John Hull (December 18, 1624 – October 1, 1683) was an English-born merchant, silversmith, slave trader and politician who spent the majority of his life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. After arriving in North America, he worked as a silversmith in Boston before becoming the moneyer responsible for issuing the colony's pine tree shillings in the mid-17th century. Hull was also a successful merchant and engaged in slave-trading on multiple occasions. He was also an early benefactor of Harvard College and a co-founder of the Old South Church.
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John Hull (merchant) in the context of Moneyer
A moneyer is a private individual who is officially permitted to mint money. Usually the rights to coin money are bestowed as a concession by a state or government. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They became most prominent in the Roman Republic, and continued into the Empire. In Rome the position of Triumvir Monetalis, held by three people at a time, was a minor magistracy awarded by the Senate, often the first office held by young politicians, including Marcus Aurelius.
Moneyers were not limited to the ancient world. During the Middle Ages, European moneyers created currency on behalf of kings and potentates. For a large part of that era, virtually all coins in circulation were silver pennies, and these often bore the name or other identification of the moneyer. In 17th century North America, John Hull acted as a moneyer for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
John Hull (merchant) in the context of Early American currency
Early American currency went through several stages of development during the colonial and post-Revolutionary history of the United States. John Hull was authorized by the Massachusetts legislature to make the earliest coinage of the colony (the willow, the oak, and the pine tree shilling) in 1652.
Because few coins were minted in the Thirteen Colonies, which later became the United Colonies and then the United States, foreign coins like the Spanish dollar were widely circulated. Colonial governments, at times, issued paper money to facilitate economic activities. The Parliament of Great Britain passed currency acts in 1751, 1764, and 1773 to regulate colonial paper money.