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Issues of the United Colonies ~ United States

United Colonies $4 ~ 9 May 1776 Issue

The immense struggle for American independence from Great Britain didn't begin all of a sudden with the Battle of Lexington in 1775 - in fact it was initiated over a period of over a decade, beginning with resistance to the Stamp Act. The Boston Massacre of 1770 introduced violence to the struggle. With the apparent nonchalant response by the British crown, the colonial governments agitated for greater autonomy. In contrast to modern belief that the the desire for independence motivated the American rebels, in fact at the beginning of the conflict they were really only desirous of more local freedom of government and still desired the overall protection of Great Britain. Destiny and the violence of the opening salvos of all out war quickly evaporated any real desire by most for continued links with Great Britain. In late 1775 and through early 1776 legislatures from the colonies were meeting in committees in their respective capitals to decide their ultimate desire. It became apparent that only total independence from Great Britain was tenable for the rebellious colonies.

Revolutions are not financed only by stirring diatribes such as Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" - in fact they are most often financed by the creation of a currency by those participants. Beginning with an issue authorised on 10 May 1775, that was released into circulation in August of that year, the nascent Continental Congress of the American colonies issued paper money to finance the enormous cost of the conflict with Great Britain.

The first issues of currency were printed by Hall and Sellers of Philadelphia, some of the nature prints and the die cuts were previously used on Pennsylvania's earlier notes. The paper for one $20 bill issue was even provided courtesy of Benjamin Franklin - and those are particularly desirable for collectors in the 21st century. Fortunately for modern collectors, but not for our Revolutionary forebearers, these currency issues were printed in enormous quantities and quickly lost value due to the poor course of the war and counterfeiting on the part of the British.

This particular $4 bill was the first colonial era paper money I purchased, I think I was 11 or 12 when I purchased it for $9 - then a princely sum, but because this bill has cellophane tape on it and the resultant residue - it was cheaper than the rest of them that the coin dealer had. For me owning a 200+ year old piece of American money was just so exciting - the wonderment of who could have used it during that time etc was so overwhelming. Denominations issued were $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7 and $8, but the $4 bill has a unique feature in contrast with the other denominations in that the bottom border cut was not inverted - in fact it was upright - so that "The United Colonies" and "Four Dollars" are more easily viewed with out turning the note. The latin motto over the wild boar charging the spear AUT MORS AUT VITA means "Either death or an honourable life"

While many advanced collectors of colonial era notes would pass this note over because of the tape, for me it holds a sentimental value beyond it's nominal monetary value. It was the first banknote that I can remember purchasing, I remember saving older notes from circulation occasionally - but paper money really didn't hold an interest for me until I chanced upon this note on a coin shop visit. I remember being so awed with this note that I often looked at it while watching TV etc, so much so that you can guess that eventually it turned up missing. I was devastated and tried to find another, but the shop I had purchased this one from didn't have anymore. Several months later while on a money hunt in our living room sofa I got a kitchen knife and cut the bottom liner out to collect the spilled change from the bottom of the sofa. Excitingly I remember this note in it's holder falling out with the spilled change. Since that time, better experience with caring for my collectables, I have stored the note much more securely!

United States $7 ~ 26 September 1778 Issue

The course of the American Revolution the city of Philadelpia had been occupied by the British, the earlier 1778 issue of paper money had been authorised and printed in Yorktown Pennsyvania. The city had been occupied by the British from September 1777 until they evacuated the city on 19th June of 1778. With the return of the American forces regular business in the Continental Congress and printing activities for more paper money quickly resumed. The 26th September 1778 resolution authorised $75,001,080 in new currency issue. One notable part of this issue was that the denominations of notes were getting larger from $5 to $60 and they were issued in much larger quantities - a reflection of the depreciating value of the notes after three years of war.

An interesting aspect of early paper money is the curious denominations, in this case $7, but by the time this was issued it was a fairly low value note and there are contemporary accounts of having to use a wagonload of paper money to buy a wagonload of provisions. Beginning with the 1778 issues the title "United States" was applied to the notes, reflecting the desire of the previous colonies to aspire towards a greater independence. The Latin motto Serenabit on the device on the left with the engraving of the storm clouds means "It will clear up" and is believed to originated from some of the writings of Benjamin Franklin.

The reverse of the note uses the derivative nature print that was commonly used as an anti-counterfeiting measure. By 1780 these notes had depreciated to 1/40th of their original value and they were all called in and redeemed at a rate of $40 in Continental Congress bills for $1 of new State issued currency. In essence the first paper money of the United States destined a course of losing 99% of it's value as it was only redeemed for 1% of the stated value of the notes but only in the form of bonds that were only paid out in 1813.