Georgia Emissions of1776-77: Introduction
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    Georgia Emissions of 1776-1777 - Introduction

    There are nine GA emissions from 1776-1777 without a specific date of issue (followed by two on June 8th and September 10, 1777 with exact dates). Of these emissions, seven were printed with the year 1776 on the notes, another is without a year but is thought to be from 1776 and one emission carries the date 1777. Like the single Georgia emission of 1775, all these notes were printed with typeset rather than engraved plates. On the lower denominations a geometric design with a mention of the denomination was included in the lower right hand corner of the front, while on the higher denomination notes a pro-revolutionary illustration was added. For several of these emission the illustration was in the form of a colored circular seal with a Latin motto. These seals, which come in red, orange, green, blue-green, light blue and dark blue, were added to the bills after the sheets had been printed. Clearly this additional step was undertaken to make the simple typeset notes look more "official" and to enhance their acceptability. Of course, the seals would also make counterfeiting the notes more difficult (they also printed some words of the typeset notes in red ink to deter illegal printing), although this may not have been a major concern as there are no known counterfeits of Georgia typeset notes. The order of these emission cannot be reconstructed from currently available evidence, nor do we even know the quantity of most of these emissions. It is possible the issues without seals were printed earlier. These include the undated emission consisting of $3, $4, $5, $8 and $10 notes; a Gold Option emission consisting of a single $2 note and the sterling issue discussed below. The sterling issue does not contain seals, except for the reissued 5s (Sperandum) note. All the Georgia revolutionary era emissions appear rather primitive because the official colony printer, James Johnston, was a tory and therefore his equipment had been seized, thereafter the shop was run by sympathetic but inexperienced printers.