"Pine tree shilling" tile is free with membership!
Pine Tree Shilling is the ninth in a series of tiles made exclusively for members of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. This reissue will only be available to members beginning in May 2010 and will be retired from production in May 2011. In 1652, the Massachusetts Bay Colony authorized special coinage to be struck for the colony’s commerce. Crude silver coins were minted in Boston until 1684 in denominations of shilling, sixpence and threepence. On the obverse surface of each, between two beaded circles, was MASATHVSETS IN; within an inner circle was a stylized pine tree, from which the coin got its name. Henry C. Mercer adapted the design from this earliest colonial currency for his “Pine Tree Shilling” tile circa 1905.
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