From Pine Tree Shillings to Creator Coins: What Old Currencies Teach Us About Social Media Commerce ??
Ah, money. It’s not just pieces of paper or shiny coins; it’s the lifeblood of economies, the ultimate influencer. But like every TikTok trend, currencies can rise, peak, and fade into obscurity. (RIP Pine Tree Shilling, gone but never forgotten ????). As a follow-up to my Alaexander Hamilton article = inbox requesting more, and as we look back on long-forgotten U.S. currencies like the $10,000 note, fractional currency, and Hawaii overprint bills, we can’t help but draw parallels to today’s creator content ecosystem and social media commerce. After all, just like those historical bills, the way money moves today through Instagram ads and TikTok shoutouts is undergoing its own transformation. This article dives into how seemingly disconnected eras—one marked by silver coins stamped with tree designs, the other by hashtags and creator coins—might actually share some uncanny similarities. Buckle up, because we're about to mint some new connections. ??
Money’s Glow-Up: From Pine Trees to Digital Seas In the 1650s, Massachusetts Bay Colony faced a shortage of coin currency and dropped a mic...er, a mint with the Pine Tree Shilling. This scrappy solution wasn’t just about economics; it was about independence. They essentially said, “We don’t need foreign coins telling us who we are.” ???? Fast forward to now, and we’re witnessing a similar boldness in the creator economy, where social media platforms have become states of their own, minting new ways to move money at an astonishing pace. ??Take creator coins and TikTok’s monetization tools as an example. Once, we needed cash to pay for goods (remember that?), but today, cash feels irrelevant in the creator ecosystem. Now it’s “Let me Venmo you,” “Join my Patreon,” or “Buy my digital collectible NFT.” Like the Pine Tree Shilling, these systems signify burgeoning independence from traditional financial norms. And they raise the same question colonists faced long ago—what happens when economies within economies start minting their own money?
When Money Moves Like Memes ?? → ?? → ?? Back in the day, the U.S. had banknotes like the $500 and $1,000 bills, which were discontinued due to lack of use. (Who seriously needed $10,000 cash in their pocket? A Bond villain? ?????). Similarly, some tools in creator commerce—like QR code payments during live-streamed shopping—might thrive today, but we can already feel the sands shifting. Not everything sticks. (Hello, Clubhouse. ??) The key takeaway? Trends in how money moves, whether through paper currency or digital platforms, always follow a cycle: introduce → explode → normalize → replace. Think fractional currency and Pine Tree Shillings versus memes monetized through ad partnerships today. What worked in one era becomes obsolete in the next, not because it failed but because something more efficient came along. And we might already be in the golden age of social media commerce—before regulation tightens or the excitement wanes
“Wait, Are We in the Olden Era of Social Commerce?” ?? If the transition from colonial coinage to U.S. dollars was bumpy, social commerce is the 2025 version of that chaos. Social platforms are de facto nation-states, each with its rules. Today, you’re buying lipstick on Instagram Reels; tomorrow, you might buy groceries via a creator’s AI-driven content platform. Thus, much like the Hawaii overprint notes of WWII (prepared for an “invasion" that never came), platforms today are scrambling to prepare for what comes next. Is it the dominance of Web3 and blockchain? Or will the current craze fizzle out, turning today’s tools into dusty historical references? ??
The more relevant question is: Who controls this ecosystem? ?? Much like how colonial governments, and later the federal government, debated who could issue currency, we’re debating whose rules apply to creator commerce. Traditional banks vs. PayPal. Instagram DMs vs. Shopify sites. Legacy media vs. an 18-year-old TikToker with an iPhone and a ring light (who, let’s face it, is winning). ???? ??
Thought Experiment: Is Social Media the New Gold Standard? Old currencies like the $10,000 note still hold legal tender status but are now collector’s items. Similarly, older social media platforms (or tools) may still work on paper but lose relevance over time. Have we already minted too many ways to monetize creators? Are we at risk of overwhelming consumers with too many choices—from Click-to-Buy to Patreon exclusives? And what kind of regulation should we expect as the economic impact of the creator community hits trillions in value? ??
The Creator Economy’s Currency Continues to Evolve ?? Here’s the kicker: the creator content ecosystem is young and chaotic. It’s a bit like paper money in the early U.S.—you know it’ll be important, but no one really knows what it’ll look like five years from now. Just like the $10,000 notes that were printed up until 1945 but became relics shortly thereafter, some social commerce strategies today might be obsolete before they find mainstream adoption. The beauty of this chaos is that it points to opportunity. Whether it's rethinking the role of centralized institutions like banks or reimagining how value flows in a creator-driven world, there’s no shortage of possibilities to explore. ??
Final Question: What's the Next Pine Tree Shilling? ???? So, dear reader, are we in the early days of a fully independent creator economy? What’s the equivalent of the Hawaii overprint note for platforms like Instagram or TikTok? History shows us that every currency system, brick-and-mortar or digital, eventually evolves. Are you ready to be part of the revolution, or are you sitting on your $10,000 bill, waiting for its value to skyrocket? (Spoiler: It’s already too late for that.) ??
Keep the content flowing,
Ezra
#socialmedia #ecommerce #creatorcontent #historyof money