Early Paper Money of America / Massachusetts / 1744 June 20

Early Paper Money of America (NNP Edition)|

Commencing with £26,037 10s authorized by the June 20, 1744 Act and continuing with eighteen more emissions through the Jan. 22, 1749/50 Act, Second New Tenor bills with a reduced silver equivalent were emitted and reemitted to a total of £666,837 10s. The Jan. 15, 1741/42 plates redated 1742 were substantially altered by substituting June 20,1744 in place of Jan. 15,1741 and by changing the silver equivalent in the engraved text. On the typeset backs, the Old Tenor equivalent and the adjusted specie equivalent were set out along with the denomination and sometimes the 1744 date. Trial proofs of four typeset backs exist. Because most of these issues were for the military action in the Cape Breton, Louisburg, and Canadian campaigns, the Crown repaid the colony in coin a total of £183,649 2s 71/2d sterling which was used to redeem all outstanding bills of credit within one year after Mar. 31, 1750. Pursuant to the Jan. 26, 1749/ 50 Act one Spanish Dollar was exchanged for 45s in Old Tenor and for 11s3d in New Tenor (Middle Tenor) and Second New Tenor. Signers were Roland Cotton, R. Hale, J. Heath, J. Hutchinson, J. Jeffries, Andrew Oliver, J. Quincy, Samuel Watts, Samuel Welles, and J. Willard.

The 10s counterfeit of this issue was made by the notorious Owen Sullivan who was executed in New York City on May 10, 1756, after an elaborate confession of a life of counterfeiting.

2d (11 gr.) Circle ▷CF◁
3d (16 gr.) Octagon ▷CF◁
4d (21 gr.) Square
6d (1 dwt., 8 gr.) Hexagon
9d (2 dwt.) Square with concave corners
1s (2 dwt., 16 gr.) Oval. 44 in date in mirror image
15d (3 dwt., 8 gr.)
2s6d (6 dwt., 16 gr.)
5s (13 dwt., 8 gr.) ▷PR◁ of back
10s (1oz.,6dwt.,16gr.) ▷CF◁, ▷PR◁ of back
15s (2 oz.) ▷PR◁ of back
20s (2 oz., 13 dwt., 8 gr.)
30s (4 oz.) ▷CF◁, ▷PR◁ of back
40s (5 oz., 6 dwt., 16 gr.) ▷CF◁, ▷PR◁ of back