farthings. The Indians had a sort of money, called wampum, which was made
of clam-shells; and this strange sort of specie was likewise taken in
payment of debts, by the English settlers. Bank-bills had never been heard
of. There was not money enough of any kind, in many parts of the country,
to pay the salaries of the ministers; so that they sometimes had to take
quintals of fish, bushels of corn, or cords of wood, instead of silver or
gold.

As the people grew more numerous, and their trade one with another
increased, the want of current money was still more sensibly felt. To
supply the demand, the general court passed a law for establishing a
coinage of shillings, sixpences, and threepences. Captain John Hull was
appointed to manufacture this money, and was to have about one shilling
out of every twenty to pay him for the trouble of making them.

Hereupon, all the old silver in the colony was handed over to Captain John
Hull. The battered silver cans and tankards, I suppose, and silver
buckles, and broken spoons, and silver buttons of worn-out coats, and
silver hilts of swords that had figured at court, all such curious old
articles were doubtless thrown into the melting-pot together. But by far
the greater part of the silver consisted of bullion from the mines of
South America, which the English buccaniers—(who were little better than
pirates)—had taken from the Spaniards, and brought to Massachusetts.

All this old and new silver being melted down and coined, the result was
an immense amount of splendid shillings, sixpences, and threepences. Each
had the date, 1652, on the one side, and the figure of a pine-tree on the
other. Hence they were called pine-tree shillings. And for every twenty
shillings that he coined, you will remember, Captain John Hull was
entitled to put one shilling into his own pocket.