NC 1776 $5 

Title

North Carolina paper currency, Bill of Credit value five dollars

Maker

[James Davis, printer]

Material

Laid paper, ink

Origin

North Carolina, [New Bern]

Date:

1776

Dimensions:

OH: 2 3/8” (6.0 cm); OW: 3 ½” (8.7 cm)

Description:

Engraved five-dollar Bill of Credit issued by North Carolina with borders on all four sides; top border inscribed “FIVE DOLLARS;” left border (in script) “FIVE DOLLARS/ five/ dollars” and vignette of Triton; right side: “North/ Carolina/ FIVE DOLLARS.” Main text: “N^o Carolina Currency/ N^o 349 FIVE DOLLARS./ By Authority of Congress at/ Halifax April ^d2 1776.” Ink signatures: “D Sumner” “W^m Haywood”/ “W^m Williams”. Ink inscriptions on reverse: “Tho^s Cab[illegible]/ from [illegible]/ to Loui Glass” and “Col Young”

Source:

Purchase

Relation:

Comments:

On left border, initials “GL” (for Gabriel Lewyn, a Baltimore engraver). Unusual features: error of “^d 2” instead of “2^d” and inclusion of a face in “O” in the top border. An Act dated April 2, 1776, authorized the printing of $1,250,000 (£500,000) in Bills of Credit. The bills were issued in two series: $250,000 in the first, dated April 2, 1776 (the beginning of the session) and $1,000,000 in the second, dated May 9, 1776. Each bill has a vignette and some also contain mottoes. This denomination was issued in a series of 10,000 bills. This denomination was subject to counterfeit. Fractional denominations are smaller in size than the higher denominations. Bills were signed by: Willis Alston, J. Bradford, William Haywood, G. Hill, Benjamin McCulloch, David Sumner, J. Webb, and William Williams.

Language:

En

Rights:

Permission to use the photograph must be obtained in writing from Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, New Bern, North Carolina. It must be accompanied by the caption” From the collection of Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, New Bern, North Carolina; North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archive and History.”