Hull Mint Plaque Dedication

John Adams of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club, center,
and author Louis Jordan, right; Brian LeMay, left.

In the fall of 2008, the Boston Historical Society and the Colonial Coin Collectors Club unveiled a plaque on the Macy's Building near the location of the Hull Mint – America's first mint.

The homestead of Robert Hull, designated F60, is shown at right. John Hull eventually inherited his father's property and historians believe it became the site of Hull's Mint. Detail of homestead lots in Boston between 1645-1648 were listed in The Book of Possessions and later plotted onto a map by William Appleton and William Whitmore in the 1800s. (Map: John Hull, the Mint and the Economics of Massachusetts Coinage by Louis Jordan)

The Hull Mint: "Near this site stood the first mint in the British colonies of North America. Prior to 1652, the Massachusetts financial system was based on bartering and foreign coinage. The scarcity of coin currency was a problem for the growth of the New England economy. On May 27, 1652, the Massachusetts General Court appointed John Hull, a local silversmith, to be Boston's mint master without notifying or seeking permission from the British government. The Hull Mint produced several denominations of silver coinage, including the famous silver pine tree shilling, for over 30 years until the political and economic situation made operating the mint no longer practical."