Things Got Crazy...Then Really, Really Crazy! 1652 Pine Tree Shilling

Silvermonkey · May 5, 2026

It's hard to know where to start with this post. We had an unseasonably hot day today (low 80's) for Spring here in Massachusetts. I had the afternoon free, so I decided to do a little detecting before dinner. After about an hour banging around in the woods, I had a clad quarter and an IHP to show for my efforts. Not so good. But then I hit a nice, deep sounding 88 VDI on my XP Deus II. Could be a LC I thought. Yup...out pops a big copper. Excellent! Passed the coil over the same area again, and got another high tone. Out comes another copper! I dug four coppers out of this small area, measuring about 4 feet square.

But there was more! The fifth and sixth coin came out together. One was clearly a LC, but the other was smaller, and had a lower VDI ( 86). I was hoping it might be a silver...

The smaller coin was, in fact, silver. But I becamer paralyzed after getting a good look at it.

There was one more copper in the hole after this one. All together 6 LC's. Oddly enough all of them appear to be KG II'.Some are pretty rough, but that's fine by me. The silver turned out to be a 1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree shilling, small planchet ( ?Noe 29). It weighs 4.6 grams/ 70.98 grains, and is roughly 24 mm in diameter. How this coin ended up in someone's pocket with a bunch of KG II's is beyond me.

I am in absolute awe of the condition of this coin, given its extended dirt nap. What a beauty. Several years ago I was lucky to find a Massachusetts Oaktree 2 pence. I never thought I'd have that kind of good fortune ever again...until today.

Thanks very much for taking a look. If there are any experts out there who have a better idea about the variety of this coin, please let me know. Cheers and HH!

Trezurehunter · May 6, 2026

Now that's the kind of crazy I could live with ! Congrats on a great coin spill.

Beige · May 6, 2026

Silvermonkey said:
It's hard to know where to start with this post. We had an unseasonably hot day today (low 80's) for Spring here in Massachusetts. I had the afternoon free, so I decided to do a little detecting before dinner. After about an hour banging around in the woods, I had a clad quarter and an IHP to show for my efforts. Not so good. But then I hit a nice, deep sounding 88 VDI on my XP Deus II. Could be a LC I thought. Yup...out pops a big copper. Excellent! Passed the coil over the same area again, and got another high tone. Out comes another copper! I dug four coppers out of this small area, measuring about 4 feet square.

View attachment 2252637 View attachment 2252638 View attachment 2252639 View attachment 2252640

But there was more! The fifth and sixth coin came out together. One was clearly a LC, but the other was smaller, and had a lower VDI ( 86). I was hoping it might be a silver...

View attachment 2252641
The smaller coin was, in fact, silver. But I becamer paralyzed after getting a good look at it.View attachment 2252643

There was one more copper in the hole after this one. All together 6 LC's. Oddly enough all of them appear to be KG II'.Some are pretty rough, but that's fine by me. The silver turned out to be a 1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree shilling, small planchet ( ?Noe 29). It weighs 4.6 grams/ 70.98 grains, and is roughly 24 mm in diameter. How this coin ended up in someone's pocket with a bunch of KG II's is beyond me.

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I am in absolute awe of the condition of this coin, given its extended dirt nap. What a beauty. Several years ago I was lucky to find a Massachusetts Oaktree 2 pence. I never thought I'd have that kind of good fortune ever again...until today.

View attachment 2252648
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Thanks very much for taking a look. If there are any experts out there who have a better idea about the variety of this coin, please let me know. Cheers and HH!

That is an absolute top tier recovery. Congratulations! I had to take a 20 minute breather when I found my capped bust half dime recently. I would have to take a week off after finding one of those.

cudamark · May 6, 2026

It doesn't get much better than that! Well........maybe when you find a willow to complete your hat trick! :laughing7:

Tesorodeoro · May 6, 2026

Congratulations. Since these coins were historically counterfeited, folks have to verify. In reading your post again, I see you did take the to mg e to weight it. Amazing to be in that condition!!

Silvermonkey · May 6, 2026

Jose The Goon said:
Huge congrats Silvermonkey !!! Great hunt & recovery !!! Splendid Colonial Silver coin !!!
Who, when & how someone lost those coins makes my mind wander. I live in The Blue Hills & I did lots of digging in The Boston Common (Est. 1634 oldest public park in the U.S.) & The Public Garden, but never found a cool Colonial Silver like yours. I know they are around here somewhere. I'm glad you sniffed out another one. CHEERS !!!!!

Thanks very much Jose. I find it amazing that these coins are still out there waiting to be found. I bet detecting in the Boston Common and Public Garden was fun. I'm guessing that was a ways back in time. I'm also guessing that you found some nice stuff.

Silvermonkey · May 6, 2026

l.cutler said:
Condition is amazing! I think you have it right as a Noe-29 but I don't have my reference books with me, will give it a look later.

Thanks for your thoughts on the particular variety of this coin. I'm still in shock regarding the amount of detail it has.

Silvermonkey · May 6, 2026

T

ToddsPoint said:
Fantastic find!🫡🫡🫡 I cropped your pics for my tired eyes. The condition of that thing is amazing.

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Thank you TP. Your cropped pics show it off very well.

Silvermonkey · May 6, 2026

Than

cudamark said:
It doesn't get much better than that! Well........maybe when you find a willow to complete your hat trick!

Thanks very much! I never imagined finding another " tree" coin, but you never know. Maybe lightning can strike a third time.

Silvermonkey · May 6, 2026

lenmac65 said:
I am trying to vote banner, but the emoji is missing. Hopefully the moderators see this: BANNER, BANNER, BANNER!!! What an amazing day you had. Congrats!

Thanks lenmac65! It really was an incredible day. I went back today to make sure I didn't miss anything in all my shock and excitement. Noting else there. I've said this before, but I'm very grateful to have an opportunity to detect here in Massachusetts. Lots of history to unearth!

Silvermonkey · May 6, 2026

A big "Thank you" to everyone for your comments and support. It means a lot coming from this community of dedicated detectorists.

ironhorse · May 6, 2026

Wow so much history in just a handful of finds...such a great part of the country for finding great old coins.
Best part of the day was the silver find!
Fantastic find! What a winner!

E-Trac-Ohio · May 6, 2026

If I had to guess ... I don't think the old "Silvermonkey" got much sleep after a hunt like that !
I know if that happen to me - I'd be staring at the ceiling all night. :laughing9:

oldmxrat · May 6, 2026

Wowzer! Congrats on your BANNER hunt! :occasion14:

Silvermonkey · May 6, 2026

E-Trac-Ohio said:
If I had to guess ... I don't think the old "Silvermonkey" got much sleep after a hunt like that !
I know if that happen to me - I'd be staring at the ceiling all night.

Yup...You nailed it.

russau · May 10, 2026

I can't imagine the level of excitrment that I'd be in if I ever found one of those trees !

Mr. Digger · May 10, 2026

Dude I can't believe I missed this post I was traveling last week and was out of town on that warm day. Just an absolutely incredible coin and what an amazing spill. I think they minted those tree coins for another 30 years and the first KG II was 1729 so it's still a good 50+ years difference at least. Wouldn't you love to know how they all came together. Maybe a cache/hidden savings not a drop/pocket spill.

Silvermonkey · May 10, 2026

Mr. Digger said:
Dude I can't believe I missed this post I was traveling last week and was out of town on that warm day. Just an absolutely incredible coin and what an amazing spill. I think they minted those tree coins for another 30 years and the first KG II was 1729 so it's still a a good 50+ years difference at least. Wouldn't you love to know how they all came together. Maybe a cache/hidden savings not a drop/pocket spill.

Thanks very much Mr. Digger! Now that some time has passed, and I not quite so freaked out, I've been thinking the same thing. The sheer weight of all those coins would seem to rule out a pocket spill. I would agree it could be a small cache. At any rate....wow! I brought the pine tree shilling into a local coin shop. The owner was pretty excited, and strongly encourgaed me to send it out for grading. I've never had a coin go through the grading process before. Does anyone have any recommendations about which grading company to use ( NGC vs. PCGS) or other helpful hints? Thanks!