Coinage at French & Indian War Sites in Northern New York State

Summary

Archaeology conducted by SUNY Adirondack and Plymouth State University at British military sites located along the Hudson River and in Lake George, New York, has recovered much colonial coinage that will be summarized here.

Twenty-five years of excavations at British military encampments dating to the French & Indian War in northern New York State has revealed that mid-18th-century commerce was conducted with a combination of British and Spanish currency--a mixture of low-denomination English copper coins and nearly equal numbers of Spanish silver coins.  While only a thin scattering of coins has been found at British hut, tent and barracks sites, the buying and selling that went on in business establishments--sutling houses and taverns--required that coins be used with far greater frequency, leaving behind a far richer archaeological record.  Colonial coinage will be discussed from several 1750s' contexts, revealing a lively cash economy at some of these sites.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Numismatic Archaeology of North America - Contributions, Progress, and Prospects   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 109