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Tag Archives: Continental Congress

Continental Paper Currency, 1776

02 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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American Congress, Benjamin Franklin, British, Chester County, colonies, colony, Congress, Continental Congress, Continental paper currency, Counterfeit, currency, Elisha Gallaudet, FUGIO, gold, Hall & Sellers, independence, Ivy Mills, pence, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, political revolution, pounds, shillings, silver, sovereignty, Spanish, sundial, war


CONTINENTAL PAPER CURRENCY, 1776
Philadelphia: Printed by Hall & Sellers, 1776

Loosely united in the midst of political revolution and war, the British colonies had no unity whatsoever in currency. Each colony began printing its own paper currency valued both in British-style pounds, shillings, and pence and in the universally familiar Spanish milled dollar. Each colony valued the Spanish dollar at wildly different rates.

In the early flush of independence, the Continental Congress decided to use currency as one indication of sovereignty by launching a standard currency for all the colonies. An emission totaling $4,000,000 payable in Spanish milled dollars, or the equivalent in gold or silver, was authorized by the congressional resolution of February 10, 1776. Of this, $1,000,000 was reserved for the first national fractional currency.

The front design on the fractional notes included the first use of the “FUGIO” (I fly) legend and sundial as well as the “Mind your Business” legend. The back showed the thirteen linked rings representing the colonies and the legends “We are one” and “American Congress.” These designs were created by Benjamin Franklin. The devices and border designs were cut by Elisha Gallaudet. On the fractional bills the dots in the corners of the front design reflected the denomination.

The first four emissions of Continental paper currency from May 10, 1775 through May 6, 1776, included a dollar bill. There was one signer, in red ink, on the fractional bills and two signers, using red and brown ink, on the dollar denominations. Counterfeit detectors for the dollar denominations were made on blue paper. The paper, made at Ivy Mills in Chester County, Pennsylvania, contained blue fibers and mica flakes.

On this bill is printed, “This bill entitles the bearer to receive three Spanish milled dollars, or the value thereof in gold or silver, according to a resolution of Congress, passed at Philadelphia, Nov. 2, 1776.”

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Book of the Week – Common Sense

04 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by rarebooks in Book of the Week

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Common Sense, Continental Congress, George Washington, Newburyport, pamphlet, revolution, Thomas Paine

Common Sense, 1776 Cover
Common Sense, 1776 Title Page
Common Sense, 1776 First Page

Common Sense
Thomas Paine (1737 – 1809)
Philadelphia, 1776; reprinted Newburyport
probably a sixth printing
E211 P124

Thomas Paine called for the separation of the colonies from the mother country in his pamphlet, Common Sense.  Paine’s writings paved the way for the American colonists’ final break with Great Britain.

Common Sense, a persuasive argument for independence, was a best seller immediately upon publication. First printed in Philadelphia by Robert Bell on January 9, 1776, in an edition of one thousand copies, it was read by everyone in the Continental Congress and George Washington, who commented on the effect it had on his troops. It was read by nearly everyone in the colonies who was literate, and read aloud to nearly everyone who was not.

Paine had planned to give his share of the profits to the cause of independence, but when Bell told him there were no profits, Paine dismissed Bell and hired Bradford to publish a new, enlarged edition. Bell published an unauthorized second printing on January 27, and Bradford’s enlarged edition was published on or around February 14. The pamphlet quickly sold 150,000 copies.

Paine refused to copyright the work and gave permission to all to reprint it. The earliest printings outside of Philadelphia used the text of Bell’s first printing. Later printings used the text of Bradford’s February printing. Twenty-five editions were published in thirteen cities in the year 1776, reaching nearly half a million copies printed in that year alone. At that time, the colonial population was about three million, including slaves, women, and children. It was this pamphlet that moved mass public opinion toward the cause of the revolution.

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