New Hampshire Currency
February 1744/45 (also reissued July 6, 1745; October 5, 1745 and July 12, 1746)
An emission of £13,000 in New Tenor bills of credit was authorized on February 16, 1745 to pay for the military expedition against Louisburg. The two plates used to print the notes had originally been engraved in Boston for the New Hampshire emission of April 3, 1742. The plates were then used for an emission approved in Britain on June 2, 1743; for that emission the date 1743 was added to the plates just above the signature area, usually to the right of the center just below the frame around the text. The plates were then used for the February 1744/45 emission with the date of February 1744 added to the obverse of each note, somewhere below the central text, usually just below the central frame, toward the left margin. Additonal quantities of notes were printed without any further redating of the plates for the follwoing three issues: an emission of £6,000 by an act of July 6, 1745; an emission of £8,000 by an act of October 5, 1745 and finally a large emission of £60,000 was authorized to finance an expedition into Canada by an act of July 12, 1746. Notes from the February 1744/45 through the July 12, 1746 emissions cannot be distinguished. The dating 1744/45 refers to the situation that at that time the British celebrated the New Year in March so the date on the notes "February 1744" is converted to February 1745 using our current calendar. In the 1744/45 - 1746 emissions the backs of the four lower denomination notes were blank while the four higher denominations contained a scrollwork frame (called a cartouche) with the denomination printed in both the old tenor value as well as the new tenor equivalent value. At the time the plates were first engraved in 1742 the exchange was 4s old tenor for 1s new tenor. Denominations for this issue include: 6d, 1s, 2s6d, 6s, 7s6ds, 10s, 20s and 40s.
20s Serial Number: 372 NH 02/45
Signers: George Jaffrey, Joseph Sherburne (in red ink), Eleazer Russell.
Size: 99 x 141mm.
Comments: Numbering and first signature somewhat faded. This note is considered to be a contemporary counterfeit. The frame around the central text consists of acanthus leaves with the bottom portion consisting of the area for the serial number and the provincial seal, which displays a pine tree and the motto PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. On the 20s denomination the February 1744 date was added in the seal as Feby 1744. Just below the seal and slightly to the right the previous redating of the plate for the 1743 emission is evident. At the bottom is the British coat of arms to the left and to the right are the signatures of three members from the committee of twenty five signers. The back of this example has been reinforced with brown paper completely obscuring the printed text, originally the back of the note had the old and new tenor equivalency printed on it. Based on the Forty shilling example in Newman the back would have read: "Four / Pounds. / Old Tenor. / Twenty / Shillings" [that is, 20s New Tenor].
Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the R.M. Smythe Fourth Annual Strasburg Paper Money Show 1/17/99, Auction 191, lot 1015 where it was mislabelled as Rhode Island.
