Rhode Island Currency
May 1786
An emission of £100,000 in legal tender bills of credit equal to lawful silver money. Issued pursuant to acts of May, June and August of 1786 for the 4% amortization of seven year realty loans, referred to as the Tenth Rhode Island Bank. Printed In Newport by Solomon Southwich and Henry Barber on cream or bluish paper. There are three border cuts and the state seal on the front. On some denominations the state seal has a plow and another design in it. The reverse was typeset while denominations of 2s6d and lower were blank. There are three signers on 30s and above and two signers on the other denominations. Legal tender status of these bills was repealed by an act of September 1789, when the value of these notes had depreciated to a mere 10% of their original issue value. Denominations issued were: 6d, 9d, 1s, 2s6d, 3s, 5s, 6s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s and £3.obv
9d Serial Number: 11504 RI 05/86
Signers: Samuel Allen, Job Comstock (in red ink).
Size: 97.5 x 68mm (front border design: 89 x 67.5mm; back blank).
Comments: Numbering and first signature in black ink; second signature in red ink. State seal in left center of front. Click here to view the blank back.
Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction of 12/02/95, lot 526.
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1s Serial Number: 11516 RI 05/86
Signers: Samuel Allen, Job Comstock (in red ink).
Size: 101 x 68mm (front border design: 89 x 68mm; back blank).
Comments: Numbering and first signature in black ink; second signature in red ink. State seal in left center of front. B Click here to view the blank back.
Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction of EANA mail bid auction 12/02/95, lot 527.
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5s Serial Number: 11350 RI 05/86
Signers: Samuel Allen (in red ink), N. Knight.
Size: 110 x 82mm (front border design: 89 x 68mm; back border design 82 x 70mm).
Comments: Numbering and second signature in black ink. State seal on front.
Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction of 04/20/96, lot 584.
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30s Serial Number: 8727 RI 05/86
Signers: N. Knight, Samuel Allen (in red ink), Jonathan Hazard
Size: 112 x 73mm (front border design: 89 x 68mm; back border design 86 x 70mm).
Comments: Numbering and first and third signatures in black ink. State seal on front.
Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction of 04/20/96, lot 586.
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£2 Serial Number: 1132 RI 05/86
Signers: Elijah Cobb, Samuel Allen (in red ink), N. Knight.
Size: 103 x 71mm (front border design: 88 x 67mm; back border design: 86 x 69mm).
Comments: Numbered and signed in brown inks; except for second signature which is in red. The state seal is in left center of front. Three border cuts on the front and typeset border design on the back. Denominated as forty shillings on the front and two pounds on the back.
Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EAHA mail bid auction of 5/23/98, lot 448.
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£3 Serial Number: 3242 RI 05/86
Signers: Jonathan Hazard, Samuel Allen (in red ink), N. Knight.
Size: 104 x 71mm (front border design: 89 x 67mm; back border design: 85 x 68mm).
Comments: Numbered and signed in black ink; except for second signature which is in red. State seal in left center of front.
Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction of 12/02/95, lot 528.
