By George - It’s a Coin! The Impact of King George on Archaeology

Archaeologists use many tools in determining the age or date for an archaeological feature (ground disturbance such as wells, privies, storage pits etc.) during the investigation of an archaeological site.  Dating methods include C-14 dates, manufacturing marks on artifacts, soil stratigraphy and typologies developed by archaeologists from assembled data and artifact analysis.  For American Colonial sites, what better resource for determining the date of a feature than a coin; unless of course they are one of the many counterfeit coins either imported or produced in the colonies.  

The early colonists arriving in North America continued to use the British currency rates of pound, shilling and pence. A shortage of small coinage in England in the 17^th century saw the beginning of the use of copper coins with tinplating to replace the more costly silver coins.  Copper coins without the tin- plating were soon being produced by English tradesmen without license from Parliament. They produced coinage with their own names and markings, prompting the adoption of official copper coinage in halfpennies and farthings. King Charles II established monetary increments for coinage and the practice of portraying the monarchy on the coins, the first copper coin was issued in 1672.  The reverse side was reserved for Britannia, the symbol of British strength dating to the Roman conquest in 43 AD and the Latin name for Britain.  

King George I coin, Fort Hunter (36Da159) - (From the collections of the State Museum of Pennsylvania)

The 18^th century saw the reign of George -I, II and III. King George I ruled England from 1714-1727 following the death of his mother Princess Anne. His son, George II reigned from 1727-1760; he died before the end of the Seven Years’ War or the French and Indian War as it was known in the Americas. Following the death of his grandfather, George III ruled from 1760 to 1820, a period which included the end of the Seven Years’ War, the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Official British coinage issued during this period all bore portraits of each of these men.

George II, 1729-1739 (Young face), Fort Hunter (36Da159) - (From the collections of the State Museum of Pennsylvania)

Small copper currency was in high demand in the colonies and a severe shortage of coins had led to the issuing of paper notes by individual colonies in the 18^th century. This paper money was printed to finance loans and enabled commerce without a reliance on British coins but was eventually banned by Parliament. The overvaluation of British coins and the supply shortage led to a surge in the production of counterfeit coins in England.  Counterfeiters would melt the coppers and mix in other metals such as lead, tin and zinc to produce the same size coin but at a lower cost, thus making a profit. Cast counterfeit coins were so prolific in England that by 1753 it was estimated that about half the circulating copper was counterfeit. The large numbers of regal English coppers, sent legally to the colonies, were quickly followed by the counterfeit ones. Commerce was flooded with these counterfeit issues which were accepted by a generally uncritical public whose only concern was that they receive full value for their copper coinage. (Coinage of the American Confederation Period, Mossman, Philip L. Coinage of the Americas Conference at the American Numismatic Society, New York, 1995). 

Philadelphia, August 23d, 1757, Minutes of the Provincial Council

The Pennsylvania Gazette of November 1753 issued a warning regarding the influx of counterfeit English Halfpence “great quantities of which we understand are lately imported”. The copper coins of King George II were last issued in 1754, no copper coins were issued by the Royal Mint until 1770 and were George III coins at that time. This long period without new coinage meant that this earlier coinage, if discovered at an archaeological site should be well worn from heavy use. Cleaning and conservation of coins recovered at Fort Hunter during our investigations is necessary to conduct further research as to their date of issue and potential identification as counterfeit currency.  Counterfeiters were producing coins with the portraits of George facing the opposite direction, missing dates, wrong dates and of varying weights. Anti-counterfeiting laws were enacted but the abundance of counterfeit monies in circulation and being imported made it difficult to control. This continued until the American Revolution when the shortage of copper led to the melting of counterfeit coins and a devaluation of British currency. 

Counterfeit George II, 1757 Fort Morris (36Cu202) - (From the collections of the State Museum of Pennsylvania)

As indicated above, identifying these counterfeit coins could be difficult due to the “crafty” workmanship. Despite efforts to control these counterfeits, they remained in circulation for extended periods and if dates were included, they often were worn and difficult to read.   Archaeologists are dealing with coins that have been exposed to acids in the soil and other factors that impact preservation, often defying identification. In the case of the George coins research of issue dates, weight and size is crucial to identifying the real coins vs. the counterfeits.  The British Museum has assembled much of this data and, with the aid of digitization of collections, we are able to conduct comparative research. The following compiled dates reflects the range of years that the Royal Mint issued coinage for the three George’s.

                                            Halfpenny Coins

George I; issue dates

1717-1718 type 1                1719-1724 type 2

George II

1729-1739 (young face)    1740-1754 (old face)

George III

1770-1775           

Coinage from Camp Security (36Yo46) - (From the collections of the State Museum of Pennsylvania)

The recovery of King George coins on our archeological sites include Native American village sites such as Conestoga Town (36La52) 1690-1763 , French & Indian War sites to include Fort Morris (36Cu202) and Fort Hunter (36Da159), Ephrata Cloister (36La981) a celibate community begun in 1732 and Camp Security (36Yo46) a Revolutionary War Prison Camp. These coins have all contributed to our understanding of the sites on which they were recovered and yes, even those counterfeit coins contribute to the archaeological record and reveal another facet of our past.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about these coins and invite you to visit some of our previous blogs which share images and information of these and other coins.

 

References

Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania (Colony) Provincial council. Minutes. United States: J. Severns, 1851.

Noel Hume, Ivor. A guide to artifacts of colonial America. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated, 2001.

https://coins.nd.edu/; British Coinage Circulating in the Colonies

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection

 

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Celebrating Independence Day

It seemed appropriate to continue with the Philadelphia theme as this weekend we celebrate Independence Day. In 1976 while our nation was celebrating its bicentennial a group of archaeologists excavated a section of old Philadelphia treading in the footsteps of our forefathers. The area was once known as the city’s printing section; housing Benjamin Franklin’s first printing office and where he launched the countries first monthly magazine The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle for all the British Plantations in America.

The excavations were undertaken by Penn DOT due to the construction of an access ramp for traffic between the Penns Landing Development and Market Street over a section of Interstate 95. It included the demolition of structures from Market Street to Church Street and between Front and Second Street, a total of 34 properties. The firm of Abraham Levy Architect, under the direction of Herbert Levy and Charles Hunter, was hired to conduct archaeological salvage prior to demolition. The artifacts recovered from this excavation are varied and prolific spanning the time of Philadelphia’s existence, from its informal founding in 1682 to the structures and debris current to the time of excavation, 1976.

It was in the basements of these structures, under floor boards, brick pavers and concrete that “stains” or features emerged. Many of these features were found to be either privies or wells that had been filled over time with domestic trash; including ceramics, glass stemware and bottles, butchered faunal remains and personal items like smoking pipes, coins and buttons. Using the diagnostic artifacts archaeologists were able to date the wells and the layers within them.

One such well, located at 121-123 (old #37-39) Market Street and sealed about 1760 contained an assemblage of artifacts that ranged from pipe stems to wine glasses, a copper William III half penny (1694-1702) and the remains of over 160 separate ceramic vessels. The ceramics from this feature included a group of slip decorated earthenware. Thanks to the research of Dr. David Orr the origins of these slipware vessels were traced to Staffordshire England; but even more remarkably he was able to establish a link between them and their creator, Samuel Malkin (1688-1741). In his article Samuel Malkin in Philadelphia: a Remarkable Slipware Assemblage, published in the journal Ceramics in America, 2003; Dr. Orr describes Malkin’s unique style of “relief-decorated and press-molded earthenware”. A closer look at Samuel Malkin’s Sun Plate can be had by visiting the second floor Archaeology Gallery of The Pennsylvania State Museum.

Unfortunately due to time and budget constraints at the time of excavation as well as the volume of material recovered only a portion of the artifacts from this Market Street Collection have ever been analyzed. They fall into the category of incredible potential, awaiting a researcher like Dr. David Orr to look a little closer in an effort to put together another puzzle piece of our nation’s amazing heritage.

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Fort Hunter Excavation Update

As the search for the French and Indian War period Fort Hunter continues new discoveries are made daily. As is so often the case with archaeology, these new finds pose more questions than they answer. While no structural evidence that can be definitively identified as belonging to the fort has been found, fort period artifacts are being recovered, such as fragments of tin-glazed earthenware, Whieldon ware and plain salt-glazed stoneware.

By far the most exciting find to date this season is that of a George I halfpenny dated 1724, recovered from what is being interpreted as the builder’s trench of the west wall of the ice house in the back yard of the mansion. Historic documents reference an ice house being built in 1794, however, the dimensions cited do not agree with the current structure. The halfpenny and mid-eighteenth century ceramics suggest this structure may be earlier than previously thought.

Additionally, it appears that the builder’s trench for the well feature intrudes into the ice house’s builder’s trench, indicating a later date of construction. The possibility of the well feature relating to the fort still exists, depending of course on the construction date of the ice house which is currently in question.

Further complicating the interpretation of the site, prehistoric finds continue to be made in the main excavation block. Feature 29 in particular, with the exception of two cut nail fragments has produced exclusively prehistoric material such as scores of chert, jasper and rhyolite debitage, as well as a dozen small fragments of quartz tempered, cordmarked ceramic sherds.

The excavation will continue for the next two weeks as part of the celebration of October as Archaeology Month in Pennsylvania. Sunday October 4th marks Indian Festival Day at Fort Hunter Park, and among the many activities and exhibits, archaeologists will be on hand to answer questions about the ongoing excavation. The dig site is open to the public, Monday through Friday 9 AM to 4 PM, and volunteer sheets are available for those wishing to assist us in our search for the fort at Fort Hunter Park.

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Silver Trime

Archaeologists are commonly asked the questions, “Have you found any dinosaurs?”, or “Did you find any gold?” Any field technician worth his or her weight in gold will hopefully correct the inquisitor, by first stating that archaeologists don’t dig for dinosaurs, paleontologists do. As for the matter of gold, such a valuable commodity is normally guarded very closely by its owner and hence rarely finds its way into the archaeological record, the exceptions being extraordinary sites such as a sunken pirate ship or a pharaoh’s tomb. Sadly, sites such as these, the vast majority of archaeologists will never have the occasion to excavate.

Now silver, on the other hand, is more of a working man’s precious metal and its appearance on archaeological sites often, but not exclusively, in the form of currency, acts as an indicator of the general population’s interaction with the material.
Believed to be the only example in the State Museum of PA’s Section of Archaeology collection of over 4 million artifacts, depicted here is an 1852 US three cent piece. Combining the suffix tri (for three) and dime, the coin was nicknamed the “trime”. Minted in Philadelphia and composed of 75% silver, 25% copper, it is the smallest silver coin produced in the United States and weighs just eight tenths of a gram.

This coin has survived in amazing condition when one considers it was recovered from a subsurface context in relative close proximity to an active stream channel. Excavated from Montgomery County prior to bridge replacement activities conducted by PennDoT, this “trime” is a welcome addition to the collection and represents just one of a dizzying array of sizes and unusual denominations that seem to be characteristic of 19th century American coinage.

For additional information on US coins see:
www.usmint.gov/
A Guide Book of United States Coins 2009 by R.S. Yeoman

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Fort Morris Find of the Day: Colonial Period Coin

On Wednesday, Museum staff joined the hunt for Fort Morris in Shippensburg, PA.

Excavations have previously uncovered ceramics, musket balls and gun parts and flints dating to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. The first coin was found this week. It is copper half-penny in relatively poor condition. However, the left facing figure with a laurel wreath crown (King George II) on one side of the coin and the outline of Lady Columbia on the other side, indicate that it is probably a King George II half-penny. These coins were produced from 1727-1763, three years after the King’s death, yet the last printed date on coins themselves was frozen at 1754.

Fort Morris was one of many military posts commissioned during the French and Indian War to protect the British colonial western frontier. Historical documents tell us that Col. James Byrd directed the fort’s construction in 1755 and that it was maintained as a military post through 1764. It is possible that early settlers in the Shippensburg area squatted in the Fort’s interior buildings after this time.

But by the late 1800s, it is believed that all documented structural remnants of the original Fort—its fortifications consisting of a stockade wall with four corner bastions, its associated buildings, and water well—had been abandoned and removed. The land was farmed and eventually reclaimed as a residential plot by the growing borough. Subsequently, the exact location of the Fort became obscured and confused in local lore and history.

Stephen Warfel, former Senior Curator of The State Museum is conducting his second field season on the most likely of three locations speculated to be the original site of Fort Morris.

Last year, Warfel’s crew of local volunteers and Shippensburg University students tested this location with the permission and invaluable assistance of the landowner. They recovered numerous Fort Period artifacts and evidence of sub-surface features that could be portions of fortification or building trenches associated with the Fort.


This year, the crew is opening a large block excavation to further investigate these features. They hope that when larger areas are exposed, the outlines of these pits and trenches will match a historic drawing of Fort Morris found in the archives of the British Library. They also continue to collect associated artifacts that will either collaborate or disprove the use of this location as a French and Indian War Period military site. Until then, the hunt for Fort Morris continues…

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .