Sommer Islands Shilling, VF20
The First Coinage Struck in the New World

(1615-16) SHILNG Sommer Islands Shilling, Small Sail VF20 PCGS. Heritage has auctioned only one other Hogge shilling in the past 15 years--a Small Sails version in 1993. Sommer Islands coinage is among the most coveted of Colonial coinage, not only because of its significant rarity, but also because, as pointed out in the Guide Book, these coins were "the first struck for the English colonies in America."
When Jamestown began to suffer from an epidemic, lack of good food and pure water in 1608, a "Relief Fleet" was dispatched to the colony. This fleet was separated by a severe storm and one of the ships sought refuge in what was then known as "The Isle of the Devils." The sailors who landed on Bermuda found it was not quite the Isle of the Devils it had been purported to be. In fact, they found abundant sources for food (particularly wild hogs) and palmetto leaves that were used for thatching cabins. Eventually Sir George Somers made two smaller ships out of the one that had initially landed. Those ships were sent to Jamestown, where they were greeted enthusiastically by the colonists who were near starvation by this time.
The Virginia Company soon included the Bermudas, but this was short-lived and in 1615 King James I granted a royal charter "for the plantation of the Somers Islands." This short time between the arrival of the remainder of the Relief Fleet and the 1615 royal charter is the period of origin of Hogge Money as a part of United States coinage.
Hogge Money was intended only as a local currency and its value was tied entirely to the finances of the Bermuda Company. Proper coinage was promised to the early colonists but it did not arrive until May 1616. In the interim "base coyne" in the form of what is known today as "Hogge Money" or "Sommer Islands" coinage, was sent from England on a supply ship, and depicted a wild swine on one side and a ship on the other. The disdain the colonists held for the Hogge Money was deduced by the discovery of 19 pieces at Castle Island in 1993. A previously unknown defensive ditch of the fort was excavated. It was found to be filled with domestic refuse that dated no later than the 1650s. At the bottom of the ditch the Hogge Money was found. At a Numismatic Theater presentation at the 2002 ANA, these findings were presented and along with contemporary accounts of the disdain the colonists felt for the base metal pieces, it was concluded that when good money arrived from England the soldiers threw their Hogge Money into the refuse dump. Undoubtedly an inauspicious beginning for one of the rarest and most coveted coins associated with the U.S. series, but as we all know history often paints a very different and more interesting picture than any fiction could.
Almost all Hogge Money is corroded. This is to be expected since Bermuda is, of course, an island and the entire land mass is never far from the sea. Of the coins ever available on the market, the question is only what degree of corrosion is acceptable to the collector. This piece has even, light corrosion over each side, and the surfaces are glossy, even chocolate-brown overall. Most of the main features are easily distinguishable. The only exception is the top of the hog's body. This is undoubtedly from the method of manufacture. These pieces were struck from the ancient hammer method of coining. The lower die was fixed to an anvil with the upper die held with a pair of tongs. The blank disc was inserted between the two and the striking force used was a heavy sledge hammer. While this method was popular and easy, it was notorious for producing poorly struck and uneven coins. Considering the method of manufacture, this piece is remarkably well detailed. The serious collector of early U.S. coins should consider this attractive example of one of the few remnants of the first coinage produced in the New World. Listed on page 34 of the 2009 Guide Book, where it is valued at $68,000 in VF. Please visit the Heritage Web site at www.ha.com for a video about this lot.
Recently acquired by the consignor from an undisclosed English Collection. (#6)

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