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New York

Commonalty of the City of New York

Four Shillings 4/- 6th January 1776

The Colony of New York issued notes in Old Tenor beginning in 1709, the paper money was allegedly backed and payable in silver plate. The colony issued paper money fairly consistently up to the Revolution. In addition to the colony, the Commonalty of the City of New York issued paper money, the issue of which financed municipal water works. The paper money was in fact the first paper money issued by a municipality in the American colonies when it was first issued in 1774. The border cuts for the note were engraved by Elisha Gallaudet, a noted engraver from New Jersey who was born ca. 1728. He engraved several colonial era banknotes for the colony and also New York, as well as creating the dies for the 1776 Continental Dollar.

The most fascinating aspect of the note for me is the reverse illustration of a steam pump that was proposed to be constructed by Christopher Colles. Colles was a civil engineer that was born in Ireland in 1738 and lived in New York until his demise in 1821. In the early 1770's he proposed the creation of a resevoir to supply New York City with potable water. The Commonalty adopted this proposal and sought to finance it with this paper money issue. The paper money from this Water Works issue went through four different releases. Unfortunately the American Revolution intervened and the resevoir was not then completed, and people went back to using the well water they had been dependent on for several generations.

The first signature is of N. Bayard, a member of a prominent New York family that lived in the city. The second signature is John H. Cruger, a wealthy New York City personage who would later associate himself with the Loyalist cause. He was born in 1738, and during the Revolution served as lieutenant-colonel of the First Battalion of Delancey's Brigade - loyalists serving in the British service. John Harris Cruger would go on to serve the British during the southern campaigns. At the cessation of hostilies in 1783, he briefly returned to New York City, but his extensive property holdings had been confiscated by the Americans. Subsequently he travelled to London and lived until his death in 1807 there.

Corporation of the City of New York

One Penny 1d 1790

After the cessation of the war in 1783 the newly independent states suffered a dearth of circulating currency. In fact coins pretty much disappeared from all circulation, several of the colonies attempted to circulate contract coinage usually in halfpenny and penny denominations. In order to satisfy the needs of citizens and hope to drive poorly made counterfeit coins out of circulation the Corporation of the City of New York authorised the issuance of a paper money in 1790 in the denominations of one Penny, Twopence, and Threepence. The notes actually went through several printings through 1796, and earlier notes in poor condition were retired and destroyed. Despite the rumours of the notes becoming worthless they continued to circulate until London made counterfeits started circulating in 1799 - and then finally the notes were called in and redeemed. Despite the fact that 367,333 notes were issued for each denomination over the six years they were printed, the call in for redemption succeeded in redeeming the great majority of the notes - no note holders were left with worthless paper money - unusual for an early American currency issue. As a direct result of the mandatory redemption by 1 June 1799 the surviving notes are very scarce today despite their having been issued in large numbers.

These New York notes were printed by Hugh Gaine, a printer who was born in Ireland in 1726, He established his printing business in New York in 1750, and 1752 established the "Mercury", a weekly publication that would soon become a known Loyalist outlet during the American Revolution. When fortunes changed for Loyalists, he left New York City. After the cessation of the war in 1783 he petitioned for redress and to return once more to New York City. He resumed his printing business, but could not print newspapers, pamphlets etc - a restriction that pretty much confined him to printing paper money for the Colony and City of New York and selling books. He died in 1807 in the city. Unusually he was one of the few loyalists that remained in the new United States after the Revolutionary War ended.

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