FYI- A little history about US coins.
A man named John Hull and his assistant Robert Saunderson ran the first mint in Boston which was called The Massachusetts Bay Colony mint. At that time the Colonies were ruled by England and most of the minting they did consisted of silver shillings or coins which held a value of twelve pence. While most of the American colonies were ruled by England, they ran their governments according to the charters granted to them by England’s king. Some of the charters were permitted to manufacture coins although most did not. The Massachusetts Bay Colony challenged the prohibition and when England was temporarily without a king in 1652, they set up their own mint in the city of Boston. The Massachusetts Mint produced not only the silver shillings but also smaller silver coins. These smaller coins held smaller values of six, three and two pence. By 1660, England had a new king who was not so keen on the idea of his colonies having their own mints. He desired exclusive rights to the coin industry. Of course, the Colonists found a way around the king's claim by maintaining the same year on newly minted coins. This tactic deceived the king into believing they no longer minted the coins; rather, only circulated those previously minted. Because of this, except for the twopence pieces, which carried the date 1662, all of the coins minted during those Colonial days in Boston were dated 1652 despite the fact that they were minted yearly. This continued for thirty years.
No comments:
Post a Comment