Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 140, § 76

No person shall, in any city or in any town of ten thousand or more inhabitants, engage in or carry on the business of loaning money upon mortgages, deposits or pledges of wearing apparel, jewelry, ornaments, household goods or other personal property, or of purchasing such property on condition of selling it back again at a stipulated price, unless he is licensed as a pawnbroker; but this and the six following sections shall apply only if such property is deposited with the lender, and shall not apply to loans made upon stock, bonds, notes or other written evidences of ownership of property or of indebtedness to the holder or owner of any such securities.