On November 1, 1751, a bell was ordered from the Whitechapel Foundry in England with the intention it should hang in the State House steeple, now Independence Hall. September 2, 1752, the bell arrived on March 10, 1753 it was hung. It cracked while the sound was being tested. The break was blieved to be caused by flaws in the casting.

The cracked bell was melted down and recast by the local Philadelphia foundry. An ounce and a half to a pound of copper was added in an attempt to make the new bell less brittle. The tone of this bell was not liked and so it was again melted down and recast.

In June of 1753 the bell was hung again but the tone was still not approved of. A new bell was ordered from England. After it arrived it was agreed that it sounded no better than the last. The previous bell was left in the steeple and the new bell was
placed in the cupola on the State House roof and attached to the clock to sound the hours.