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"STUDIES ON JOHN HULL, THE MINT AND THE 
ECONOMICS OF MASSACHUSETTS COINAGE."

by Lou Jordan

Table of Contents

Editor’s Foreword by Philip L. Mossman......................................................................................................................xi
Introduction by Michael Hodder..................................................................................................................................xiii
Preface..............................................................................................................................................................................xv

Part One - John Hull and the Massachusetts Mint

  Chapter 1 - The Hull and Sanderson Homesteads and the Location of the Massachusetts Mint......................1
     The family and homestead of Robert Hull
     John Hull is promised the homestead
     John Hull inherits the homestead
     The homestead at John Hull’s death
     John Hull’s Boston properties
     Hull’s shop and its relationship to the mint
     Contemporary references to the mint house
     Citations to the mint house from 1652
     Citations to the minting facilities from the 1660’S
     Robert Sanderson and his homestead

Addendum - Massachusetts Bay Colonists Named John Hull................................................................................18
     John Hull of Dorchester
     John Hull of Newbury

Chapter 2 - The Personal Ledger of John Hull and the Shop Account from 1671 to 1680..............................20
     The personal ledger of John Hull
     The shop account

Part Two - The Massachusetts Mint and British Politics

Chapter 3 - The Massachusetts Mint and British Politics after the Restoration..............................................27
     The 1652 backdating hypothesis
     Presuppositions
     Post-Restoration relations with Massachusetts Bay: 1660-1666
     Renewed interest in Massachusetts Bay: the complaints of 1675-1677
     The pronouncements of 1677
     A reversal of fortune: 1678-1684
     From the abolition of the charter to Queen Anne’s proclamation: 1684-1704 
     British opposition to the mint in Massachusetts Bay: a summary

Part Three - The Economics of Massachusetts Silver Coinage

Chapter 4 - Mint Charges in Massachusetts Bay..................................................................................................46
     The debate over mint fees in 1652
     Hull’s application of the mint fees
     Later reductions of the mint fees
     A comparison of mint fees in Massachusetts and England

Chapter 5 - Coin Weight at the Massachusetts Mint............................................................................................54
     Coin weight as expressed in the legislation of May 26/27‚ 1652
     The mint committee wastage allowance of June 20‚ 1652
     Production issues and the application of the wastage allowance
     Actual wastage and the average coin weight from the mint production records  

Chapter 6 - The Relative Value of Massachusetts and British Silver Coinage...............................................64
      Fineness and weight: the “new” sterling alloy and the two pence per shilling reduction mentioned
              in the 1652 Mint Act
     Sterling fineness‚ debasements and coin weight
     The “two pence” reduction in Massachusetts Bay
     The 22.5% and 25% differentials

Part Four - Production Issues

Chapter 7 - Minting Procedures in Massachusetts Bay......................................................................................74
     The London mint during the 1660’s
     Consignment acceptance at the Massachusetts Mint
     Assaying silver in the seventeenth century
     Production issues in the Massachusetts Bay Mint Act: the shape of the coins and privy marks
     Processing consignments at Massachusetts Bay
     Minting coinage in 1652
     The acquisition of a coining press
     Modifications in production methods during the rocker press period
     Technological change at the Massachusetts Mint during the late 1660’s            

Chapter 8 - Consignments at the Massachusetts Bay Mint.................................................................................95
     Interpreting the consignment evidence in Hull’s ledger
     Mint consignments in Hull’s ledger

Chapter 9 - Estimated Mint Productivity as Reflected in the Hull Ledger......................................................102
     Productivity rates found in ledger entries: the consignment of January 1679
     Productivity rates found in ledger entries: the consignment of August 1680
     The number of days spent minting coins from October 1671 through September 1680
     Silver shortages at the Massachusetts Mint in the 1670’s

Chapter 10 - Consignment Turnaround Time at the Massachusetts Bay Mint.............................................118
     Lord Culpepper’s complaint
     Turnaround time from the consignments in Hull’s ledger
     Expediting larger consignments
     The turnaround time for orders during Lord Culpepper’s stay in Boston                     

Chapter 11 - The Size of a Melt and its Relation to Production Runs at the Massachusetts Bay Mint....124
     A sterling melt at the London mint in the 1660’s
     The estimated size of a melt at the Massachusetts Bay Mint
     The disposition of odd lots

Chapter 12 - John Hull and Robert Sanderson as Silversmiths and Coiners...............................................128
     Hull as an apprentice
     Hull and Sanderson as silversmiths
     Hull as a soldier‚ politician and entrepreneur
     Hull and Sanderson at the shop
     Apprentices and journeymen at the shop
                                1652-1660
                                1660-1665
                                1665-1675
                                1675-1683

Chapter 13 - Other Individuals Mentioned in Connection with the Massachusetts  Coining Operation..140
     John Mansfield
     Joseph Jenks

Part Five - The Eight Reales and its Value in Britain and Massachusetts Bay

Chapter 14 - The Significance of the Eight Reales Cob Coinage in Massachusetts Bay............................148
     British restrictions on exporting silver and gold
     Spanish and Spanish American coinage in the seventeenth century

Chapter 15 - The Intrinsic Value of the Spanish Real and the Eight Reales.................................................151
     The origin of the real
     The intrinsic value of Spanish and Spanish American eight reales in the seventeenth century

Chapter 16 - The Eight Reales in England..........................................................................................................156
     The sixteenth century
     The Proclamation of May 14‚ 1612
     The debasement debate of 1626
     Lightweight eight reales in the southwestern counties‚ 1644
     Rates for eight reales during the Commonwealth
     The Restoration
     Eight reales in Ireland
     The recoinage of William III and the value of the eight reales in England
     Newton’s assays
    The exportation of silver and the use of the eight reales as a bullion substitute in late seventeenth
           and eighteenth century England

Chapter 17 - The Valuation of the Eight Reales and the Price of Silver in Massachusetts Bay..............167
     The Massachusetts Bay tax rate of 1640
     The crying-up of silver
     The relative rates of Massachusetts and Spanish silver
     Spanish silver is rated above Massachusetts silver
     Spanish silver is reduced to parity with Massachusetts silver
     The eight reales at 72d (6s)
     The eight reales in Massachusetts following the Proclamation of 1704
     Spanish silver priced as a commodity in eighteenth century Massachusetts

Appendix I:  Transcription and Commentary of the Shop Account‚ 1671-1680...............................179
     Section one: 1671-1676
     Section two: 1677-1678
     Section three: 1679-1680
    Addenda

Appendix II: A Chronological Listing of Documents and 
     Events Relating to the Massachusetts Mint.................................................................................................217

Figures....................................................................................................................................................................284

Postscript on a Newly Discovered NE/Willow Overstrike............................................................................322

Bibliography of Works Cited.............................................................................................................................327

Index........................................................................................................................................................................337