Title

North Carolina paper currency, value forty shillings

Maker

James Davis, printer

Material

Ink on laid paper

Origin

North Carolina, New Bern

Date:

After 1754-03-09

Dimensions:

OH: 2 13/16” (7.2 cm); OW:  5 ¼” (13.3 cm)

Description:

Engraved forty-shilling note issued by North Carolina. Printed from engraved copper plate with scroll border on left edge and church (Christ Church at New Bern) in a circle on lower left corner. Printed inscription: “North Carolina/xl s Forty Shillings/ Proclamation Money according to Act of / Assembly pass’d y^e 9^th of March 1754.” Bill is numbered in ink in upper right corner: “2497.” Signed in ink on obverse: “John Starkey” “Sam Swann”/ “Jn^o Swann” “Lewis DeRosset.” In ink on reverse: several layers of inscriptions including “George Denny/ To No.1.1.-“ “Alexander/ to S.H^ma” and mathematical calculation. Bill folded in half.

Donor:

Anonymous

Relation:

This is part of 54-piece gift of North Carolina paper currency issued between 1748 and 1771 from the same anonymous donor.

Comments:

Authorized under a1715 act of the Assembly, Christ Church Parish was established by 1741. The first small brick church (pictured here) was completed by about 1751 on a site at the southwest corner of the present churchyard, facing west. The early church building was demolished after a second, larger church was completed in 1824. The foundations of the original structure were uncovered in an archaeological excavation in the 1960s and re-built to serve as a small open-air chapel.

 Bill issued in a series of 2,500.

Language:

En

Rights:

Permission to use the photograph must be obtained in writing from Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, New Bern, North Carolina. It must be accompanied by the caption” From the collection of Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, New Bern, North Carolina; North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archive and History.”