Offered is a fascinating 1770 Maryland $2 Indented Bill (March 1st issue). Although severed and re-attached (with an 1860s US revenue stamp), and bearing several closed tears as well as pinholes, this storied piece remains in average condition for the issue, which saw extensive circulation. The black ink is bold on either side and all the details are sharp, as are the signatures and the handwritten serial number ‘17964.’
Only 21,000 were printed of this denomination, with the printing carried out by the husband and wife team of Anne Catherine and Frederick Green. There are a few interesting anti-counterfeiting devices found on the note. Other than the leaf reverse (a device supposedly developed by Benjamin Franklin), the words ‘THIS INDENTED’ are printed in a wavy pattern, and a dot over the a of Rate was intentionally inserted.
The issue was mostly used to retire earlier bills that had become worn, and by 1780, the state decreed that all notes issued before 1776 would need to be turned in and exchanged – at the rate of 40 to 1 (old bills to new). Effectively, any bill dated before 1776 became invalid (and thus worthless) in early 1781 – and though the loss of value for those holding the old notes was not well received, they were redeemed in great quantity before the deadline.
Today, the notes of colonial Maryland are almost all quite scarce, with this middling value being no exception. All in all, a fascinating piece with much character.
Offered is a fascinating 1770 Maryland $2 Indented Bill (March 1st issue). Although severed and re-attached (with an 1860s US revenue stamp), and bearing several closed tears as well as pinholes, this storied piece remains in average condition for the issue, which saw extensive circulation. The black ink is bold on either side and all the details are sharp, as are the signatures and the handwritten serial number ‘17964.’
Only 21,000 were printed of this denomination, with the printing carried out by the husband and wife team of Anne Catherine and Frederick Green. There are a few interesting anti-counterfeiting devices found on the note. Other than the leaf reverse (a device supposedly developed by Benjamin Franklin), the words ‘THIS INDENTED’ are printed in a wavy pattern, and a dot over the a of Rate was intentionally inserted.
The issue was mostly used to retire earlier bills that had become worn, and by 1780, the state decreed that all notes issued before 1776 would need to be turned in and exchanged – at the rate of 40 to 1 (old bills to new). Effectively, any bill dated before 1776 became invalid (and thus worthless) in early 1781 – and though the loss of value for those holding the old notes was not well received, they were redeemed in great quantity before the deadline.
Today, the notes of colonial Maryland are almost all quite scarce, with this middling value being no exception. All in all, a fascinating piece with much character.
