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Early American coin shortage… Got change for an ox?Every early American coin, even if it was an old foreign coin, a battered Mexican silver coin for example, was one of the valuable coins of the first decades of colonial settlement.The history of American coin begins with few coins of any kind, and is replete with accounts of pieces that were truly rare American coins in their own time! Early American coin was scarce for several reasons: 1) the existence of a significant trade imbalance with European suppliers, 2) British restrictions on the export of silver and gold coin to the colonies, and 3) hoarding of hard money by the colonists themselves. The impact on the colonial economy? Serious complication -- so that the most mundane transaction was a major ordeal. Here were the available workarounds:
BarterBarter was more than inconvenient -- it stifled economic activity.For example, one could hire someone to help tend livestock. But without a ready currency or coin to pay for this labor, the forced sale of an ox might be required, either to the laborer himself, who perhaps had no need for the ox, or to someone else who would want the animal. The third party would hopefully have cash, or something else to willingly give up in exchange to the employer. And it also had to be something that the laborer would accept. Commodity MoneyWith so little early American coin, colonists fell back upon other stores of value -- in the crops they raised and the products they produced. Tobacco and corn were both acceptable, but difficult to move about, and they could spoil if not properly stored or promptly delivered.Other farm products included barrels of pork, butter, even pine boards in New Hampshire. Musket balls were valued at 1 to the farthing by the Massachusets Bay General Court, but a limit of 48 per transaction was imposed. Forty-eight lead musket balls could be hard on the pocket... WampumStringed beads made from clamshell -- wampum -- was another means of passing value. Native Americans had used wampum for centuries as a tool of inter-tribal diplomacy rather than trade. European colonists adopted the concept in their dealings with the Indians, and soon after, among themselves.Wampum value was based on the color of each bead -- white was most common and therefore of lowest value; blue and black were valued higher. Wampum was an imperfect solution in that anyone near the beach could create their own supply. And quality varied.
Eventually, More CoinsCoins eventually did show up in greater numbers, even before the first US Mint in 1792. In fact, the first mint of any kind in the thirteen colonies was opened in Massachusetts in 1651. At the direction of the General Court a local goldsmith, John Hull, began striking silver coins bearing a simple monogram, NE, signifying New England. Such was the first domestic early American coin.In time, coins were struck in some of the other colonies in authorized private mints. As well, the growth of trade with the Spanish possessions in the West Indies brought in quantites of crude silver coins, similar to those shipped to Spain from Mexico in the plate fleets. Learn more about early American coin...Hogge Money -- The value of... a feral hog!Strike a little colonial coin -- and risk going to jail! Go to Top of early American coin page.
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