North Carolina: April 2, 1776
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    North Carolina Currency

    April 2, 1776

    An emission $1,250,000 (£500,000) in bills of credit of which $250,000 had been authorized on April 22, 1776 and an additional $1,000,000 on May 9, 1776. Each bill has a vignette on it usually with several different variations for each denomination and some also contain a motto. The bills were engraved on copper plates by G.L. (his initials appear on one variety of the monogram $1/2, as well as on the fox $2, the triton $5, the $7 1/2, and the $20 bills), whom Newman identifies as the Baltimore goldsmith Gabriel Lewyn. The original plate for the $20 denomination still exists. Denominations issued were $1/16 (six varieties), $1/8 (eight varieties), $1/4 (eight varieties), $1/2 (eight varieties), $1 (six varieties), $2 (two varieties), $2 1/2 (two varieties), $3 (two varieties), $ 4 (two varieties), $5 (two varieties), $6 (two varieties), $7 1/2, $8 (two varieties), $10 (two varieties), $12 1/2, $15 and $20.

    obv


    $1/8                   Serial Number: 11,347                 NC 04/02/76

    Signers: Willis Alston, G. Hill (faded).

    Size: not available.

    Comments: Signed and numbered in brown ink. Vignette in lower left of front depicts a dog. The back is blank.

    Courtesy of Early American Numismatic Auctions, Inc. Images used with permission from their on-line auction catalog for the auction of April 20, 1996, lot 528.

    obv


    $5                   Serial Number: 4729                 NC 04/02/76

    Signers: David Sumner, William Haywood, William Williams, J. Webb.

    Size: not available.

    Comments: First signature in red other and numbering in bown inks. Vignette in lower left of front depicts Triton. In the lower left corner margin is a monogram G.L. for Gabriel Lewyn of Baltimore who engraved the copper plates for this issue. The back is blank.

    Courtesy of Early American Numismatic Auctions, Inc. Images used with permission from their on-line auction catalog for the auction of April 20, 1996, lot 531.

    obv rev


    $10                   Serial Number: 5493                 NC 04/02/76

    Signers: Benjamin McCulloch, J. Bradford, G. Hill (faded), Willis Alston.

    Size: 62 x 82mm (front border design: 62 x 80.5mm; back blank).

    Comments: Signed and numbered in brown inks. Vignette in lower left of front depicts a peacock. Back is blank but our example contains numerous handwritten annotations in ink: "W C. Ballard for HS", "To John", "T. Harvey", "R. Dukim", "484".

    Provenance: EANA mail bid auction 1/13/96 lot 431. Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment.