Pre-1776 Private and Regional Issues (1616-1766)

About This Series

Encompassing 150 years of monetary improvisation in colonial America, this category gathers coins and tokens produced by private individuals, colonial authorities, and regional enterprises before the Declaration of Independence. The series begins with the Sommer Islands hogge money of circa 1616 — the first coinage for an English colony in the Americas — and extends through issues addressing chronic coin shortages across the colonies. Landmark issues include the Massachusetts silver coinage (New England, Willow Tree, Oak Tree, and Pine Tree series from 1652), Lord Baltimore Maryland coinage of 1659, Elephant tokens of the 1690s, the Higley coppers of Connecticut (1737), and Voce Populi tokens. Each issue reflects specific economic circumstances — whether an authorized government response, private entrepreneurial venture, or imported British token. Many predate formal monetary legislation and circulated by custom rather than legal mandate. The series documents the essential truth of colonial commerce: in the absence of reliable official coinage, communities create their own monetary solutions.