Does anyone know what kind of coins were circulating during the Salem Witch Trials in Salem Massachusetts? The Witch Trials are very interesting to me and I was wondering what coins were going around at the time.
Well, from what I know the Pilgrims were given charter from England to establish a colony in Massachusetts, so the short answer would be British coinage (pounds) dating before 1692. However, the settlement is/was near an established seaport, so, like many settlements of the time, I’m sure several forms of currency made its way into the community. I would also suspect, since it was not an affluent area during the time, bartering was common practice. I'm sure there are others that could expand on this...
The Salem trials took place 1692-1693. Open up your Redbook and look at the colonial section, keeping in mind that coins from one colony did not readily circulate in another, due to difficulty of travel and suspicion of counterfeits, and the true amount of precious metal content, if any. My guess would be that barter was far more prevalent than "coin" transactions. The Redbook notes that the primary series listed (Willow Tree, Oak Tree, and Pine Tree) "...were abandoned in 1682...a proposal to renew coinage in 1686 was rejected by the General Court..." Whether this meant there were sufficient English coins available to support commerce, I don't know.
Whatever they had likely a mix of English coins Spanish silver and rarely gold and of course the tree coinage of Massachusetts was likely common as it was local made and they made a lot over 30 years as well as assorted other European coins and tokens basically if it was from England Europe America the Spanish colonies or anywhere else and predates 1692 it had a chance of circulating here then
Likely was rejected due to politics or shortage of materials the British crown did not want the colonies issuing their own coinage as it was a sign of independence why all are dated 1652 despite being made for 30 years
Same reason all the Maria Theresa's were dated 1780 -- for almost two centuries. People were familiar with them, and were suspicious of change. I would enjoy reading something about the typical circulating coinage of this period, in New England, if someone knows a reliable book.
This page is a good read. So are other articles on the site. http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/MASilver.intro.html
Another good place to look is "Uncovered: The Lost Coins of Early Americans" by Todd Cook. Among the coins he mentions for Salem are the Massachusetts "Tree" silvers (naturally), Spanish cobs, Charles II farthings, and William and Mary Irish halfpennies. P.S. The witch trials took place in what is now Danvers, MA.
