Shilling
ca. 1667–ca. 1682
Medium
Silver
Dimensions
1 3/16 in., 4.68 Grams (3 cm, 3.009 dwt)
Classification
Coin
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Alphonso T. Clearwater, 1933
Accession Number
33.120.377
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the humble yet revolutionary *Shilling*, a silver coin struck by pioneering American silversmiths John Hull Robert Sanderson Sr. around 1667–1682. Minted in Boston during the early colonial era, this petite treasure—measuring just 1 3/16 inches across and weighing a mere 4.68 grams—resides in The Met's American Wing, a bequest from Alphonso T.water in 1933. As one of the first coins produced in the English colonies, it embodies the scrappy ingenuity of New England settlers. In an act of bold defiance against British monetary restrictions, the Massachusetts Bay Colony authorized Hull an...