Newman Portal Search: June 7, 1776

This week a Newman Portal user searched on “June 7, 1776.” I’ve seen enough Newman Portal searches to know this is most likely in reference to a colonial paper money issue. Indeed, that is the case, as June 7, 1776 indicates a Connecticut currency issue of $200,000. The 5th edition of Eric P. Newman’s Early Paper Money of America is available on NNP and contains a summary of this currency issue:£60,000 ($200,000) in Treasury Notes dated June 7, 1776 due on Jan. 1, 1781 and similar to prior issue. £10,000 of the issue was to be 6s and below and signed by one committee member. Others required two signatures. These bills have the same signers as prior issue plus William Fisher and Nathaniel Needham. Some bills are slash or hole cancelled and others show redemption registration written in by the comptroller. A 1771 restriction on use of bills of other colonies was repealed as unjust.Bills were denominated from one shilling up to two pounds. The issue was cataloged as early as 1872 in John Haseltine’s  Description of the Paper Money issued by the Continental Congress of the United States and the Several Colonies. “June 7, 1776” also appears in various places in the Newman correspondence, for example  in 1967 he wrote to Captain V. L. Bigsby of Washington, DC:You were kind to make such nice comments about EARLY PAPER MONEY OF AMERICA and coming from you it means a great deal to me. I admit that I put in thousands of hours and hope that the numismatic public will be pleased with the publication…… Ken Bressett and Whitman Publishing Company [Krause published later editions] really went all out to do a fine job……As to the Connecticut six shilling note of June 7, 1776, I have a picture of one….Link to Early Paper Money of America (5th edition): https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/523311?page=115Link to John Haseltine’s Description of the Paper Money….:   https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/520719?page=13Link to Newman/Bigsby correspondence: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/520562?page=16