On June 10, 1652, the Massachusetts General Court authorized the first mint in North America, appointing silversmiths John Hull and Robert Sanderson to strike silver coins. The colony faced a severe shortage of hard currency, and local leaders believed that minting their own money was essential for stable trade. The resulting pine tree shillings became some of the most recognizable coins in early American history.
Because English law reserved the right to mint currency to the Crown, the Massachusetts mint was technically illegal. To avoid provoking royal scrutiny, the colony stamped all its coins with the date “1652,” the year of authorization, and kept that date unchanged for decades. The coins served both as practical currency and as a quiet assertion of colonial autonomy.
