Craven County Digital History Exhibit

NC 1778 $4

Accession Number TP.1987.037.001

Title

North Carolina paper currency, Bill of Credit value four dollars

 

Maker

James Davis, printer

 

Material

Type on laid paper, ink

 

Origin

North Carolina, New Bern

 

Date:

1778

 

Dimensions:

OH:                  ; OW: 

 

Description:

Typeset four-dollar Bill of Credit issued by North Carolina with borders all around; border on top printed “NORTH CAROLINA CURRENCY , on left : “Death to COUNTERFEIT.”, on right: “FOUR DOLLARS.” Printed text: “FOUR DOLLARS/ No 6317/ STATE of NORTH CAROLINA./ This Bill intitles [sic] the Bearer to receive FOUR/  Spanish  mill’d DOLLARS, or the Value thereof/ in Gold & Silver, agreeable to an Act of Assem-/bly passed at Hillsborough the 8th Day of August/ 1778.” Motto in lower left corner: “A Lesson to arbitrary/ Kings, and wicked/ Ministers.” Signed in ink: “R Cogdell”/ “J Cobb.”

 

Printed on reverse: “FOUR dollars/ Printed by James Davis,/ 1778.”

 

Donor:

Dr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Patterson, Jr.

 

Relation:

 

 

Comments:

£850,000  ($2,125,000) in legal tender Bills of Credit was authorized by the August 8, 1778 Act. Bills were printed on both sides. This denomination was issued in a series of 12,500. Signers include: Joseph Armitage, J. Burk, M. Caswell, Richard Caswell, S.Caswell, Jesse Cobb, Richard Cogdell, James Coor, David Cox, Jr., Oroondates  Davis, Benjamin Exum, James Green, Thomas Harvey, Benjamin Hawkins, Joseph Jones, James Kenan, James Kerr, John Lillington, C. Markland, H. Machilwien, Thomas Satterwhite, William Sharp, R. White,and James 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.”

Obverse Image
Reverse Image

Images scanned by Dean Knight
Text prepared by Nancy Richards and Victor T. Jones, Jr.

Last edited: June 5, 2015