John Hull, the Mint and the Economics of Massachusetts Coinage

Three hundred and fifty years ago, on September 1, 1652, John Hull and Robert Sanderson officially opened the Massachusetts Bay Mint in Boston, issuing the first coins produced in what is now the United States. The initial issue consisted of simple round planchets with NE punched on the obverse and the denomination on the reverse. These silver coins are highly prized by collectors, as can be seen in the prices realized from Stack's auction of the Hain Family Collection of Massachusetts Silver in January 2002. In celebration of the 350th anniversary of the opening of the mint, the Colonial Coin Collectors Club published John Hull: the Mint and the Economics of Massachusetts Coinage: an interpretation of original sources, resulting in a comprehensive history of the Massachusetts Mint from its founding in 1652. Using the surviving ledger of John Hull, Louis Jordan discusses production at the minte investigating minting techniques, productivity and the profitability of the enterprise. Jordan also examines the political and economic factors that contributed to the rise and prosperity of the mint as well as the factors that led to its closing. The book also includes a commentary with illustrations on a discovery first announced by Stack's in May of 2002 regarding an NE shilling that was overstruck as a Willow Treee of which both the understrike and overstrike represent newly identified reverse dies.