North Carolina Currency
May 17, 1783
An emission of £100,000 ($250,000) in legal tender bills of credit equivalent to specie. Printed by Thomas Davis in Halifax using engraved border cuts and vignettes with typeset text and typeset backs. Because of North Carolina's poor financial position the state was not able to exchange these bills for legal currency once state currency was prohibited by the Constitution (ratified in 1789). This issue remained in circulation at a depreciated rate (20% lower than specie) until 1816 when the North Carolina legislature authorized the printing of a new (and illegal) issue of fractional currency in order to have currency to exchange for the old notes. Apparently all denominations from 5s and over were counterfeited during thier long tenure in circulation. Denominations issued were: 6d, 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, 20s and 40s.obv
rev
10s Counterfeit Serial Number: 198 NC 05/17/83
Signers: Benjamin MuCulloch and John Hunt (forgeries)
Size: 71.5 x 105mm (front border design-Vertical dimension: 68mm, horizontal dimension trimmed; back border design-Vertical dimension: 63.5mm, horizontal dimension trimmed).
Comments: The numbering and first signature are in red ink, with the first signature being quite faded; the second signature is in brown ink. The vignette shows a ship in a harbor near a fort with the legend "Commercio" (Commerce) below. On the reverse is the handwritten signature of David Garganus. Newman lists all denominations of 5s and above as having been counterfeited and illustrates a counterfeit of the 10s note (quite similar to the note above). However, in his list of North Carolina counterfeits on pp. 465-466, where details of each counterfeit issue are specified, Newman only lists 5s, 20s and 40s counterfeits for this emission.
Provenance: EANA mail bid auction 1/18/97 lot 372. Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment.
