Master for Webs

Supposedly, it was on this date in 1652 that the first mint ever was established (somewhat illicitly) in the colonies. "Somewhat illicitly?" Well, for 30 years, every coin produced at the mint was dated 1652, in an effort to conceal the continuous mintage from the British authorities in London. Today we celebrate that early mint by minting our language for mint words.

We can thank the ancient Romans for the monetary mint that names the place where coins are made. When the Romans established a mint at a temple of the goddess Juno Moneta, the epithet moneta became a generic Latin term for a place where money is made. Moneta meandered through Europe and eventually into Old English, (more...)