Early Paper Money of America / Virginia / 1780 July 25

Early Paper Money of America (NNP Edition)|Treasurer's Notes payable in "nett inspected tobacco" were issued as bounties for enlistment in the Continental Army. Signed by George Brooke. Tobacco was used as a medium of exchange enabling Virginia not to require or use paper money until 1755. Tobacco receipts issued by the Colony and merchants were a primary basis for commercial transactions in Virginia during the eighteenth century and acted as a substitute for tobacco itself or money. This practice continued into the nineteenth century.