North Carolina: August 8, 1778
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    North Carolina Currency

    August 8, 1778

    An emission of $2,125,000 (£850,000) in legal tender bills of credit payable in Spanish milled dollars or the equivalent in gold or silver. The bills were typeset by James Davis of Newburn, North Carolina using both dark mica flaked paper and thin unsized paper. The printer used six different mottoes in this issue changing the motto each time a new denomination was printed. Because a smallpox epidemic that affected the printing company a total of £24,875 5s of bills were not printed, including all $1/16 dollar bills. There were two signers on denominations of $4 and higher and one signer on the lower denominations. Denominations issued were: $1/8, $1/4, $1/2, $1 (two varieties), $2, $4, $5 (four varieties), $10 (three varieties), $20, $25, $40, $50 and $100.

    obv rev


    $1/2                   Serial Number: 4022                 NC 08/08/78

    Signer: R. White.

    Size: 59 x 82mm (outside edges of front and back border design is trimmed).

    Comments: Signed is a very faded brown ink and numbered in a darker brown ink. The front and back of the bill are entirely typeset. Motto on lower left of front reads: Behold A new World.

    Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EAHA mail bid auction of 5/23/98, lot 420, graded as very fine.

    obv rev


    $1                   Serial Number: 5772                 NC 08/08/78

    Signer: Jesse Cobb.

    Size: 61 x 86mm (outside edges of the front and back borders are trimmed).

    Comments: Signed in brown and numbered in a red ink. Front and back of bill entirely typeset. Motto on lower left of front reads: Virtuous Councils the Cement of States.

    Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction of 12/2/95, lot 497.

    obv


    $10                   Serial Number: 11,567                 NC 08/08/78

    Signers: Richard Cogdell, Jesse Cobb.

    Size: not available

    Comments: Numbered and second signature in black ink, first sigature in a redish brown ink. Motto on lower left of front reads: Persecution the Ruin of Empires. An image of the back is not available.

    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 534.

    obv rev


    $20                 Serial Number: 6521                 NC 08/08/78

    Signers: C. Markland, R. White.

    Size: 60 x 86mm (front and back border design is trimmed).

    Comments: Numbering and signatures in a faded brown ink. Front and back of bill entirely typeset. Motto on lower left of front reads: American Virtue triumphant.

    Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction of 12/2/95, lot 499.