Chronological Listing of Documents and Events relating to the Massachusetts Mint

by Louis Jordan

August 22, 1642 - The culmination of several years of conflict between the Crown and the House of Commons occurred on January 4, 1642 when King Charles I unsuccessfully attempted to enter Parliament to arrest five members of the house and their ally Lord Edward Kimbolton, the Earl of Manchester. The King's disregard for parliamentary authority precipitated a strong anti-royalist reaction throughout the city. Six days later the king vacated London and started gathering allies throughout the countryside. On August 22nd Charles raised the Royal Standard at Nottingham and began issuing Commissions of Array to recruit soldiers into a Royalist army, inaugurating a long period of civil war.

January 27, 1649 - Following the capture of King Charles by the Parliamentary forces, the monarch was brought to London and put on trial. On this day the Lord President of the Court, John Bradshaw, pronounced the verdict that, "the said Charles Stuart, as a tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy to the good people this nation, shall be put to death by the severing of his head from his body." (Prall, p. 192). Two days later, on Monday, January 29th the king's death warrant was issued, only 59 of the 135 commissioners named to sit in judgement of the king actually signed the warrant. The execution took place on Tuesday, January 30, 1649 at 2:00 P.M.

May 19, 1649 - During the first half of 1649 Britain was transformed from a monarchy into a republic. On March 16th Parliament abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords. Two months later, on May 19th, the nation was declared to be a Commonwealth governed by a Parliament consisting of a single chamber and an executive branch called the Council of the State with John Bradshaw as President and Oliver Cromwell as the First Chairman. On April 26, 1653 the Puritan military commander Cromwell dissolved the sitting Parliament, known as the Rump Parliament, and had a new Parliament installed consisting of his Puritan supporters. This new Parliament, known as the Little or Barebones Parliament, first assembled on July 4, 1653. On December 16, 1653 a new constitution was promulgated by the Parliament called, "The Instrument of Government." Article 33 of the document stated, "That Oliver Cromwell, Captain General of the forces of England, Scotland and Ireland, shall be, and is hereby declared to be, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and the dominions thereto belonging, for his life." (Prall, p. 260) With this action the government of the Commonwealth became known as the Proctectorate. During the entire Commonwealth era (May 19, 1649 - March 16, 1660) British colonies, and especially the Puritan Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bay, were freer to assert rights and liberties without fear of transgressing royal prerogatives or privileges.

[late 1651 or early 1652] - An order was issued by the Massachusetts Bay General Court to have silver coins, which were predominantly Spanish American cobs, stamped. The details of the legislation are unknown, possibly a stamp or mark was to be put on full weight examples, as was later proposed by the House of Deputies on June 2, 1669. The order has been lost and is only known indirectly, as it was mentioned in the preamble of an undated draft of the legislation to establish a mint. According to the preamble this order was recent but had never been put into practice because it was controversial and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bay could not find anyone who would stamp the coins, so the order was to become void on the first of September. The wording was:

"fforasmuch as the new order about money is not well Resented [that is, not well received] by the people and full of difficultjes, and unlikely to take effect in regard no persons are found willing to try & stampe the same, the sajd Order is Repealed.

1. The Courte therefore Ordereth & enacteth that the printed order about mony shall be in force vntill the first of Seauenth month next and no longer." (Crosby p. 34 also p. 31, footnote 1 for Resented as received. Click on the link for a scan of the preamble and first point from the draft a 150 ppi color image at 1.08M.)

[1652] - A committee of the Massachusetts Bay General Court produced an undated draft of an act to establish a mint in Boston, mentioned in the previous entry. The final form of the draft reflects the legislation passed by the General Court, with only minor modifications regarding spelling and the use of punctuation, abbreviations and capitalization. From revisions and deletions made to this draft document we can determine some of the issues that were discussed and revised. At the request of the House of Deputies the entire preamble, discussed above, was deleted from the draft. The deletion consisted of the first three lines of text, which were crossed out with an X (see the image linked in the previous entry).

The draft stated a mint would be established in Boston where plate and foreign silver coinage would be melted to produce 12d, 6d and 3d silver coins at the British sterling standard (a fineness of .925) but that were lighter in weight than the British standard. The weight of a Massachusetts shilling was precisely defined at, "three penny troj weight." This is exactly 72 grains, as a pennyweight in the troy scale equals 24 grains. Based on the English standard of 92.9 grains per shilling, Massachusetts silver was almost exactly 22.5% underweight. Massachusetts Bay minted silver at 80d (6s8d) per troy ounce of sterling silver while in England a troy ounce of silver was minted into 62d (5s2d) of coins.

The act stated that on the first of September Massachusetts silver was to become legal tender along with English coinage. The two coinages were to be the only current money in the Commonwealth, unless the receiver consented to accept other coinage. However, in daily commerce foreign silver continued to be a significant part of the economy while English silver was rarely encountered. John Hull was named mint master. The design for the coinage was specified as being a flat, square planchet with NE stamped on one side and the denomination on the other side but this was revised to a round shape in the document discussed below dated to June 11th. In order to deter counterfeiting the legislation also called for the coins to have a secret privy mark assigned by the Governor that was to be changed every three months. The mark was to be known only by the Governor and the sworn officers of the mint. It appears this provision was disregarded and that privy marks were never used. Also, a minting charge was established at 12d (1s) per 20s of coins produced; this charge had originally been 18d (1s6d), stated as, "one shilling six pence out of euery twenty shillings" but the six pence was blotted out at the request of the House of Deputies. However, the fees were increased on June 20 from 12d to 15d per 20s coined with a wastage allowance added, bringing the total back to 18d per 20s. It was also legislated that anyone bringing silver to the mint house could be present when the silver was refined to sterling. The customer would then be given a receipt for the weight of the sterling silver. On a prearranged future date the customer would return to exchange the receipt for the coins produced from that sterling, minus the minting charges.

Additionally, a committee was formed to expedite the implementation of the act. Members of the committee with their position in the General Court as of the elections of May 1652 follow: Richard Bellingham, one of the ten Assistants; William Hibbens (or Hibbins), another of the Assistants; Edward Rawson, Secretary to the General Court, and from the House of Deputies, Captain John Leveret and Lieutenant Thomas Clarke, who were the two elected Deputies representing Boston. [The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts consisted of the House of Magistrates and the House of Deputies. In 1652 the House of Magistrates included Governor John Endicot, Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley and ten Assistants who sat on the Governor's Council. The Assistants performed various official duties such as travelling to the counties where they served as judges for the quarterly sessions of the local courts. All the positions were elected annually. The House of Deputies was composed of representatives annually elected from each of the towns throughout the Commonwealth.] (Crosby, pp. 34-35; Shurtleff, vol. 3, pp. 258-259 and vol. 4, pt. 1, pp. 76-77.)

Click here for a facsimile and a transcription of the undated draft mint act.

[1652] - When John Hull began keeping a diary* he added several entries covering the period from his birth up to that time. His entry for 1648 continued directly into 1652 without any mention of 1649-1651. Under the entry for 1648 he explained that he had been selected as a corporal under the command of Major Gibbons on about the 29th of May 1648. He continued with a reference to a promotion to the rank of sergeant in 1652 and then moved immediately into that year. The end of the entry for 1648 and the full entry for 1652 are as follows:

"...After, when the town divided their one military company into four, I was chosen to be (and accepted) a sergeant, upon the 28th of the 4th month, 1652 [the fourth month was June].

1652. Also upon the occasion of much counterfeit coin brought in the country, and much loss accruing in that respect (and that did occasion a stoppage of trade), the General Court ordered a mint to be set up, and to coin it, bringing it to the sterling standard for fineness, and for weight every shilling to be three pennyweight; i.e. 9d at 5s per ounce. And they made choice of me for that employment; and I chose my friend, Robert Sanderson, to be my partner, to which the Court consented."

May 26, 1652 - The act to establish a mint in Boston was approved in the House of Magistrates of the Massachusetts Bay General Court. The legislation was essentially the same as the draft except the entire preamble found in the draft was deleted from the final act. To expedite the implementation of this legislation the act enjoined the mint committee:

"to Appoint the mint howse in some Convenjent place in Boston to Give John Hull master of the mint the oath suiteable to his place, and to Approove of all other officers and determine what else shall appeare to them as necessarily to be donne for the Carrying an end of the whole order. " (Crosby, pp. 36-37, Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 1, pp. 84-85)

May 27, 1652 - The act to establish a mint in Boston was approved in the House of Deputies of the Massachusetts Bay General Court. The spelling and capitalization differed somewhat from the Magistrates version but the wording was similar. The final phrase in the Deputies version also appeared in the draft version but was missing from the Magistrates copy of the act (this section of the draft version is quoted in the accompanying studies in the section on "Contemporary References to the Mint House"). The passage in the Deptuies version enjoining the mint committee to expedite the act is given here for comparison with the quote in the previous entry:

"to appoynt the mint howse in some Convenient place in Boston to giue John Hull master of the mint the oath suteable to his place & to approue of all other Officers & determine what else shall appeare to them as Necessary to be done for the Carying an End of the whole order, & that all other Orders concerning the Valuation or coyning of money past this court shalbe repealed. " (Crosby, pp. 37-38, Shurtleff, vol. 3, pp. 261-262 and Clarke, Hull, pp. 58-59)

Click here for a transcription of the May 27, 1652 mint act, as passed by the House of Deputies.

June 1, 1652 - There is no record of the specific day on which the 1652 spring session of the General Court finally adjourned, however the last recorded date in the session was Saturday June 1st. Following the close of the session the mint committee continued to carry out their assignment of expediting the mint act of May 26/27. The General Court was not able to officially vote approving the mint committee's actions until the fall session, which started on October 19, 1652. (Crosby, p. 42)

June 10-11, 1652 - A mint committee document dated "Boston : 11: June. 1652" recorded the oath of office created for the deposition of the mintmasters and delcared a revision to the shape of the coinage as described in the mint act passed by the General Court. The document stated, "Itt is Ordered that the Oath here vnde^r written shall be the oath that John Hull and Robt Saunderson shall take as aequall office^rs In the minting of mony &c." The oath then began as follows:

"Whereas yo^w : John Hull and Robert Saunderson are Appointed by the order of the Gennerall Courte bearing date the 10^th of June 1652. to be officers for the massachusetts Jurisdiction in New England, for the melting, Refyning, and Coining of silver..."

The second item in this document, on the change in the shape of the coinage, which is explained below, clearly indicates the General Court was no longer in session. Thus, the statement at the start of the oath that the General Court produced an order on June 10th appointing the mintmasters to their office is somewhat misleading as the General Cout was no longer in session. Rather, it seems the statement in the oath should be interpreted as meaning that the May 26/27th act of the General Court had given the mint committee the power to administer the oath and to officially appoint individuals to the mint on behalf of the General Court. It would be more accurate to state the mint committee on behalf of the General Court produced the June 10th order. The specific date on which Hull actually took the oath of of office is also problematic. The text states the order of appointment bears the date of June 10th but the mint committee document recording the deposition of the oath is dated June 11th. Possibly the committee sent out an order to Hull and to Sanderson on June 10th stating they could present themselves to be sworn into office and thus officially become appointed as officers of the Commonwealth. A marginal note beside the oath, added by Edward Rawson, the Secretary of the General Court and a member of the mint committee, stated " Jo: Hull depos^d accordingly y^e Same day before ye Comittee. E. R S : Rob^t Saunderson deposed 19 6mo 52:" Thus, is seems Hull appeared before the committee to take the oath on either the tenth, which would have been the same day an order was issued, or, what seems more likely, that he came to swear his oath on the eleventh, which was the date on the committee document recording the event, while Sanderson waited until August 19th to be sworn into office.

Below the oath a paragraph was added stating that although the act passed by the General Court called for the coinage to be "flatt and square" the committee determined the shape of the coins should be changed and the minters should produce coins, "in A Round forme till the Gennerall Courte shall otherwise declare their minds." This document is cited by Crosby as Massachusetts Archives, Pec. vol. c, p. 40 and is reproduced in facsimile as the top half of the plate opposite page 41. The back side of this sheet of paper contains the mint committee's action of June 20, 1652. (Crosby, pp. 41 and 43, also facsimile opposite p. 41 and Clarke, Hull, pp. 59-60)

[June 1652] - An undated and incomplete draft of a mint committee action to erect a mint house and increase the minting fee, for which the final committee version also exists. The final version, which was signed by the committee members on June 20, 1652, has some revised wording but is substantially the same as the draft. This undated draft is signed, "John Hull mintmaster" also, in the hand of Edward Rawson, Secretary of the General Court, is "Robert Saunderson, his copartner." In the margin are the signatures of Simon Bradstreet and John Woodbridge. The Bradstreet and Woodbridge signatures had to have been added at a later date as Woodbridge was in England from 1647-1663. These two signatures may have been added in 1683 following the expiration of the final minting contract in June of 1682 (see the June 20th entry below for details of the content of the document and the entry under May 16, 1683 for the Bradstreet and Woodbridge signatures).

On the other side of this sheet of paper are four sketches of varying sizes of round coin designs. The first example is larger than the others and contains only a rim legend with the words "New England" followed by some indistinct letters that appear to be "Massachusetts in." The second example is somewhat smaller with only the rim legend "Massachusetts in." The third example is the only sketch with a center design, it has XII in a center circle with the legend "New England" along with the date "16" (probably for 1652 in an outer ring). The final sketch simply contains the rim legend "New England" with what may be an initial "In" or a final flourish at about the 7:00 o'clock position. None of the sketches depicted the initials NE as specified in the act of May 26/27 nor is there any tree design as was later specified in the General Court's October 19th revision of the design. (Crosby, p. 39 with Hull signature from the recto and the four sketches from the verso included in the third quarter of the facsimile plate opposite page 41. Crosby cites this document as Massachusetts Archives, vol. c, p. 37.)

Scans of the coin sketches from the fascimile document in Crosby's original edition of 1875 follow:
493K image of the four sketches at 300 ppi, grayscale and a 1.93M image of the four sketches at 600 ppi, grayscale
Each coin sketch is offered in color at 600 ppi:
1. First coin sketch at 1.51M 2. Second coin sketch at 677K 3. Third coin sketch at 379K 4. Fourth coin sketch at 511K

June 20, 1652 - Action of the mint committee to erect a house for the melting, refining and coining of silver that was 16 feet square and 10 feet high. The action also approved the purchase of all the tools and implements needed for the mint at government expense. Additionally, the committee increased the fees due to the mint master to 15d for every 20s coined plus an allowance of 1d per ounce of silver for waste [In the act of May 26/27 the fees had been set at 1s for every 20s coined]. (Crosby, p. 40, this document is the back of the sheet dated to June 11, 1652 containing the oath of office to be given to Hull and Sanderson, identified by Crosby as Massachusetts Archives, Pec. vol. c, p. 40)

June 22, 1652 - Minutes of a mint committee meeting listing the steps and decisions taken to implement their action of June 20th. The minutes stated that Isacke Cullimore had been selected to construct the mint house and that he was empowered to hire additional workers. The wording of the document was that a warrant had been issued to the Constables of Boston impressing Cullimore into service and that another warrant had been issued to Cullimore empowering him to impress other workmen carpenters into the service of the Commonwealth. Also, the committee announced a site had been selected for the mint stating, "That the said mint howse shall be sett upon the land of the said John Hull." Clearly there had been some negotiations with Hull concerning the location of the mint on his land rather than on publicly owned land, for along with the announcement of the selection of the site the committee specified the provision that, if Hull should cease to be the mintmaster Massachusetts Bay had the option of either purchasing the real estate from Hull or allowing Hull to purchase the structure based on a valuation made by "two Indifferent men." [See the entry of October 4, 1667 below and in the accompanying study on the Hull homestead and the location of the mint.] (Crosby, p. 42)

August 19, 1652 - Edward Rawson, the Secretary of the General Court and a member of the mint committee, added a marginal note beside the oath of office given to the mintmasters (the oath was dated June 10, 1652 but was recorded on June 11th), stating Robert Sanderson deposed on August 19th. (Crosby, p. 41)

September 1, 1652 - According to the mint act of May 26/27, 1652, on September 1st a previous order about coinage was to become invalid. Also, on September 1st the coinage authorized by the May 26/27 mint act was to become valid and current. The legislation, as passed by the House of Magistrates on May 26th, began:

"Itt is ordered and by the Authoritje of this Court Enacted that the printed Order about mony shall be in force vntill the first of september next and no longer. And that from and after the first of september next the mony heerafter Appointed and expressed shallbe the Currant mony of this Commonwealth and no other vnlesse English (except the Receivers Consent therevnto:)". (Crosby, p. 36 and Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 1, p. 84)

October 19, 1652 - The date of the start of the fall session of the General Court. Frequently legislation approved during a session was recorded under the opening date of that session. Under this date an order of the General Court was recorded, "ffor the prevention of washing or Clipping of all such peices of mony as shall be Coined within this Jurisdiction." It passed in both houses changing the design on the coins so each side had a rim inscription within a double ring and in the center a tree on one side and the date on the other. Specifications in the original act simply stated the coins would have NE on one side and the denomination on the other, there was no inscription, double ring, tree or date. (Crosby gives both the version passed by the House of Magistrates and that passed by the House of Deputies on p. 44; Shurtleff, vol. 3, p. 283 for the Deputies version and vol. 4, pt. 1, p. 104 for the Magistrates version). Also under this date the General Court recorded the funds that had been spent since the May session. The treasurer included the cost of the mint house along with prison costs without itemizing specific expenses as: "To several sums paid on the charge, - prisons and prisoners and keeper and executioner and mint house. All is £395. 12s. 2d" (Hull, Diary, appendix, p. 289 and Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 1, p. 104)

October 26, 1652 - The secretary of the Court recorded that the whole General Court voted to allow and approve the actions of the mint committee concerning the construction of a mint house at government expense as well as consenting to the increased minting fees. Although not specifically mentioned, the Court's consent also included the mint committee's decisions to acquire the necessary minting equipment at government expense and to allow for a waste allowance of 1d per troy ounce of silver. The Court further charged the committee to, "...Continew in theire power till the next Election." Members of the General Court were elected in May to serve for a year, typically service consisted of participating in the spring and fall sessions of the legislature. In the May 1653 elections all the committee members were reelected to the General Court in the same positions except for Bellingham, who became Deputy Governor; also, we find Clark was promoted to Captain. The promotion was probably due to the creation of three new military companies mentioned by Hull in his diary entry given above. (Crosby, p. 41 and Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 1, p. 118 in the records of the Magistrates session, and for the 1653 election results, pp. 119-120)

October 28, 1652 - A dated note was added to the mint committee action of June 20, 1652 stating the whole General Court voted in favor of the establishment of a mint house and the increased minting fees as recommended in the June 20th action. A final line was added stating the mint committee was to stand until the next session of the General Court. (Crosby, p. 40)

May 12, 1654 - An order to prohibit the exportation of any Massachusetts Bay coins from the Commonwealth was passed by the House of Magistrates but voted down in the House of Deputies. The act stated the reason for minting coins was to assist the local economy and that the coinage was not meant to pay foreign debts. Because Massachusetts silver had a lower intrinsic value than British silver it was stated one would need to pay one fourth more in Massachusetts money when purchasing foreign goods and the only way one could recover this difference was by extorting oppressively high prices for such goods in the local market and thereby ruin the economy.

"Whereas, the end of Coyning mony within this Commonwealth is for the more easy managing the traficque thereof within itself, & not Indended to make returnes to other Countrjes, which cannot Advance any proffitt to such as send it, but Rather a fowerth part Losse Vnlesse such persons doe oppresse & extort in the sale of theire goods to make vp the sajd losse ... and vtterly frustrate the end & vse of mony amongst vs."

August 22, 1654 - An order of the General Court was approved by both houses limiting exportation of Massachusetts coinage out of the Commonwealth to twenty shillings per person and appointing nine searchers to stop smuggling. Confiscated coins were to be divided one third to the searcher and two thirds to the Commonwealth. The searchers were: Peter Oliver and John Barrell for Boston; Jacob Greene for Charlestown; George Williams and Samuel Archer for Salem; Robert Lord for Ipswich; Henry Rice for Sudbury; Henry Sherborne for Piscataque (Portsmouth, New Hampshire) and Hercules Hawkins for the Isle of Shoals (off the coast of Rye, New Hampshire at the border with Maine). (Crosby, pp. 70-71 giving the version from the House of Magistrates; Shurtleff, vol. 3, pp. 353-354 for the Deputies version and vol. 4, p. 1, pp. 197-198 for the Magistrates version.)

1654 - Edward Hull, the brother of John Hull, wrote a letter from London to Joseph Jenks, the master craftsman at the Hammersmith Iron Works in Saugus, Massachusetts. Apparently this letter was in reply to an earlier request from Jenks inquiring as to the availablility of a die cutter. In his reply to Jenks, Edward Hull stated that he knew of a German die cutter who was willing to emigrate to Boston. It appears nothing came of this plan. (Morison, p. 152)

1654 - John Mansfield of Charlestown petitioned the General Court to grant that he be allowed to be the, "Country searvantt for helping to quine & melt & fine silver with mr Hull & good man Saunders, in the country howse withe them." That is, he wanted to serve the country (Massachusetts Bay) by coining, melting and refining silver in the government mint house. Mansfield stated he had eleven and a half years experience as an apprentice in the trade. No action is recorded on the disposition of this petition nor is Mansfield mentioned in Hull's diaries, letters or ledger, probably indicating his request to work at the mint was not granted. See the accompanying study for further details on Mansfield. (Crosby, pp. 103-104 and Clarke, Hull, p. 31)

June 9, 1655 - General Robert Nenables, Vice Admiral William Penn and Captain Gregory Butler, who were the British Commissioners responsible for managing expeditions sent to America, presented a set of orders and regulations to Robert Wadeson, Captain William Crispin and Thomas Broughton, who were charged with travelling to Massachusetts Bay and acquiring £10,000 worth of provisions for the British army and fleet stationed at Jamaica. The fifth of the seven regulations stated:

"5. You are to take notice that the intrinsic value of New England money is less in weight by one quarter than at London. As for example a shilling in New England is of the same weight as ninepence is at London. Which is mainly to be considered if you take up money."

July 1, 1659 - Hull accepted two apprentices. He wrote in his diary:

"I received into my house Jeremie Dummer and Samuel Paddy, to serve me as apprentices eight years. The Lord make me faithful in discharge of this new trust committed to me, and let his blessing be to me and them!"

Autumn 1659 - Production of the Lord Baltimore silver coinage in 12d, 6d and 4d denominations at the Tower Mint in London; a pattern was produced for a copper 1d coin but it never went into production. The specific dates of production are unknown although it appears minting was underway by September or October. We do know that Richard Pight, the Clerk of Irons at the Tower of London, learned about the coinage and informed the authorities who issued an arrest warrant for Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore on Tuesday October 4, 1659. Calvert appeared before the Privy Council on October 5th and seems to have been successful in defending his position as on October 12, 1659 he wrote a letter to the governing Council in Maryland stating he had procured the "Necessaries" for a coinage and recommended the Maryland colonial assembly pass a law authorizing his proposed coinage be accepted as legal tender. Because of the need to stop a rebellion in Maryland led by Josias Fendall during the period of March through November of 1660, the coinage legislation was not able to be addressed until April of 1661, when it was enacted. The coins were shipped to the colony and did circulate; on April 12, 1662 a law was passed requiring every household in Maryland to exchange sixty pounds of tobacco for ten shillings in Calvert's coins. (For further details see: Crosby, pp. 123-132 and Michael Hodder, "Cecil Calvert's Coinage for Maryland : A Study in History and Law," The Colonial Newsletter, vol. 33 (February 1993, serial no. 93) 1360-1362.)

March 16, 1660 - After several months of civil war in England the Commonwealth Parliament was dissolved.

May 8, 1660 - A proclamation was issued in England restoring the monarchy and elevating Charles II as King of England. On May 29th Charles entered London to assume his throne. Hull mentions Charles's assumption of the throne in his public diary but misdated the event to May 31st. (Hull, Public Diary, p. 195)

July 27, 1660 - A ship from England landed in Boston Harbor bringing two of Cromwell's confidants and judges, Major General William Goffe and Lieutenant General Edward Whaley, bearing the disheartening news of the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. Both Goffe and Whaley had been among the 135 commissioners who sat in judgement against Charles I and were among the 59 commissioners who signed the King's death warrant. Apparently the generals had left London before Charles II assumed the throne but had learned of the event while their ship was still in the English Channel. The manner in which the generals learned the news could have resulted in their receiving less that exact information on the date and may be the reason for Hull's misdating of the event to the end of the month rather than the 29th. Goffe and Wahley resided in Cambridge for a few months. However, when it was learned they had not been included on the list of those pardoned for their actions, the Governor called a special session of the General Court on February 22, 1661 asking that the two be arrested, but the General Court did not agree. On February 26, 1661, Goffe and Wahley moved on to New Haven where they stayed with the Reverend John Davenport. They later left and moved from town to town until they settled in Hadley, Massachusetts. (Hutchinson, History, edited by Mayo, vol. 1 pp. 183-185, Clarke, Hull, pp. 94-95 and Prince, Mather Papers, pp. 122-224)

October 16, 1660 - The Massachusetts Bay General Court formed a committee of Captain Daniel Gookin, Richard Russell, Anthony Stoddard and William Parks to obtain a more advantageous financial arrangement for the colony from the Boston mint. The tone of the document was rather stern stating that they hoped, "the Country may Reape some bennefitt after so long a forbearance" and if Hull and Sanderson did not consent it was declared "this Court Intends to agree with some other meete [meete = suitable] person to minte the money of this Country [that is, Massachusetts Bay]." The committee was to report their results at the following court to be held in May of 1661. [Gookin was one of nine Assistants to Governor Endicott, Russell was also an Assistant and Treasurer for the Commonwealth, Stottard was one of the two Deputies from Boston while Parks was one of the two Deputies from Roxbury.] (Crosby, p. 71; Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 1, p. 434 and p. 416 for the offices held following the elections of May 1660)

February 11, 1661 - Governor Endicot, by order of the General Court of Massachusetts Bay, sent a letter to Charles II stating they knelt before him as the restored king and asked that he protect the privileges and liberties conferred on them by a Patent from Charles I. The letter was entered into the record of the Colonial Papers on February 11th. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1661-1668, pp. 8-10, item 26)

February 19, 1661 - Edward Godfrey, identified as "sometimes Governor of the Province of Maine" testified before the Council for Foreign Plantations (later known as the Committee of the Lords for Trade and Plantations). Godfrey stated that Massachusetts had "usurped all the country into subjection ... in practice to be a free State." (Sainsbury, Calendar 1661-1668, pp. 12-13, item 33)

March 4 - 14, 1661 - Captain Thomas Breedon, Governor of Arcadia and Nova Scotia, Edward Godfrey, Governor of Maine, along with John Gifford and Samuel Maverick among others, were ordered to testify before the Council of Foreign Plantations against Massachusetts Bay. On March 11th Breedon presented a book containing the laws of Massachusetts Bay which he suggested went far beyond the patent granted to the company and that Massachusetts found it difficult to "reconcile Monarchy and Independency." On March 14th Goffey's testimony supported Breedon. At this time an undated petition was recorded which had been received from "divers persons who had been sufferers in New England on behalf of themselves and thousands there. [i.e. in New England]" stating:

"Through the tyranny and oppression of those in power there, multitudes of the King's subjects have been most unjustly and grievously oppressed contrary to their own laws and the laws of England, imprisoned, fined, fettered, whipt, and further punished by cutting off of their ears, branding the face, their estates seized and themselves banished the country."

April 4, 1661 - At a meeting of the Council for Foreign Plantations a petition was read. The petition was addressed to the King from Ferdinando Gorges, the grandson of the Ferdinando Gorges who had been given a Patent to Maine, requesting the restoration of his lands. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1661-1668, p. 22, item, 64)

April 8, 1661 - At a meeting of the Council for Foreign Plantations a letter was drafted to the provinces of New England informing them the Council had been appointed to manage the colonies and that they were to respond to charges made against them. It was also suggested that the colonies appoint agents to represent their positions to the Council when requested. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1661-1668, pp. 22-23, item, 66)

April 29-30, 1661 - Several petitions and reports against Massachusetts were collected for consideration by the Council for Foreign Plantations. By this date Robert Mason had petitioned for the restoration of his Patent to New Hampshire. One particularly interesting item is an undated and unsigned letter thought to be by John Gifford as it accompanied a proposal signed by Gifford and both documents were endorsed by Sir Edward Nicholas, Secretary of State (June 1660 - October 1662). Gifford's signed proposal concerned various ore and mineral mines in Massachusetts and that topic was also mentioned in the unsigned letter. Gifford was appointed in 1650 as the third agent for the Company of Undertakers for the Iron Works in New England replacing Richard Leader. Gifford headed the operation of the Hammersmith Ironworks in Saugus, Massachusetts until 1653 when he became involved in several lawsuits and ended up spending some time in jail. From October of 1658 through April of 1662 Gifford was in England bringing suits against just about everyone connected with the Ironworks enterprise. The summary of the unsigned letter, attributed to him, detailed several problems with the laws of Massachusetts Bay. This document contains the earliest mention of Massachusetts coining as an illegal act. The summary of the letter in the Calendar of Colonial Papers states:

"they have acted repugnant to the laws of England ; they have allowed the King's coin to be brought and melted down in Boston to be new coined there, by which means they gain threepence in every shilling, and lessen his Majesty's coin a full fourth."

May 8, 1661 - In England the first royalist parliament of Charles II was seated.

May 22, 1661 - An entry under this date in the record of the General Court stated the decision of the Court relative to the findings of the mint committee were as follows:

"that this Committee should be reimpowered to treate with the mint masters, & to Receive the ten pounds above mentioned, & what else they Cann Gett by way of Recompence for the mint house for the time past..."

June 6, 1661 - The mint committee created by the General Court in October of 1660 submitted a report stating they felt that, "the use of the mint & house required in justice some certaine part of the income received" to be paid to the government. The committee asked for a twentieth part, that is 5% of the profits. Hull and Sanderson would not agree to give the Commonwealth an annual percentage of the mint profits but offered £10 as a free gift which the committee refused. [note: Crosby, who stated he transcribed the document from the Archives, gives the name of one of the committee members as William Park, while the copy of the document as transcribed in the record of the General Court gives Parke, but in other instances, such as in the election results and in the October 16, 1660 text on the creation of the committee, the name is William Parks] (Crosby, p. 72)

June 6, 1661 - A note added to the report stated the House of Deputies requested the mint committee, "be reimpowred to treate with the mintmaster, & to receive the ten pound above mentioned, & what else they cann gett by way of recompenc for the mint howse for the time past." (Crosby, p. 72)

June 7, 1661 - A note added to the June 6th report stated the House of Magistrates concurred with the decision of the House of Deputies. (Crosby, p. 72)

June 10, 1661 - The General Court approved a declaration listing the liberties of the Commonwealth and explaining the Commonwealth's specific duties of allegiance to the King. Article eight of the liberties stated the Commonwealth held anything to be an infringement on their rights if it was prejudicial to the Commonwealth or contrary to their laws, so long as the item in contention was not contrary to English law. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, p. 2, pp. 24-226; also in Hutchinson, History, edited by Mayo, vol. 1, pp. 439-440)

August 7, 1661 - At a special session of the General Court, after much debate on the specific wording of the document, the Court issued a proclamation stating Charles II had been:

"... lawfully proclaymed and crouned accordingly, wee therefore doe [do], as in duty wee are bound, oune [own] & acknouledge him to be our soveraigne lord & king, and doe therefore hereby proclaime & declare his said majesty Charles the Second, to be laufull King of Great Brittaine, France & Ireland, & all other territories & dominions thereunto belonging." (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 31)

August 8, 1661 - In Boston Charles II was publicly proclaimed King over the colony of Massachusetts Bay by Edward Rawson, secretary of the General Court. As part of the official ceremonies soldiers paraded in the central square and canons were fired from both the city battlements and the ships in the harbor. Also, as Hull so pointedly stated, "All the chief officers feasted that night at the charge of the country." [the country being the Commonwealth] (Hull, Public Diary, pp. 203-204 entry for 8th of the 6th, and Clarke, Hull, p. 96)

December 24, 1661 - John Norton and Simon Bradstreet were selected by a group of magistrates, deputies and church elders on December 24th to be sent to the court of King Charles in London as advocates for the Commonwealth's interests and liberties. Bradstreet was one of the Governor's nine Assistants and was one of two Commissioners for the Commonwealth to the United Colonies of New England, while Norton was the Minister of the First Church of Christ in Boston. [The printed edition of Hull's diary, as well as the edition of the records of the Essex County Court and many entries in the Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series, edited by Sainsbury use the name Broadstreet whereas several contemporary sources and modern usage are consistent as Bradstreet]. (Hutchinson, History, edited by Mayo, vol. 1, p. 188; Hull, Public Diary, p. 204 and Clarke, Hull, p. 99)

December 31, 1661 - At a special session of the General Court the selections of Bradstreet and Norton as the agents for Massachusetts Bay were confirmed. Also, it was ordered that a letter be drafted to the congregation of the First Church of Christ in Boston imploring them to allow their minster a leave of absence. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, pp. 37-40)

January 11, 1662 - The First Church of Boston consented that their minister the Reverend John Norton should undertake the voyage to England on behalf of the Commonwealth. (Hull, Public Diary, p. 205)

February 1, 1662 - Hull included several details in his diary concerning preparations and events relative to the departure of the delegation. He stated a committee chosen by the General Court spent several days at the end of January:

"preparing, propounding, and concluding the going of the said messengers, during which time the weather hindered the ships sailing. Feb. 1. The said committee went home. The same day or night, Mr. Norton was taken sick, full of pain... Feb.5 ... The ship was stopped for five days to see whether Mr. Norton might, in that time, be fit to expose his body to the seas,..."(Hull, Public Diary, p. 205)

February 10, 1662 - Hull stated, "Mr.Norton, Mr. Broadstreet, Mr. Davis, and myself, went on shipboard" in Boston. The next morning they set sail for England. Mr. Davis was Captain William Davis who had been mentioned in Hull's public diary under 1652 as one of two commissioners (the other being John Leveret) sent to Manhattan to negotiate with the Dutch and whose death was later recorded by Hull in 1676. In the December 31, 1661 special session of the General Court, Captain William Davis had been selected to be part of a four person committee authorized make agreements to procure money for the Commonwealth with the authorization of the General Court. (Hull, Private Diary, p. 153 and Public Diary, p. 205, on Davis see Hull's Public Diary, pp. 174 and 242; also Clarke, Hull, p. 97, and Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, pp 39-40)

February 27, 1662 - Thomas Hutchinson in his History of the Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay (first published in 1764) reported the French ambassador to England sent a letter from London dated February 27, 1662 mentioning the arrival of two deputies from New England who were defending the position that Acadia should not be returned to France. Hutchinson suspected these individuals were Thomas Temple and Colonel Crowne as Cromwell had granted them part of Acadia and Nova Scotia. This is confirmed by the minutes of the Privy Council for February 26, 1662, which state Temple had arrived in London "on Thursday last." Thus Temple, who was Governor of Nova Scotia and an ardent supporter of Massachusetts Bay, was in London before Norton and Bradstreet arrived. [Temple was Baronet of Nova Scotia and Governor of Acadia. These lands were later ceded to the French by the Treaty of Breda in July 1667 but were not turned over until 1670, at which time Temple took up residence in Boston.] (Hutchinson, History, edited by Mayo, vol. 1, p. 191 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1661-1668, p. 77, item 240)

March 24, 1662 - Hull and the Massachusetts Bay delegation arrive in London. In his public diary Hull mentioned Norton and Bradstreet's meetings with the Lord Chancellor began a few days after the group arrived. Hull also mentioned the results of these meetings reporting:

"they had fair promises of a full grant to their whole desire in the country's [Massachusetts Bay] behalf. But their writing, which they drew in order thereunto, at last unsigned; and another letter, wherein was sundry things for the country to attend which seemed somewhat inconsistent with our patent and former privileges..."

[sometime during the 1662 negotiations] - An interesting episode from the 1662 negotiations was related in a later document. In 1684 a committee of the Massachusetts Bay General Court was appointed to produce a response to King Charles II concerning the right of the Commonwealth to retain its charter. In a draft of a report by the committee dated October 30, 1684 outlining a proposed response to the King there is a passage about the mint which included the following detail:

"For in 1662, when our first agents were in England, some of our money was showed by Sir Thomas Temple at the Council-Table, and no dislike thereof manifested by any of those right honourable persons: much less a forbidding of it."

late April, 1662 - In his private diary Hull stated:

"After about one month's stay there [in London], went down into the country, visited my own kindred and town, and went as far as Hull to see my cousin Hoar. Returned safe to London, despatched my business there, and through the good hand of God, arrived again at my own home the 3rd of September, and found all in health. "

May 7, 1662 - An order of the General Court to begin minting twopence coins is in the Record of the General Court under this date, which was the date of the commencement of the Court session. Frequently all acts of a session were recorded under one date. In this case the original draft of the order exists and is precisely dated as May 16, 1662. (Crosby, pp. 73-74; Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, pp. 51-52)

May 16, 1662 - An order was passed by the General Court for the minting of twopence coins. During their initial year of production the mint was to coin fifty pounds in twopence for every hundred pounds coined, thereafter twenty pounds of twopence were to be produced for every hundred pounds. The order was to remain in force for seven years. It is not clear if the order refers to troy pounds of sterling consigned to the mint or the value of the finish coins in Massachusetts monetary units of account. I suspect the document relates to production issues and probably refers to troy pounds. (Crosby gives the draft of this order on p. 73 with a facsimile of the document, cited by Crosby as, Massachusetts Archives, Volume C, p. 86 reproduced on the lower fourth of the plate opposite page 41. The final order, as found in the Record of the General Court, is in Crosby on pp. 73-74 and in Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, pp. 51-52).

June 28, 1662 - King Charles II sent a letter to the Massachusetts Bay delegation of Norton and Bradstreet confirming the Commonwealth's patent and charter and, "all the privileges and liberties granted unto them in and by the same," along with an offer to renew the charter whenever the Commonwealth desired it. The letter also pardoned subjects for treasons committed during the interregnum but required the Commonwealth's laws be reviewed and anything against the King's authority or government should be annulled and repealed. He also required an oath of allegiance be administered and that freedom and liberty should be allowed to any individuals wishing to follow the practices of the Church of England. This letter was unfavorably received by the Puritan settlers of Massachusetts Bay. The settlers understood their rights to govern and create laws for the colony were being questioned; further they had little toleration for the Church of England or any other non-Puritan sect. The citizens of Massachusetts Bay generally considered the mission to have been a failure. (Hutchinson, History, edited by Mayo, vol. 1, pp. 187-188; the full letter is in Hutchinson Papers, vol. 2, pp. 100-104; Sainsbury, Calendar 1661-1668, pp. 93-94, items 314-315; Crosby, p. 86, quotes a faulty transcription of a document by Edward Randolph from May 28, 1682 that dates this letter to February, see the entry under May 28, 1682 below; all other sources, including the transcription of the letter, give June as the month.)

mid July - Hull, Norton and Bradstreet must have left London by this time in order to complete the five to seven week crossing back to Massachusetts by the start of September.

September 3, 1662 - John Hull arrived back in Boston on the ship Society from his trip to England. John Norton and Simon Bradstreet also returned from London on this voyage. (Hull, Private Diary, pp. 152 and 153 also, Public Diary, p. 206, and Clarke, Hull, p. 97)

April 23, 1664 - King Charles II appointed Colonel Richard Nichols, George Cartwright, Sir Robert Carr and Samuel Maverick as Royal Commissioners with full power to examine and determine all complaints and appeals concerning the liberties and privileges granted to the New England colonies in various charters. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 157; Hutchinson, History, edited by Mayo, vol. 1, pp. 443-444 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1661-1668, pp. 199-204, items 708-727, note that item 709 states a copy of the commission was misdated to April 25th)

July 23, 1664 - The English naval gun ships The Guinea and The Elias arrived in Boston Harbor with Nichols and Cartwright. Three days earlier two other gunships, that had lost their way in a storm, The Martin and The William and Jane, had arrived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (Pascataway) with Carr and Maverick. In Boston, Nichols and Cartwright asked Governor Bellingham to summons his Council. The Council meet on July 26th and was presented with the King's letter of April 25th explaining the power given to the royal commissioners. The commissioners first task was to subdue New Netherland for Britain; they were not able to return and address the situation in Massachusetts Bay until the spring of 1665. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, pp. 157-183; Clarke, Hull, p. 135-136, Hart, vol. 1, p. 485; Hull, Public Diary, p. 212 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1661-1668, p. 221-222, items 774-775) [Hart says one of the ships was the William and Mary but as this event predated the reign of William and Mary it seems more likely the ship was the William and Jane mentioned in a different context in Hull's Public Diary, p. 201]

1665 to 1668 - Maine was temporarily restored to the heirs of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. [In 1622 Ferdinando Gorges (1566-1647) and John Mason had received grants from the Council of New England (the successor to the Plymouth Company) for the territory between the Merrimac and Kennebec rivers; Gorges obtained the area now called Maine, while Mason acquired the region now called New Hampshire. In 1639 Gorges was granted a charter as the lord proprietor of Maine. During the English Commonwealth the territory of Maine was gradually annexed to Massachusetts between 1652-1658. In 1664 Parliament decided in favor of a claim brought by Gorges's grandson against Massachusetts and acted on Mason's claim making New Hampshire an independent royal colony (Merrimac remained with Massachusetts). Three years after assenting to Parliament's decision, Massachusetts reasserted their claim to Maine, finally purchasing the Gorges claim in 1677 for £1,250. Massachusetts was proprietor of Maine until the new Massachusetts Bay charter of 1691 made Maine an integral part of the colony. For details on Maine see, Sainsbury, Calendar 1661-1668, pp. 214, 301, 306 and 608, items 748-751, 1001, 1010 and 1835 and for New Hampshire, pp. 310-315, items 1020-1021 and 1024)]

May 1, 1665 - Colonel Richard Nichols arrived back in Massachusetts Bay from New York, the other commissioners had returned a few months earlier from courts and inquests they had been conducting with various Indian tribes and other New England settlements. (Hull, Public Diary, p. 216)

May 8, 1665 - The King's commissioners sent a letter to the General Court requesting a copy of the Commonwealth's laws to see if any were, "Contrary & derogatory to the king's authority & Government." (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 194; Crosby, p. 77)

May 18, 1665 - Expecting bad news from the royal commissioners the General Court passed an order they hoped would placate the King. They stated: "This Court, accounting it theire duty, according to their poore ability, to acknowledge their humble thanks to his majesty for his many & continued gracious expressions of his tender care & fatherly respect to his colony, doe order that in the best commodity that may be procured in this his colony..." be acquired for the king's navy to the value of £500. However, due to a shortage of funds the order was never carried out. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 150 and Crosby, p. 77)

May 24, 1665 - The King's commissioners send a letter to the General Court requesting twenty six articles be repealed or amended in the Commonwealth's laws. The Massachusetts laws had been published as a book. The book was arranged topically rather than chronologically, so that the various regulations on a specific subject were listed together under a main subject heading, with the various headings arranged alphabetically. The laws regarding the mint and coinage were listed under the subject heading "Money." In the printed edition of the laws, published in 1660 at Cambridge, Massachusetts, the section on Money was found on pages 61-62. The King's Commissioners referred to this printed edition of the laws in their comments. Article twenty two of their letter requested the repeal of the coining act stating,

"That, page 61, title Money, the law That a mint house, etc, be repealed; for coyning is a royall prerogative, for the usurping of which ye act of indemnity is only a salvo."

August 7, 1665 - Some ships arrived in Boston from England under the command of Captain Pierce, they were to return to England with masts for the King's navy [The Royal Navy regularly purchased masts at a cost of £95 to £115 each (see, Clarke, Hull, p. 45 and William Carlton, "Masts for the King's Navy," New England Quarterly,13 (March, 1939) 4-18]. Apparently a letter arrived on the ships, for on that same day the Royal Commissioner Samuel Maverick presented a document (called a Significavit) to the General Court from Secretary of State William Morice in London explaining the King ordered a committee of four or five representatives to answer on behalf of the Commonwealth; the group was to include Governor Richard Bellingham and Major William Hawthorne. Hull noted in his diary the document had not been specifically addressed to any person or group (it was not superscribed) and that it lacked an official seal. [A Significavit was a writ usually issued by the Chancery in ecclesiastical cases for the arrest of excommunicated persons and heretics. Sir William Morice served as Secretary of State June 30, 1660 - September 1668.] (Hull, Public Diary, p. 222)

September 11, 1666 - The General Court ordered two very large masts be procured by the Deputy Governor, Francis Willoughby, and shipped to England for presentation to Sir William Warren and navy commissioner Captain John Taylor as gifts for the King's navy, "as a testimony of loyalty & affection". (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 318 and Crosby, p. 77)

September 12, 1666 - An entry in the diary of John Hull explained the General Court considered what to do in response to the writ of Significavit. Hull stated it was decided to send a letter and a gift, ordering two very large masts for the King's navy, but that the Commonwealth would not send any representatives. (Hull, Public Diary, pp. 222-223 and Crosby, p. 77)

October 10, 1666 - The General Court ordered the two masts obtained in September be sent to England. Additionally, "a shipps loading more" was to be contracted as a present to the King for the following year. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, pp. 327-328 and Crosby, p. 77)

May 15, 1667 - The General Court appointed another committee to obtain some annual allowance for the Commonwealth from the profits of the mint, "in consideration of the charge the country hath binn at in erecting a mint house, & for the use of it for so many yeares, without any considerable sattisfaction." The committee members were: Thomas Danforth, an Assistant to Governor Bellingham and first Commissioner for the Commonwealth in the United Colonies, Major General John Leveret, also an Assistant and Commissioner in reserve, Captain George Corvin (or Corwin), one of two Deputies from Salem, Anthony Stoddard, one of two Deputies from Boston and William Parks, one of two Deputies from Roxbury. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, pp. 330 and 333; Crosby, p. 78)

July 1, 1667 - The date of the conclusion of the apprenticeships of Jeremiah Dummer and Samuel Paddy. Hull had stated in his diary that he had taken the two as apprentices on July 1, 1659 for a period of eight years. (Hull, Private Diary, p. 150)

October 4, 1667 - The committee of the General Court finalized an agreement with Hull and Sanderson stating the minters would pay £40 into the treasury within six months, "In Consideration of the Countrys disbursments in the said aediffices, & for Interest the Generall Court hath therein." Presumably this payment was to reimburse the government for construction costs and appears to have been made to acquire the rights to the government's interest in the mint buildings. Further, Hull and Sanderson agreed to pay £10 annually to the Commonwealth for the next seven years. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 347 and Crosby, p. 78)

October 9, 1667 - The fall General Court was convened on October 9th and the October 4th agreement was officially recorded in the Massachusetts Bay Court Record by the secretary of the General Court. In a codicil to the document the Court thanked the committee for their efforts and requested the agreement be entered into the Court record. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 347 and Crosby, p. 78)

May 1668 - A diary entry by Hull mentions, "The General Court sent a shipload of masts as a present to the king's majesty." (Hull, Public Diary, p. 227 and Crosby, p. 77)

May 19, 1669 - The General Court passed a second order to prevent the exportation of more than twenty shillings in Massachusetts silver per person from leaving the Commonwealth, similar to the order of August 22, 1654 but increasing the number of searchers from nine to ten and redistributing them as follows: Captain James Oliver and Thomas Brattle for Boston; Captain John Allen for Charlestown; Edmond Batter for Salem; Elias Stileman for Piscattaqua (Portsmouth, New Hampshire); Samuel Ward for Marblehead; Ensign Fisher for Dedham; Moses Paine for Braintree; William Kerley for Marlboro and Lawrence Bliss for Springfield [the 1669 edition of the new laws and 1672 edition of the complete laws of Massachusetts lists Batter's first name as Edward, see Cushing, Laws, vol. 1, p. 218 and vol. 2, p. 344]. Their powers were broadened and described more forcefully, the searchers were:

"...impowred & required to search for & seize all moneyes of the Coyne of this Jurisdiction that shall bee found or discovered in any ship ... [or] in any person's pocket, cloake, bag, Portmantle, or any other thing belonging to them... [The searchers were further empowered to]... breake open any chest, Trunck, Box, Cabbin, Cask, Truss, or any other suspected place or thing where they or any of them conceive money may be Concealld & seize the same; and also they or either of them are empowered to require such assistants from any Constables or others as to them may seeme Expedient, who are to aid them, upon the penalty of fforty shillings fine for every neglect."(Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, pp. 420-421 and Crosby, p. 79)

June 2, 1669 - A proposal was debated to increase the value of the Spanish eight reales to six shillings and smaller denominations proportionally. Further, an individual was to be appointed to put a stamp or mark on each coin that was full weight and of sterling fineness. Underweight or debased coins would not be marked and no one would be enjoined to accept the unmarked coins as lawful payment. The legislation did not define a full weight coin but in Massachusetts Bay a 17 pennyweight (408 grains) eight reales was considered a full weight example. This legislation passed in the House of Deputies but was defeated in the House of Magistrates. (Crosby, pp. 105-106)

November 16, 1669 - John Hull departed Boston for London on business, "to settle all former accounts with my uncle, and all persons with whom I had dealings." He arrived at the house of his uncle Thomas Parriss on January 5, 1670 and stayed until June 8th. Parriss served as Hull's agent in London, acquiring merchandise for Hull to sell in Boston. (Hull, Private Diary, pp. 159-160)

August 3, 1670 - Hull landed back in Boston. (Hull, Private Diary, pp. 159-160)

[1671] - An undated proposal by a Mr. Wharton assigned to 1671 by Joseph B. Felt, who organized the Massachusetts Archives financial papers in the early Nineteenth century. This proposal suggested increasing the value of a Boston shilling to 14d, a sixpence to 7d, a threepence to 4d and twopence to 3d and also increasing the value of Spanish American eight reales "dollars" to 90d (7s6d) per ounce. This would value a 17 pennyweight eight reales at 76.5d, which at 14d per shilling, would equal 5s6.5d in Massachusetts coinage. Spanish gold pistols were also rated in this proposal as well as penalties against clipping and provisions to have swore officers of the Commonwealth weigh and assay coins upon request. The proposal was not adopted. (Crosby, pp. 106-107)

October 18, 1671 - September 27, 1680 - Ledger entries concerning the production from the mint survive from this period in John Hull's unpublished ledger C, which is preserved in New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, Massachusetts designated as Manuscript CB 110. A transcription of the text and a commentary on each entry is presented in the accompanying studies.

May 15, 1672 - The General Court denied a petition by Joseph Jenks which would have allowed him to coin money. Jenks had been the master craftsman at the Hammersmith iron foundry in Saugus, Massachusetts from the start of operations in 1648 until the foundry closed ca. 1670. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 528 and Crosby, p. 79. For additional information on Jenks see the accompanying studies.)

October 8, 1672 - The General Court realized, "peeces of eight are more value to carry out of the country then they will yield to mint into our coyne, by reason whereof peeces of eight which might else come to coyning are carried out of the country." To curtail this exportation of Spanish silver the General Court increased the value of a full weight eight reales to six shillings (or 33.33% above the value of the silver content of a full weight eight reales based on the English standard). Futher, as the law observed, "inasmuch as few or no peeces of eight are of that weight" all Spanish silver, whatever the weight, was to be stamped by Hull and Sanderson with the letters NE and the true weight of the coin. This 33.33% upcrying made Spanish coins more valuable than Massachusetts silver, which had a face value that was only 22.25% above the silver content value based on the English standard. There is no evidence the weighing and stamping of Spanish silver ever took place. (Shurtleff, vol. 4, pt. 2, p. 533-534; Crosby, p. 80 and the appendix to Hull's Diary, p. 296)

November 1673 - Hull entered in his diary, "November, I accept Samuel Clark, son of Jonas Clark, as an apprentice for eight years." (Hull, Private Diary, p. 162, this entry follows a December entry but does not necessarily mean it refers to November of the following year (1674), see footnote 1 on p. 149 of the edition of the diary explaining entries were not always added on the day of the event. [In his biography of Hull, Hermann Clarke mentioned some individuals he suspected to have apprenticed in Hull's shop but who were not mentioned as apprentices in Hull's diary, they are: the silversmiths Daniel Quincy, possibly Timothy Dwight of Dedham, and probably Sanderson's three sons, Robert junior, Benjamin and Joseph. (See Clarke, Hull, pp. 132-134 and Morison, p. 155). In his diary Hull mentions another Sanderson who may have been an apprentice. Under the date of September 1, 1658 Hull stated in his private diary: "My boy, John Sanderson, complained of his head aching, and took his bed. A strong feaver set on him; and, after seventeen days' sore sickness, he departed this life." (Hull, Private Diary, p. 148). Interestingly, in the very next entry, dated September 8, 1658 Hull mentioned that his cousin Daniel Quincy became sick "within a week after the other" but recovered by October 18th. The phrasing leads one to suspect both boys were staying with Hull, probably as apprentices. There is also an agreement made at Hull's home in 1672 which both Daniel Quincy and Timothy Dwight signed as witnesses. Further, there is an account for Daniel in Hull's ledger (ff. 73v-74r; 129v-130r and 161v-162r) stating on January 10, 1674 Hull purchased a box of tools for Daniel from London for £10 and that he annually paid for Daniel's room and board. Daniel was the son of Edmund Quincy who was the brother of Hull's wife, therefore Daniel was John Hull's nephew, but they became even more closely related when John's father Robert Hull married Judith Paine Quincy, John's widowed mother in law, making Edmund , who had been John's brother in law his half brother. This information on the Daniel Quincy apprenticeship was passed down in the Quincy family, for in a letter of September 18, 1839 that discussed his family history, John Quincy Adams stated Daniel had been an apprentice to Hull, see Hull, Diary, appendix, p. 276; also see the entry from 1671 on Daniel Quincy in Hull's ledger, on folio 27 recto, discussed in the accompanying study on the ledger.]

1674 - John du Plisse was convicted in Boston of passing pewter counterfeit coins. (Scott, Counterfeiting in Colonial America, pp. 16-17)

September 1, 1674 - Joseph Blandchard and George Grimes were charged with coining base money and held over on £20 bail to appear at the next county court in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There are no further records on this case. (Scott, Counterfeiting in Colonial America, p. 17)

March 12, 1675 - The Committee for Trade and Foreign Plantations was instituted. This group consisted of appointed members from the Privy Council who were to meet weekly and report back to the Council. The Council for Plantations, also known as the Council for Foreign Plantations, which was first organized during the restoration of Charles II in 1660 and had changed its name to the Council for Trade and Plantations in November of 1672, was dissolved. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, pp. 182-183, items 460-461 on the name change in 1672 see Sainsbury, Calendar 1669-1674, pp. 432 and 438, items 961 and 974)

May 1675 - The Calendar of State Papers records the contents of a notebook by the British Secretary of State, Sir Joseph Williamson covering the years 1674-1677 which contained comments on various British colonies, but focused on Newfoundland. Under the date of May 1675 the notebook included several questions and observations on Massachusetts Bay including information on the Massachusetts mint taken from the petition filed by the Council for Plantations on April 30, 1661 and attributed to John Gifford. Williamson stated, "They melt down all English money brought in there into their own coin, making every shilling 15d to avoid the carrying it out." [Sir Joseph Williamson was a member of the Privy Council and Secretary of State June 1674 - February 10, 1679] (Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, pp. 154-163, item 405 with the quote on p. 156)

May 12, 1675 - At a session of the General Court convened on May 12th it was recorded that the former agreement with the mint masters had expired, therefore a committee of any three magistrates was authorized to make a new agreement for coining money, "with such persons as they shall thinke meet [meet = suitable], and to make such an Agreement with them for the Coyning of the mony of this Jurisdiction as may be most encouraging to all persons who have bullion to bring in the same mint." The magistrates included the Governor, Deputy Governor and the eleven Assistants. (Shurtleff, vol. 5, pp. 29-30 and Crosby, p. 81)

June 3, 1675 - The date of a signed agreement between Hull and Sanderson and the committee of the General Court to lower the minting profits from 15d per 20s to 12d per 20 shillings minted (20s equalled three troy ounces thus reducing the fee from 5d per troy ounce to 4d per troy ounce) but retaining the wastage fee of 1d per troy ounce of silver and requiring the minters to pay an annual fee to the treasury of £20 (up from £10), in return Hull and Sanderson were allowed to, "Continue to mint what Silver bullion shall Come in for this Seven yeares next to Come, if either of them live so long,..." The committee members signing the agreement were Governor John Leveret and two of his Assistants, Simon Bradstreet and Edward Tyng. (Crosby, pp. 81-82)

June 17, 1675 - The date of the first coin order recored in Hull's private ledger at the new rate which lowered Hull's total fee to 5d per troy ounce and increased the customer's yield from 74d per troy ounce of sterling to 75d per troy ounce. This order was for 217 troy ounces of silver and was delivered on July 8th. (New England Historic Genealogocal Society, Boston Massachusetts, Personal Ledger of John Hull, Manuscript CB 110, ff. 36v-27r)

June 20, 1675 - February 12, 1677 - King Philip's War. An assault at the colonial settlement in Swansea on June 20th soon escalated into a full scale war with the Narraganset, Nipmuck and Wampanoag tribes against the colonists and their Mohegan allies. Captain Thomas Savage led an expedition from Boston to attack the Mount Hope (Bristol, Rhode Island) headquarters of the Indian leader of the Wampanoags, Sachem Metacom (sometimes Metacomet or Pometacom), known as King Philip. Over the next year several major battles took place until Philip was finally killed at Mount Hope on August 11, 1676 (in his public diary on p. 242 John Hull gives the date as August 12th). Following the death of Philip there were no more major battles, but several skirmishes took place until the signing of a treaty on February 12, 1677. At the outbreak of the war the General Court appointed a "Committee for the war" of which John Hull was a member and treasurer. (Hart, vol. 1, pp. 542-554 and Clarke, Hull, pp. 165-177)

July 9, 1675 - A special session of the General Court was convened to levy taxes and impress materials needed for a military expedition against the Indians. Also, the agreement between Hull and Sanderson and the committee of the General Court dated June 3rd was approved by the General Court and entered into the Massachusetts Court Record. (Shurtleff, vol. 5, pp. 43-44 and Crosby, p. 81)

December 2, 1675 - The minutes of the committee meeting of the Lords of Trade and Plantations state a report entitled, "A narrative of the settlement of the Corporation of Massachusetts Bay and Capt. Wyborne's account of things in 1673," was submitted to the Lords on December 1st by Robert Mason and read at the committee meeting of December 2nd. Captain John Wyborne had spent three months in Boston in 1673 while his ship, the H.M.S. Garland, was being resupplied and refit. In his narrative on Massachusetts Bay Captain Wyborne complained of several irregularities, arbitrary laws and resistance to the king's commissioners. Concerning money he stated:

"as soon as any English money is brought there, it is melted down into their coin, making of each shilling fifteen-pence to keep it from being carried out again."   (Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, item 721 on pp. 306-308 with the quote on p. 306)

March 10, 1676 - The date of the composition of a letter at Whitehall Palace in Westminster in the name of King Charles II to the government and magistrates of Massachusetts Bay requesting them to send agents to London within six months of receipt of the letter to argue the case for Massachusetts against the claims of Robert Mason (for New Hampshire) and Ferdinando Gorges (for Maine). The letter also requested that the bearer of the letter, Edward Randolph, be admitted into the Massachusetts Bay Council so that he could report to the King on their proceedings. (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 192-194 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, p. 358, item 838) [Mason and the heirs of Gorges had pressed for their claims at the time of the restoration but Charles II did not address this issue until after his war with Holland had been concluded by the Treaty of Westminster on February 9, 1674. Unfortunately just as the king was ready to address the situation, Massachusetts Bay was unable to respond due to the economic strains caused by the Indian war against "King Philip."]

March 20, 1676 - Edward Randolph received instructions from the King to deliver the royal letter to Massachusetts Bay. Also appended were supplementary instructions from the Lords of the Committee of Trade and Plantations detailing twelve areas of inquiry on which Randolph was to bring back intelligence; these areas of inquiry concerned the government and laws of the colony, the population, religion, military strength, economic resources, imports and exports, boundaries, taxes, relationships with other colonies and related information. Included was an abstract of information on Massachusetts which Randolph was to verify; there was no mention of coinage in this abstract, nor was it directly mentioned as an area of inquiry. (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 196-201 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, pp. 360-363, items 844-849)

June 10, 1676 - Edward Randolph arrived in Massachusetts Bay on the ship Welcome as a royal informer. During his stay Randolph made trips to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and New Plymouth. (Toppan, Randolph,vol. 1, Memoir, pp. 52-58 and texts in vol. 2, pp. 194 and 201-202, also Hall, Randolph, pp. 20-21 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, pp. 402-403, item 945)

June 17, 1676 - With a week of landing in Boston, Randolph wrote a long letter to the British Secretary of State, Sir Henry Coventry, including much information on Massachusetts Bay but with no reference to minting. [Henry Coventry was Secretary of State July 8, 1672 - April 1680] (Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, pp. 406-409, item 953)

July 30, 1676 - Edward Randolph departed from Boston for London, arriving in Dover on September 10th. (Toppan, Randolph,vol. 1, Memoir, pp. 52-58 and texts in vol. 2, pp. 194 and 201-202, also Hall, Randolph, pp. 20-21 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, pp. 402-403, item 945)

September 20, 1676 - Soon after returning to London Randolph sent a report to the King on September 20th detailing his meetings with numerous New England government officials in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He explained the Governor of Massachusetts Bay, "freely declared to me that the lawes made by your Majestie and your parliament obligeth them in nothing but what consists with the interest of that colony, that the legislative power is and abides in them solely to act and make lawes by virtue of a charter from you Majesties royall father." Randolph went on to state he met several colonists who complained, "of the arbitrary government and oppression of their magistrates and doe hope your Majestie will be pleased to free them from this bondage by establishing your own royall authority among them..." (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 216-225 with quotes from pp. 219 and 223, also in Hutchinson Papers, vol. 2, pp. 240-251 with the quotes from p. 243 and 247 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, pp. 455-466, item 1037)

October 12, 1676 - Randolph send a lengthy report to the members of the Committee for Trade and Plantations detailing much information and presenting several criticisms of the government in Massachusetts Bay. The report was read at the meeting of November 16, 1676. Randolph answered each of the twelve areas of inquiry the committee had requested him to investigate. Part of his answer to their first inquiry, "Where the Legislative and Executive Powers of the Government of New England are seated" was a discussion of the structure of the government which included the following comments concerning Massachusetts coinage:

"And as a marke of soveraignty they coin mony stamped with the inscription Mattachusets and a tree in the center, on the one side, and New England, with the year 1652 and the value of the piece, on the reverse. Their money is of the standard of England for finenesse, the shillings weigh three pennyweight troy, in value of English money ninepence farthing, and the smaller coins proportionable. These are the current monies of the colony and not to be transported thence, except twenty shillings for necessary expenses, on penalty of confiscation of the whole visible estate of the transporters."

"All the money is stamped with these figures, 1652, that year being the era of the commonwealth, wherein they erected themselves into a free state, enlarged their dominions, subjected adjacent colonies under their obedience, and summoned deputies to sit in the generall court, which year is still commemorated on their coin."

Interestingly at this point in time, Randolph did not include the coinage comments under his answer to the second point of inquiry which was, "What Laws and ordinances, are now in force there, derogatory or contradictory to those of England, and what Oath is prescribed by the Government." To this question Randolph included ten points but nothing on coinage. (Hutchinson Papers, vol. 2, pp. 210-241 with the quote on pp. 213-214; also in in Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 225-259 with the quote on p. 229; Toppan, "Right to Coin," p. 221 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, pp. 463-468, item 1067. Crosby, pp. 75-76 gives an incomplete quote which he attributes to a publication of 1769, undoubtedly Crosby is referring to the Hutchinson Papers, which is an anthology of documents on Massachusetts history first published in 1769 by Thomas Hutchinson.)

October 31, 1676 - William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley had been selected as agents to represent Massachusetts at the King's court and on this day set sail for London. (Hull, Public Diary, p. 242)

November 17, 1676 - Randolph sent a letter to King Charles II giving general information on the state of affairs in Massachusetts Bay and explaining it seemed Massachusetts would not send over any agents as they felt they had not disobeyed any royal command. (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 259-261 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, pp. 494-495, item 1138)

December 13, 1676 - An undated letter from the Massachusetts Bay Governor John Leverett and the General Court was presented in London by the Massachusetts agents and read in the King's Council on this day. The letter apologized for not sending agents earlier. They stated the colony had been in the middle of a war against several Indian tribes and all their resources had been expended on defence therefore they had not been able to address the King's request. However, now that the main enemy, the Indian Sachem known as Philip, was dead, they were assigning William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley to be their agents defending the Massachusetts claims to New Hampshire and Maine. (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 262-265 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1675-1676, p. 513, item 1186)

May 6, 1677 - Edward Randolph forwarded a brief memorandum to the Committee on Foreign Affairs entitled, "Representation of ye Affaires of New England" or sometime referred to as, "The present State of the affaires of New England." This document listed eight accusations against Massachusetts Bay as follows: (1) they were usurpers without a royal charter, (2) they did not take an oath of allegiance to the King, (3) they protected Goffe and Whaley, who had participated in the murder of Charles I, (4) "They Coyne money with their owne Impress." (5) they had murdered some English Quakers because of their religious beliefs (6) they opposed the King's commissioners in the settlement of New Hampshire and Maine, (7) they imposed an oath of fidelity to Massachusetts Bay on all inhabitants and finally, (8) they violated the acts of trade and navigation robbing the King of his custom duties. This document was forwarded to the Lords of Trade and Plantations for discussion at their meeting on June 7th which led to further investigations. (Hall, Randolph, pp. 33-36 and Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 265-268 as well as Toppan, "Right to Coin," p. 221 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 79-80, items 218-220. Also, under the date 1680 this list is found in Hutchinson Papers, vol. 2, pp. 264-265 and Toppan, Randolph, vol. 3, pp. 78-79)

June 2, 1677 - Proposal of a committee of the General Court in consultation with John Hull to induce individuals to bring bullion to the mint and stop the exportation of coinage. Two options were proposed, one was to raise the value of the current coin or make the shilling nine to twelve grains lighter, while the other option was to abolish minting fees by financing the mint out of the treasury of the Commonwealth. The legislators stated the cost of a free mint was unknown but that it would certainly be a substantial burden or as they put it, "we find the Charge uncertain but great". Further they candidly stated both options were "attended with Difficulty." They felt if the General Court would double the custom on imported wine, brandy and rum, the funds could be used to partially pay the cost of the mint. The proposal died in committee and never came up for a vote. [There were three committee members. Their names and positions as of the elections of May 23, 1677 follow: from the eleven members of the House of Magistrates, Joseph Dudley, the second commissioner for the United Colonies; and from the thirty one members of the House of Deputies, Richard Waldron, representative from Dedham and Daniel Fisher (or Ffisher) representative from Dover (now in New Hampshire). John Hull was not a member of either house but he had been elected as Treasurer of the General Court.] (Crosby, p. 108 and appendix to Hull's Diary, p. 299, also Shurtleff, vol. 5, pp. 131-133 for election results)

June 7, 1677 - The minutes of the meeting of the Committee of the Lords of Trade and Plantations requested the cases of Mason and Gorges against Massachusetts Bay be expedited. Additionally, Randolph's memorandum to the Committee on Foreign Affairs was forwarded and read at this meeting. In discussing the memorandum the Lords decided they should seek legal opinions before acting on the memorandum. On June 8th an order of the King in Council stated the Lords of Trade and Plantations were to seek the opinions of such judges as they saw fit. Also, on the 8th, the Lords of Trade and Plantations issued a report stating the Massachusetts agents were to be notified that they would be required to answer the observations of Randolph as well as defend against the claims of Mason and Gorges. (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 268-272 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 102-103, items 289-290 and 294 for the events of June 7-12 and pp. 79-80, item 218 on the document of May 6th)

June 12, 1677 - The minutes of the meeting of the Committee of the Lords of Trade and Plantations state the committee discussed the eight point memorandum by Edward Randolph. Under the heading "Concerning Misdemeanours of the Bostonians, etc." the Lords responded stating Randolph's first and second points were to be referred to the judges and the King's Council, the committee would inquire into the third point and examine the Massachusetts charter on the fourth and fifth points, while the sixth, seventh and eighth points were to be "looked upon as matters of State." The fourth point on the coinage of money was mentioned in the same sentence in which they responded to the fifth point on the execution of some English Quakers in 1659. The committee stated,

"The Fourth Head concerning Coining of Money And The Fifth that they have put His Majesties Subjects to death for Religion are to be referred, and examination to bee made whether, by their Charter, or by the right of making Laws they are enabled soe to doe." (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 271-272; Toppan, "Right to Coin," p. 221, also Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 103-104, item 294)

July 19, 1677 - Hearings on the charges made by Randolph were conducted by the Lords of Trade and Plantations. Randolph was brought in to testify then, William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley, who had travelled to London as agents of the Commonwealth to defend the Massachusetts Bay claims to New Hampshire against the claim of Robert Mason and to Maine against the claim of the heirs of Ferdinando Gorges, were brought in and ordered to defend the Commonwealth against Randolph's charges. According to a report on the meeting made by the Lords of Trade and forwarded to the King by the Lord of the Privy Seal, the agents answered that they had not been authorized to speak on behalf of Massachusetts except in the land claim disputes. However, they consented to reply, "as private men, and His Majesties subjects, as far as they were acquainted with the occurrence and transactions of ye Government under which they had lived." Concerning coining the minutes report:

"That Upon the Article where they are charged to have coyned money, they confess it, and say they were necessitated to it, about the yeare 1652, for the support of their Trade, and have not, hitherto, discontinued it, as being never excepted against, or disallowed by His Majesty And doe therefore submit this matter to His Majectie and beg pardon if they have offended." (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 274-277 with quote on 276, Toppan, "Right to Coin," p. 221 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 122-123, items 350-351)

July 20, 1677 - An order of the King in Council that the Lords of Trade and Plantations were to meet every Thursday until the business with the Massachusetts agents was resolved. The order contained a summary of the repy made by the Massachusetts agents to Randolph's charges. The agents did not respond to Randolph's first point (that the Massachusetts colonists were usurpers without a royal charter) so Stoughton and Bulkley's reply to the coining charge was summarized as point three (even though it was the fourth point in Randolph's memorandum) as follows:

" (3). The coining of money : About 1652 the necessity of the country calling for it in support of commerce, they began to coin silver money to pass current in their own colony and not to be exported, which money they have continued to coin, no prohibition having been received from the King, for which they implore the King's pardon, and beg that the privilege being of prejudice to none yet extremely useful to the colony may be continued under what impress the King pleases." (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 124-126, item 354 with the quote on p. 125)

July 27, 1677 - The Massachusetts Bay agents were again called to a meeting of the Committee of the Lords of Trade and Plantations. According to the committee minutes the agents were told the decision of the committee on several points. The committee asked for a commission to look into the boundary disputes, they insisted the Navigation Act be, "religiously observed," and explained that some Massachusetts Bay laws would need to be revised while any future laws should be sent to the Privy Council for review. As to the mint the minutes stated:

"That Whereas they had transgressed, in presuming to Coyne Money, which is an Act of Sovereignty, and to which they were by noe Grant sufficiently authorized, That tho' His Majesty may, upon due application, grant them a Charter containing such a Power; yet they must sollicit His Majesties Pardon for the offence that is past." (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 277-280 with the quote on p. 278 and Toppan, "Right to Coin," p. 222)

August 2, 1677 - Stoughton and Bulkley were again brought before the committee of the Lords of Trade and Plantations where they were further lectured on the errors of the Massachusetts government and told what they must do. As to the mint the Lords were rather lenient stating that the agents would need to discuss the matter with the Attorney General about soliciting the King's pardon for past offenses of coining money without authority. Also, the Attorney General was to attend to the action:

"That an Additional Charter bee prepared containing a Power from His Majestie to Coyn Money, and to make all forreigne coins current in that Country." (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 281-284 with the quote on p. 283 and Toppan, "Right to Coin," p. 222)

August 1677 - Hull reduced his mint fees by personal agreement with his customers to 12d per £1 of coins minted. The last order in Hull's personal ledger at the authorized fee of 4d per troy ounce and 1d for wastage per ounce (totalling 5d per ounce) was an order consigned to the mint on July 13, 1677 but with no completion or delivery date recorded. The first order at the rate of 12d per £1 of coins minted was an order consigned to the mint on May 3, 1677 but not completed for delivery until August 29, 1677. (New England Historic Genealogocal Society, Boston Massachusetts, Personal Ledger of John Hull, Manuscript CB 110, ff. 133v-134r)

October 10, 1677 - The decisions of the fall session of the Massachusetts General Court were recorded under this date. A proclamation was issued that a day of Thanksgiving would be observed on November 15th. The preamble to the proclamation stated the reasons for the observance were because God had spared them from an outbreak of an infectious disease and because God had been on their side in the London proceedings,

"frustrating the hopes of our Malicious Adversaries and graciously considering us in the midst of our fears, giving us favour in the eyes of our Soveraign Lord and King, and his most horourable Council as Letters received from Agents do fully inform us" (Cushing, Laws, vol. 3, p. 519. This preamble is found in the printed version of the law but it was not included in the record of the General Court, see Shurtleff, vol. 5, p. 156; the preamble is summarized in Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, p. 164, item 429)

Additionally, two other laws were instituted. The General Court resolved that, "the acts of Trade and Navigation be exactly and punctually observed by this his Majesties Colony;" (Cushing, Laws, vol. 3, p. 517; Shurtleff, vol. 5, p. 155 and listed in Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 172, item 460 as having been passed on October 26th) but in defiance of another suggestion from the Lords of Trade and Plantations the General Court not only revived the oath of fidelity formerly required of inhabitants of the Commonwealth but enacted a law, "requiring all persons as well inhabitants as strangers (that have not taken it) to take an Oath of Fidelity to the Country." [the country refers to Massachusetts Bay]. (Cushing, Laws, vol. 3, pp. 516-517 and Shurtleff, vol. 5, p. 154-155).

October 22, 1677 - The General Court sent a letter to their agents in London, Stoughton and Bulkley, stating they were optimistic about the future and would forward an additional £1,000 to them so they could continue their work. The letter encouraged them to defend the Massachusetts patents to New Hampshire and Maine. The Court also stated, "As for the coynage, or any other additionall priviledge offered, (not prejudiciall to our charter,) wee would not slight, but humbly accept." They also encouraged the agents to protect the shipping and fishing rights of the Commonwealth. The letter concluded that they hoped the men of Portsmouth would be able to send the King a ship load of masts if the King would send a ship to pick them up and from Boston the General Court would send the King some codfish, samp and cranberries. (Shurtleff, vol. 5, pp. 163-164; Crosby, p. 82 and Hall, Randolph, pp. 39-40)

October 24, 1677 - Governor Leverett, with the consent of the General Court sent a letter to the British Secretary of State, Sir Joseph Williamson. A summary of the letter recorded in the State Papers of the Public Record Office in London explained the letter thanked the secretary for his, "most friendly and christian rediness to promote the equity and righteousness of their cause," in the face of false representations made against them. [Sir Joseph Williamson was a member of the Privy Council and Secretary of State June 1674 - February 10, 1679] (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, p. 171, item 456)

December 16, 1677 - Stoughton and Bulkley forward a petition to the King requesting that the towns of Dover, Portsmouth, Exeter and Hampton remain under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. This letter gave further details on the agents' assesment of the question concerning the mint. The summary of the petition stated the agents explained that they had:

"received a signification of the King's promise of pardon to the Massachusetts Government, and particularly of the offence of coining money without the King's authority, with His majesty's license for setting up a Mint within said Colony for coining gold and silver with such impress as His Majesty shall think fit to pass current in said colony only... [the agents then went on to] implore His Majesty to add the grant of these four towns, with the land and royalties, and the liberty of coining money." (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 211-212, item 587 with the quote on p. 211)

December 22, 1677 - Hull as Treasurer of Massachusetts Bay sent a letter to the Commonwealth's agents in London that the ship Blessing had been loaded with 1,860 codfish (of which 700 were between two and three feet long and the rest under two feet), ten barrels of cranberries and three barrels of samp. (Hull, Diary, pp. 129-131, this document is quoted in a memoir of Hull that precedes the actual diaries, also see Crosby, pp. 82-83)

January 23, 1678 - The December 16, 1677 petition of Stoughton and Bulkley, along with a counter petition by the claimants Mason and Gorges were forward from the King's Council to the Lords of Trade and Plantations with a request they they send a report on the matter back to the Council. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, p. 211, item 456)

March 21, 1678 - Robert Mason (claimant to a patent for New Hampshire and cousin to Edward Randolph) sent a letter to the Secretary of State, Sir Joseph Williamson. However, as the Secretary was absent no action was taken. On March 22nd a notice of the letter was recorded in the Journal of the Committee of the Lords of Trade and Plantations. [Sir Joseph Williamson was a member of the Privy Council and Secretary of State June 1674 - February 10, 1679] (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, p. 224, items 627).

March 25, 1678 - Robert Mason explained to the Committee of the Lords of Trade and Plantations that he had learned the two Massachusetts agents, Stoughton and Bulkley had made an agreement to purchase the Gorges claim to the province of Maine. He further stated the agents had made overtures to him concerning the purchase of his claim to New Hampshire. Upon hearing this the committee once again looked into the charges made by Edward Randolph and the counter arguments made by the Massachusetts agents. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 224-226, items 629-632).

March 28, 1678 - Stoughton and Bulkley attended a meeting of the Lords of Trade and Plantations where they stated they had obtained a copy of Randolph's extensive report against Massachusetts Bay (of October 12, 1676) and hoped to pubicly discredit it by reopening the inquiry. Robert Mason appeared before the committee stating he had given the report to the representatives from Massachusetts Bay because he had been duped into believing they had earlier been given a copy by a servant to the Lord of the Privy Seal. (Hall, Randolph, p. 42; Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 286-287; Palfrey, vol. 2, p. 216 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 229-230, item 640).

April 8, 1678 - Edward Randolph attended a meeting of the Lords of Trade and Plantations explaining his October 1676 report had been confidential and that the Massachusetts agents could only have obtained it surreptitiously. Further, Randolph explained the October 1677 session of the Massachusetts General Court had only addressed the Lords request that the colony adhere to the navigation acts but the General Court had been silent on other areas of concern and that they had reimposed the oath of fidelity. The minutes of the meeting also state that he reported, "Nor had they even suspended their Coining of money (which they confess to bee a crime) until His Majasties Pleasure bee knowne." Following the testimony of Mason and Randolph the Committee on Trade and Plantations inquired of the Massachusetts agents if these events were correct. Once it was determined these events had occurred the committee changed their attitude and took a stern stance against Massachusetts Bay, sending an inquiry to the Attorney General asking whether the Massachusetts charter could be nullified. (Hall, Randolph, pp. 41-44; Toppan, Randolph, vol. 2, pp. 289-298 with the quote on coining money from p. 295 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 233-236, item 653)

April 18, 1678 - A petition and a report by Edward Randolph against Massachusetts Bay were read and discussed in a meeting of the Lords of Trade and Plantations. The petition was put forward on behalf of some of the King's "loyal subjects" living in Boston, who were being asked to take an oath of fidelity to Massachusetts Bay. Randolph stated since the Massachusetts agents had obtained his private report it was feared they would share the information with the Massachusetts government and thereby "laying a scene of ruin to those persons whose names are expressed" in the document. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 240-242, items 666-668)

April 27, 1678 - On April 26th the Privy Council read and discussed a report on the April 18th meeting of the Lords of Trade and Plantations. The next day, on the 27th, a letter was sent from the King to the Massachusetts General Court ordering that an Oath of Allegiance to the King be administered to all subjects in the colony; a copy of the oath to be used was enclosed. (Cushing, Laws, vol. 3, p. 536 ; Toppan, Randolph, vol. 3, pp. 1-2 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 247-248 and 250, items 685-686 and 691)

May 6, 1678 - On behalf of Massachusetts Bay, the Boston merchant John Usher had travelled to London and on this day paid £1,250 for the Gorges patent to Maine. The Treasurer of Massachusetts Bay, John Hull, personally extended his own credit, guaranteeing loans, in order to obtain the needed funds. (Palfrey, vol. 2, p. 217 and Clarke, Hull, p. 180)

May 16, 1678 - At a meeting of The Lords of Trade and Plantations attended by Stoughton and Bulkley, the opinion of the Attorney General was read, stating the offenses of Massachusetts Bay were sufficient to void their charter. This was the start of the process that would lead to the issuing of the writ Quo warranto against Massachusetts. Also, on this day the committee, with the consent of the King, directed that a commission be issued to Edward Randolph to make him Collector of Customs in New England. (Hall, Randolph, pp. 44-45; Toppan, Randolph, vol. 3, pp. 2-6 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 253-254, items 703-706)

June 13, 1678 - Over the vehement protests of the Massachusetts agents William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley, on this day the British Customs Commissioner, at the request of the Committee of Trade and Plantations and with the recommendation of the King, issued Edward Randolph a commission as the first royally appointed Collector, Surveyor and Searcher of Customs for New England. However, Randolph did not leave London until September of 1679, and then he first sailed to New York to meet Governor Andros arriving there on December 7, 1679. (Hall, Randolph,pp. 45-46 and 52-53)

October 2, 1678 - The letter of October 10, 1678 (below) was entered in the Record of the General Court under this date. (Crosby, p. 83). Also, the new laws and orders of this fall session of the General Court were published under this date. The first item was a new law requiring all British subjects aged sixteen or over to take an Oath of Allegiance to Charles II. Copies of the oath, which had been enclosed in the King's letter of April 27th, were printed and sent to each magistrate, justice of the peace and constable in the Commonwealth. (Shurtleff, vol. 5, p. 192-194)

October 7, 1678 - The letter of October 10, 1678 is also entered in the Records of the General Court under this date. (Shurtleff, vol. 5, pp. 201-203 and Crosby p. 83)

October 10, 1678 - The date of a letter sent by the General Court to the Commonwealth's agents in London, William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley. The letter included an explanation that the mint was needed to keep up the colony's prosperity and that this prosperity increased the King's customs which they paid annually. The General Court also stated they would change the "Impresse" on their coins (that is, the images and legends) if the King wished. (Shurtleff, vol. 5, pp. 201-203, Crosby, p. 83 and Toppan, "Right to Coin," p. 222)

October 15, 1678 - A letter was sent from Governor Leverett of Massachusetts to British Secretary of State Williamson stating that the Massachusetts Governor, Council and General Court had taken an Oath of Allegiance to the King. [Sir Joseph Williamson was a member of the Privy Council and Secretary of State June 1674 - February 10, 1679] (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 307-308, item 840)

December 6, 1678 - The October 15th letter of Governor Leverett was read at the December 6th meeting of the Committee of the Lords of Trade and Plantations, in the presence of the two Massachusetts agents. Also, at this meeting a proposal for the establishment of a mint in Jamaica was forwarded to the Warden and officers of the Mint for comment. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 307-308, item 840)

February 5, 1679 - In a follow up to the letter of October 15th Massachusetts Governor Leverett communicated to the British Secretary of State Sir Joseph Williamson that the Oath of Allegiance to the King had been administered throughout Massachusetts. [Sir Joseph Williamson was a member of the Privy Council and Secretary of State June 1674 - February 10, 1679] (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, p. 322, item 878)

February 7, 1679 - A reply to the Lords of Trade and Plantations from Henry Slingesby, Master of the Mint, regarding the Earl of Carlisle's request to establish a mint in Jamaica. Slingesby endorsed the establishment of a mint if the coins adhered to the British weight and fineness. Also, the Earl would be required to "raise three or four thousand pounds in Jamaica itself, for the expense of buildings and engines, and a thousand pounds at least annually for repairs and for salaries..." However, in his oral presentation before the Lords of Trade and Plantations on February 8th, Slingesby mentioned the "dangerous consequence" of the proposed mint. The danger was that the mint would not adhere to the British standards, but rather than elaborate on this point Slingesby simply referred the Lords to a previous discussion in a mint report of November 14, 1662 concerning the establishment of a mint in Ireland. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, p. 326, items 883 and 884)

February 21, 1679 - Having received a favorable report from the Lords of Trade and Plantations, the King in Privy Council ordered that the Earl of Carlisle would be allowed to erect a mint as long as he complied with the requirements as stated in the report from Henry Slingesby, Master of the Mint. (Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 331-332, items 901 and 903)

May 20, 1679 - It is recorded in the Colonial Entry Book of the State Papers that a letter was to be written allowing the Massachusetts agents William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley to return home, but that two other agents with broad authority were to be sent to London within six months. The letter also stated that after the two departing agents arrived back home in Massachusetts they were expected to intercede on behalf of the King in the several matters that had been discussed during their stay in London. (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 3, pp. 44-45 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 361-362 on p. 362, item 996)

June 20, 1679 - The Earl of Carlisle wrote to the Lords of Trade and Plantations that he would not be able to conform to the requirements as stated in the report from Henry Slingesby, Master of the Mint. The Earl stated:

If we should make our coin of the same weight and fineness as the coin of England, we should never keep any money in the Island, which is our principal difficulty. In New England they raise money one-fourth, "a ninepence goes for twelvepence, which fills them full of money; yet though the current money here be raised above its value they carry off this Island all our ready money to other plantations, to the great incommoding of the inhabitants in their trade with one another."

August 8, 1679 - Peter Loephilin was accused of making rash speeches in Boston and was arrested a few days later on August 12th. While searching his chest the authorities discovered silver clippings, a crucible, a melting ladle and a strong pair of shears. On September 2, 1679 Loephilin was convicted of clipping coins and sentenced as follows: he was to be confined in the pillory for two hours and was to have both ears cut off, additionally he was to pay a surety of £500 and also pay all the fees associate with his case. This incident may have renewed the debate concerning the value of Spanish American eight reales, for a new proposal on that topic was put forward at the end of October. (Hull, Diary, appendix, p. 300 and Scott, Counterfeiting in Colonial America, pp. 15-16)

October 31, 1679 - A proposal was debated to value all Spanish eight reales at six shillings. The October 8, 1672 act, which was then in force, was based on weight so only full weight eight reales were valued at six shillings. This proposal was to value all eight reales, regardless of weight, at six shillings. In colonial times this was called accepting coins by the piece or by tally (or as they said by "tale") rather than by weight. The proposal passed in the House of Deputies but was defeated in the House of Magistrates. (Crosby, p. 108 and appendix to Hull's Diary, p. 300)

December 25, 1679 - William Stoughton and Peter Bulkley arrived back in Boston. (Clarke, Hull, p. 182 and Hull, Public Diary, p. 246)

January 1680 - Edward Randolph took up his position in Boston as Collector of Customs for New England. (Hall, Randolph, p. 54)

January 4, 1680 - Randolph wrote the first of several letters to the Lords of Trade and Plantations giving information on the colony. In the surviving abstract of this first letter, recorded in the Colonial series of the State Papers under the date of February 25, 1680 (vol. 44, no. 31), it states Randolph mentioned, "That the Government of Boston continue still to collect customs & Coine money." (Toppan, Randolph, vol. 3, pp. 56-61 on p. 57; Toppan, "Right to Coin," p. 222 and Sainsbury, Calendar 1677-1680, pp. 487-490, item 1305, see p. 488)

February 4, 1680 - The General Court reported that Stoughton and Bulkley had returned to Massachusetts. The two agents were thanked for their long and faithful service and the Treasurer was ordered to pay each agent £150, "as a small retribution for such their service, & an expression of our good affection to them." (Shurtleff, vol. 5, p. 263)

May 19, 1680 - An anonymous proposal recommending the abolition of minting fees was forwarded to the General Court. The document is in the handwriting of Isaac Addington, the secretary of the General Court. The proposal stated customers who brought silver to the mint would loose typically 6.25% or more in value when converting their silver into Massachusetts shillings. At the current rates it was cheaper for individuals to export their foreign coins and bullion or sell them to an exporter, rather than bring them to the mint. Because of this situation "little of late yeares (compared to what is laid up and carried away,) hath been coyned ; and of that little, much dispersed into other Colony's." Thus the author called for a "free mint" This proposal contained the earliest surviving reference to the Boston shilling as a pine tree shilling. The sentence explained that spanish silver was just as well accepted as Massachusetts coinage and therefore an owner did not gain anything by having a spanish cross dollar converted to pine tree shillings: "the impress adds nothing to the intrinsick value, a spanish Cross in all other places being as well esteem^d as a New England pine." The proposal was not adopted. A related undated draft in the same hand, encouraged the importation of plate, bullion and Spanish coins and the submission of those items to the mint; it also requested that the mint be made free but that the mintmaster be paid annually by the Commonwealth treasurer based on the current coinage rates. The proposal was not adopted. Another undated draft proposal in the handwriting of John Saffin (who became speaker of the house in 1686) stated Massachusetts silver was becoming scarce throughout the Commonwealth and so he requested abolishing all minting fees and paying the mintmaster annually out of the Commonwealth treasury based on the current coinage allowance. He believed this would encourage individuals to bring foreign coins and bullion into the mint. All these proposals were brought before the General Court but none were adopted. [The Mexican pieces of eight included a very distinct cross in which each extremity had a wedge shape followed by a round sphere. In 1653 the Potosi, Lima, Bogat‡, La Plata and Cartagena mints started using a distinctive cross of Jerusalem with a perpendicular bar extension on each extremity. Mainland Spanish varieties had a simple Greek cross with no design at the extremities, it consisted of a thin line dividing the four quadrants of the Castile and Leon shield. Thus, the term "Spanish Cross" would refer to a new world eight reales and not to the Cross dollar from the Spanish Netherlands]. (Crosby, pp. 109-111 and appendix to Hull's Diary, pp. 300-301)

May 27, 1680 - John Burrell and William Shore of New Jersey were convicted in New York City, "for Coyning of ffalse Boston money" and for transporting the counterfeit money into New York and trying to pass it off. Burrell confessed to the offenses and was ordered to pay restitution while Shore was sentenced to be punished with thirty lashes. It has been questioned as to whether the two were actually counterfeiting coins or if they were just passing counterfeits produced by others. (Scott, Counterfeiting in Colonial New York, p. 2)

June 6, 1680 - An anonymous proposal, in the handwriting of John Hull, was forwarded to the General Court to make the shilling twelve grains lighter and other denominations proportional. The rationale given was that if underweight foreign coins were passed at full value without attention to their weight or fineness the Commonwealth would be the looser and only those "strangers" who brought underweight coins into Massachusetts would make a profit. Further, he stated lighter coins would be less likely to be exported from the Commonwealth. Also, it would encourage more silver to be brought to the mint as individuals with full weight pie