THE CENTS AND HALF CENTS OF MASSACHUSETTS
Packard, Michael

2025. 310 pages, illustrated.

The long-awaited standard reference to the Massachusetts copper coinage of 1787-1788, providing detailed historical background as well as a carefully written and well-illustrated attribution guide to the die varieties of the series. The first major study of these coins since Hillyer Ryder's "The Copper Coins of Massachusetts" was published in 1920.

Massachusetts coppers-cents and half cents-are the least appreciated of thecoins authorized and struck by four states during the Confederation period. This issurprising because the Massachusetts coppers were the best-produced of the statecoins. Their weights were the most consistent, their planchets were the best quality,they had the fewest striking errors, and their mintage of less than half a millionpieces was probably the lowest of the state coppers. In addition, they were the firstcoins to bear the words "CENT" and "HALF CENT." What's not to like?

A common complaint about the series is that the varieties look too much alike andare too hard to differentiate from each other. However, one doesn't have to be avariety collector to enjoy holding an example of the first cent or half cent everproduced. These are historic coins. If one wants to collect a variety set, one mustbe patient. Almost a quarter of the varieties are known by fewer than two dozenexamples. Hopefully, this book will resolve the variety identification problem andbring a few more examples of the scarcer varieties to light.

Although many people who buy this book will do so for the attribution guide, thehistory of the Massachusetts Copper Mint and how it came to be is interesting in itsown right. Commerce in most, if not all states during that period suffered for lackof an adequate amount of specie. From the beginning of the revolution, there werecalls for the new federal government to open a mint and strike coins for circulation.Always there were delays. Finally in mid-1785, Vermont, an independent republicand not yet a state, began coining its own money. Three other states subsequentlyfollowed suit. Massachusetts was the last state to pass an act to establish a mint. Itdid so in October 1786, unaware that Congress had passed a similar act to establisha federal mint just the day before.

No mint-related work was conducted in Massachusetts until after Congress decidedin April 1787 to contract for coinage instead of opening a national mint. Work onthe new mint began, but even then, it was slow. The first Massachusetts cents andhalf cents were not struck until September 1787. Many of those first coins were notretained and used within the Commonwealth. They were placed aboard two shipsthat set sail on an historic voyage of adventure.

Minting was slow, output was low, and the staff was let go. The legislatureintended to replace the mintmaster and his crew with someone they hoped woulddo a better job. However, the new Constitution gave the federal government thesole right to coin money and expressly forbade the states from doing so. TheMassachusetts Mint closed in January 1789. Seven weeks later, the Constitutiontook effect when the first Congress was seated. The mintmaster got his revenge,though. His final accounting indicated he was owed a large sum, more than all themoney coined under his watch. And he was paid!

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