NC 1775 $5

Title

North Carolina paper currency, Bill of Credit value five dollars

Maker

[James Davis, printer]

Material

Ink on laid paper

Origin

North Carolina, [New Bern]

Date:

1775

Dimensions:

OH:  3” (7.5 cm); OW: 4 3/8” (11.2 cm)

Description:

Engraved five-dollar Bill of Credit issued by North Carolina. Printed from engraved copper plate with scroll and flower border on left edge and a vignette of Governor Tryon’s Palace in lower left corner. Printed inscription: “N^o Carolina Currency/ N^o 3508 FIVE DOLLARS/ This Bill entitles the Bearer to receive Five/ Spanish milled Dollars or the Value thereof/ in Gold or Silver according to the Resolu-/ tion of the Provincial Congress held at Hills-/ borough August 21^st 1775.” Ink signatures on obverse:  “R^d Cogdill”/ Andrew Knox/ R^d Caswell.”

Ink inscriptions on reverse: “Ahile W [illegible]/ to/ JH” “Ja^s Comer to RB” “Lucy Simmens [?]/ to GD Apr^l 7^t.” Vertical crease at center of bill.

Donor:

William Mason

Relation:

Comments:

£125,000 in Bills of Credit were authorized by the September 21, 1775 Resolution. The $5 bill of credit was issued in a series of 4,000. The vignette in the corner shows the Palace, constructed between 1767 and 1770 as government house and residence for Governor William Tryon. It is the only know eighteenth-century image of the building besides John Hawks’ architectural drawings.  The engraving reveals that the Palace originally had large urns at the corners of the parapet, in the manner of mid-eighteenth-century British country houses, while the flanking offices were plain. Bill currently on display at New Bern Academy Museum.

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.”