My currency collection4/18/2023 The Constitution of the United States gave the federal government sole authority to issue money. Other specific attractions which might be mentioned are the Massachusetts notes which have been cancelled with a circular punch, a common treatment of the times notes which have been repaired and stitched-see them among the North Carolina set notes printed on one side only-a practice carried to the end of the nineteenth century Rhode Island notes, which have a red reverse (most notes of the period were only black and white), and Delaware notes bearing Benjamin Franklin’s imprint. Only half-dozen executions for counterfeiting are recorded for the entire colonial period although the incidence of the crime was high. The governments’ bark was evidently worse than their bite, however. Most colonies printed dire warnings to counterfeiters on their money-see Delaware (“to Counterfeit is Death”), Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. Many of these notes are of curious and original design ranging from nature studies to Revolutionary War themes to early state arms. Colonial and Continental currency is of value not only because of its financial history and rarity, but also because of its interesting design and production. During the 1770’s the Collection broadens. About six other notes from various colonies are available for the following two decades. The earliest colonial issue contained here is a Maryland 15 shilling note dated October 1, 1748. Seventeen pieces of Continental currency are found in the Collection including at least one example of all eleven general emissions except the last, January 14, 1779. Only Florida, which was under British rule from 1763-1783 and Vermont, (the 14th state) which produced a single issue in 1781, are unrepresented. Series I of this Collection contains paper currency from the colonial eras of all of the original states. Although some early war issues, particularly in New England, were redeemed, most eventually went the way of the Continental dollar. Many of these were revolutionary in design and wording. The states considered themselves freed from the legal restrictions of England and issued a profusion of notes. The Continental Congress was not the only government issuing currency during the Revolutionary war period. The latter term supposedly came from a soldier who used worthless notes to bind a leg wound. The terms “not worth a Continental” and “shinplaster” came into vogue. America’s first national currency enriched the language, if not the treasury. ![]() By late 1776 the currency was beginning to depreciate and in 1780 when it was worth on 1/40th of face value the Congress made a last and only slightly successful attempt to redeem it and retire it. Between 17 the Continental Congress provided eleven emissions of currency with a face value of $241,552,780. Since Congress had no power to make its money legal tender, it was forced to rely on the individual colonies to do so. The units of issue were Spanish milled dollars, a conscious break from the English monetary system. The bills were backed by a Congressional resolution pledging the faith of all the colonies for the redemption of the bills between 17. The first Continental notes were issued May 10, 1775. With the Declaration of Independence from England and the establishment of a Continental Congress, the first attempts were made to provide a national currency for the American colonies. Fourteen British colonies issued paper money before the Revolution and Vermont made an emission just before the establishment of the new republic. ![]() The other British colonies were quick to see the value of paper currency in an economy that suffered a constant drain of coin to England. By 1692, these bills were declared legal tender and circulated as a substitute for coin for twenty years. ![]() In 1690, Massachusetts issued paper bills of credit to pay for King William’s War. Necessity is said to be the “Mother of Invention” and the short supply of metallic currency in the New World made some alternative medium of exchange essential. It is not surprising that this financial innovation should have taken place on the fringes of world commerce and not in one of the major European financial centers. Collection,, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library Historical NoteĪt the end of the seventeenth century, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was the first government of the western world to issue paper currency. This collection, the preferred citation is: American Paper Currency. Includes currency that was transferred from the Reuben T. Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research CenterĬontains American paper currency (1748-1899), including examples from the Colonial, Continental, and Civil War periods. © 2011 University of Chicago Library Descriptive Summary Title: University of Chicago Library Guide to the American Paper Currency Collection 1748-1899
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