Owner Comments:
The silver Massachusetts Bay Colony Oak Tree twopence pictured above is unique in at least three major respects: 1) It was the only coin produced during the mint's 30 year existence that carried a date other than 1652 - i.e. 1662; 2) The Oak Tree was the only series featuring a twopence. The earlier Willow Tree and later Pine Tree series were confined to threepence, sixpence, and shilling denominations; 3) The twopence was the lowest denomination silver coin ever issued by the Massachusetts Bay Colony mint.
There are two common explanations as to why nearly all the Massachusetts pieces were dated 1652. Some opine that the date 1652 was chosen because it represented the year the colony's legislature authorized their creation, and was the year coins were first issued. Thus 1652 was an important year to be perpetually commemorated. Another plausible theory is that almost all coins were dated 1652 because that was a year when there was no reigning king of England to defy. Traditionally, the coining of money was at the sole prerogative of the king. However, in 1649, King Charles I was beheaded for treason, and during the years 1649 - 1660, the interregnum period, there was no king on the throne, (although Oliver Cromwell asserted his considerable influence). This encouraged the Massachusetts Bay Colony's legislature to enact a law authorizing a mint. During normal times, this would have been deemed a blatantly defiant criminal act. Continuing to date all coins 1652 for the next 30 years of the mint's existence, made it appear that all were produced at a time when there was no king. (If this were the case however, it would seem illogical that the legislature would permit any coins to bear the date 1662, since Charles II had already ascended the throne.)
The 1662 date on the Oak Tree twopence may have been an engraver's error (intending 1652), but more probably simply memorialized the exact year when these twopence coins were authorized.
Interestingly, there have been 6 Noe numbers (29 - 34) assigned to the Oak Tree twopence, even though only a single pair of dies was used to create all of them. Rather, the Noe numbers help to differentiate between different die states. The first two Noe numbers label what have been termed the small date twopence. As the dies deteriorated, the last two numerals were recut, resulting in the large date varieties.
All Massachusetts silver coinage was purposely produced underweight (containing 22.5% less silver), to discourage their migration out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to other locations.