Colonial currency, all in very good condition: SOLD — Continental Currency Seven Dollars - Philadelphia, February 17, 1776 SOLD — Delaware Five Shillings - January 1, 1776 — Serial number 52925, signed by John McKinly, Thomas Collins, and James Sykes. SOLD — Connecticut One Shilling and Three Pence - June 19, 1776 — Serial number 969, signed by Thomas Seymour and J. Porter. SOLD — Pennsylvania Six Shillings - March 25, 1775 — Serial number 2392, signed by Ezekiel Edwards, James Wharton and Richar Vaux. Each note is in a 5" x 7" freestanding Lucite frame to protect the currency while allowing you to display it standing or flat. The two pieces of Lucite are held together with magnets, which makes it easy to remove the currency for a closer inspection or to frame in a different manner or to store. Note that the manufacturer claims UV protection, but I haven't seen any technical report, so recommend keeping them out of direct sunlight. Use a microfiber cloth or similar to remove dust and fingerprints. Do not use household cleaners. Shipping: $10. Please allow two weeks for shipping. Historical background on the Continental Currency Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775. On June 22 they approved the printing of paper currency to pay for it, as the Massachusetts Historical Society explains: "From June 1775 to 1779, Congress ordered 11 emissions of Continental Currency to the amount of 226 million Spanish milled Dollars. These bills constituted 82% of the federal government’s income during this period. At first the currency circulated at a par with the Spanish milled dollar, but since the states were simultaneously emitting their own bills of credit and debt certificates to cover their war expenses, the glut of bills issued without sound financial revenues soon led to depreciation of all forms of circulating paper, but especially that of Congress. "Great Britain contributed to this financial instability through counterfeiting the issues of 20 May 1777 and 11 April 1778 to such a degree that Congress recalled both issues in their entirety. In January 1777, $1.25 of Continental Currency could purchase $1 in specie (gold or silver coins). By January 1781, it took $100 in Continentals to obtain $1 in hard money. This depreciation had effectively put an end to circulation of the paper bills by 1779, when Congress resolved to stop issuing them altogether." The $7 Continental Currency note was designed by Benjamin Franklin and printed in Philadelphia by Hall and Sellers. This is the text on the note: SERENABITSEVEN DOLLARSThis Bill entitles theBearer to receive SE-VEN SPANISH milledDOLLARS, or the Valuethereof in Gold orSilver, according to a Resolutionof CONGRESS, passedat Phildelphia, Febru-ary 17, 1776. "Serenabit" was meant to be an encouragement to those facing difficulties, mirroring the adage "after a storm comes a calm"
