-lifetime find, thanks for the opportunity to see it. You've got me wanting to take a sick day and get into the woods!

Steve

Thank you for posting this recap of our American history and basically the Birth of American coinage! We don't often stop to realize/ ponder how truly scarce early American coinage was prior to the Civil war. Here are our forefathers bringing in precious metal items to have them struck into coinage so we actually had a means of trading goods for currency other than Foreign coinage. The civil war required the printing of paper fractional currency because coinage in the 1860's was still very scarce. There was not enough of it to available to make payment to soldiers. I can't help but think about how truly scare the Pine trees are. A very small colony making currency out of what they brought over from England. Does anyone know how many were actually minted? In the grand scheme of our current footprint this has to be miniscule. Proving that this truly is a Banner find and truly is a HOLY GRAIL. Just the site of one of these in pictures makes my heart elevate. I cannot imagine the site of seeing one pop out of the dirt and knowing that it belongs to ME. You are now the Proud owner of the HG. I would never let it go. I would make a shrine for it or at least sleep with it at least 3 times per week! Not enough congratulations and well wishes can be given you Sir.

 

[Donnie B from VA]

Congrats on making banner. I didn't get my vote in on time (last night), as I first wanted to read the entire thread, which kept going, and going, and going. Anyway, I suspected that you had plenty of momentum to make it to the top owing to such a worthy find in pristine condition. Thanks for some of the details on the recovery. I've had some recent success searching in the woods, but most of my best finds have come from fields. Your impressive recovery from the woods offers a lot of encouragement to keep hammering those cellar holes. In regards to having your coin authenticated (slabbed), conserved, and other possible considerations, time is on your side. Get as much feedback from others who have been through the process and then make an informed decision after deciding what you hope to achieve. Congrats on a huge find!

Thank you! I just looked at your Hammered Silver and Bulldozed Cellar Hole Finds! Congratulations! My hat is off to you sir!