Continental Currency: 11/02/1776

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An emission totaling $5,000,000 payable in Spanish milled dollars, or the equivalent in gold or silver, was authorized by the Continental Congress resolutions of November 2nd and December 28th, 1776. The issue is similar to that of July 22, 1776. Printed by Hall and Sellers in Philadelphia. The paper, made at Ivy Mills in Chester County, Pennsylvania, contained blue fibers and mica flakes. Detector bills were printed on blue paper. Denominations include the $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, and $30.

Two Dollars

Image Courtesy of Louis Jordan

The numbering and first signature are in red ink; the second signature is in black ink. The emblem on the front shows grain being threshed with a flail with the motto: "Tribulatio ditat" (It is enriched by affliction). The nature print on the back is of a raspberry and two filbert leaves, identical to a nature print used on earlier Pennsylvania currency. No image of the back is available. The paper contains blue threads and mica flakes.

Courtesy of Early American Numismatic Auctions, Inc. Images used with permission from their online auction catalog for the auction of April 20, 1996, lot 369.

Three Dollars

Image Courtesy of Louis Jordan

The first signature is in brown ink; the numbering and the second signature are in red ink. The emblem on the front (40mm) depicts an eagle fighting a heron with the motto "Exitus in dubio est" (The outcome is in doubt). On the back is a nature print of skeletonized elm and maple fruit. The paper contains blue thread and mica flakes.

Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the collection of William Warne of Harvey Cedars, NJ on 5/1/98.

Image Courtesy of Louis Jordan

The numbering and first signature are in red ink; the second signature are in red ink. The emblem on the front (40mm) depicts an eagle fighting a heron with the motto "Exitus in dubio est" (The outcome is in doubt). On the back is a nature print of skeletonized elm and maple fruit. The paper contains blue thread and mica flakes.

Provenance: Collection of William Warne of Harvey Cedars, NJ.

Four Dollars

Image Courtesy of Louis Jordan

The numbering and second signature are in red ink; the first signature is in brown ink. The emblem on the front shows a wild boar charging into a spear with the motto: "Aut mors aut vita decora" (Either death or an honorable life). The nature print on the back is of skeletonized maple fruit and is identical to a nature print used on earlier Pennsylvania currency. The paper contains blue threads and mica flakes.

Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction 11/16/96, lot 484.

Five Dollars

Image Courtesy of Louis Jordan

The numbering and first signature are in brown ink; the second signature is in red ink. The emblem on the front (39mm) shows a bleeding hand in a thorn bush with the motto: SUSTINE VEL ABSTINE. The B is an H modified to form a letter B. This is the most difficult emblem in the series to understand. Benjamin Franklin explained the Continental Currency emblems in a letter published under the pseudonym of Clericus in the Pennsylvania Gazette of September 20, 1775. For the five-dollar emblem, he explained:

...we have a thorny bush, which a hand seems to be attempting to eradicate. The hand appears to bleed, as pricked by spines. The motto is, SUSTINE VEL ABSTINE; which may be rendered, Bear with me, or let me alone; or thus, Either support or leave me. The bush, I suppose to mean America, the bleeding hand Britain. Would to God that bleeding were stopt, the wounds of that hand healed, and its future operations directed by wisdom and equity; so shall the hawthorn flourish, and form a hedge around it, annoying with her thorns only its invading enemies. (B. Franklin, Writings, ed. by J.A. Leo Lemay, 1987, pp. 734-738 on p. 735.)

The nature print on the back is of betony and sage. The paper contains blue threads and mica flakes.

Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the collection of William Warne of Harvey Cedars, NJ on 5/1/98.

Six Dollars

Image Courtesy of Louis Jordan

The numbering and first signature are in faded red ink; the second signature is in brown ink. The emblem on the front (39mm) depicts a beaver gnawing down a tree with the motto: "Perseverando" (By perseverance). The nature print on the back displays a buttercup leaf. The paper contains blue thread and mica flakes. In this example, the front of the note shows significantly more wear than the back.

Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the collection of William Warne of Harvey Cedars, NJ on 5/1/98.

Eight Dollars

Image Courtesy of Louis Jordan

The numbering and second signature are in red ink; the first signature is in black ink. The emblem on the front shows a harp with thirteen strings, with the motto: "Majora minoribus consonant" (The larger are in harmony with the smaller). The nature print on the back is of a henebit leaf and two buttercup leaves. It is identical to a nature print used on earlier Pennsylvania currency. The paper contains blue threads and mica flakes.

Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction 12/2/95, lot 394.

Thirty Dollars

Image Courtesy of Louis Jordan

The first signature is in black ink, the numbering and the second signature are in red ink. The emblem on the front shows a wreath on a tomb with the motto: "Si recte facies" (If you act righteously). On the back are two emblems: the emblem on the left shows a strong wind creating waves and bears the motto: "Vi concitate" (Driven by force); the emblem on the right shows the sun shining on sailing ships in a calm sea and bears the motto: "Cessante vento conquiescemus" (When the storm dies down we will rest). The paper contains blue threads and mica flakes.

Provenance: Purchased through the Robert H. Gore, Jr. Numismatic Endowment from the EANA mail bid auction 12/2/95, lot 395.