(1652) New England Shilling

Coin Details

Description

The most obtainable of the three New England silver denominations (alongside the extremely rare threepence and sixpence), the New England Shilling bears the simple punch-stamped marks NE (for New England) on the obverse and XII (twelve pence, equal to one shilling) on the reverse. Authorized by the Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Court in 1652, these coins were struck in Boston by mintmaster John Hull and his partner Robert Sanderson, using dies cut by Joseph Jenks of Saugus — the same ironworker who built machinery for the Saugus Iron Works. Approximately 40 examples survive across six documented die varieties, making the shilling rare in absolute terms but the most collectible denomination in the NE series. The coins were struck in sterling silver (.925 fine) with a target weight of 72 grains (approximately 4.67 grams), though surviving specimens show considerable weight variation due to the crude production technology and deliberate clipping that prompted the colony to adopt the more sophisticated tree designs (Willow, Oak, and Pine) shortly after the NE coinage began. The simple NE/XII design made these coins vulnerable to clipping — trimming silver from the edges — because the unstamped planchet edges provided no visual evidence of metal removal. This practical deficiency led to the introduction of fully designed coins with edge protection, but it is the NE Shilling's austere simplicity that gives it a stark, iconic beauty prized by collectors of the earliest American coinage.