Locating the factory that made the 1847 Hawaiian Cents

The_Dinosaur_Man · August 16, 2026 3:16PM

I think it is fair to assume that most anyone who has studied the coinage of Hawaii will recognize the first cents were made in 1847 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and likely by the company, H.M. & E.I. Richards who also produced some Hard Times Tokens.

Given that I live fairly close to Attleboro and that I have encountered more than a few Hawaiian cents in the last few years, I thought it would be a fun side project to actually track down where those coins were originally made. I would like to eventually make a "pilgrimage" with a Hawaiian cent if or once I find out where the facility once stood.

Just from these starting points, I reached out to the Attleboro Historical Preservation Society. They quickly determined that H.M. & E.I. Richards were in the part of the town that eventually split into North Attleboro. I sent an email to a curator of that historical society and am awaiting a reply.

I was provided a link to this document which mentions H.M. & E.I. Richards:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t1pg1tq57&view=1up&seq=398

From there I found this document which shows the company changing names to Ira Richards & Co. in 1834 and the name was changed again in 1875 to E. Ira Richards & Co.
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https://rmlonline.org/sites/rmlonline.org/files/attachments/Stone chapter xiv.pdf
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And then I found on eBay a postcard from 1908 showing the street view outside the facility with the street's name given as Elm St. While no address was provided, the postcard does provide some help in narrowing down the exact location along the 1.07 mile roadway.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/334769444505
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I will provide some updates as I receive them. Feel free to post your Hawaiian Cents or Attleboro, MA hard times tokens in the meantime.