Metropolitan Museum, NYC
Public Domain
Title: Shilling

Maker: John Hull (1624–1683)

Maker: Robert Sanderson Sr. (ca. 1608–1693)

Date: ca. 1667–ca. 1682

Geography: Made in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Culture: American

Medium: Silver

Dimensions: 1 3/16 in., 4.68 Grams (3 cm, 3.009 dwt)

Credit Line: Bequest of Alphonso T. Clearwater, 1933

Accession Number: 33.120.377

In 1652 John Hull and Robert Sanderson were appointed mint masters for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Established in response to a chronic shortage of hard currency and the need for a reliable and efficient medium of exchange, the mint was operated by Hull and Sanderson for thirty years. During that period, it produced coins of various denominations and designs, ranging from a simple NE (for “New England”) to a willow, oak, or pine tree encircled by beading; virtually all examples, however, were dated 1652.