During North Carolina’s colonial period, England outlawed minting coins in the colonies. Coins of any kind were often scarce. As a substitute, the colony, and later the State of North Carolina, issued paper money from 1711 through 1785. The paper money was disliked and was often not able to be spent for full face value, but it did circulate.
Examples of the paper currency shown here cover the period from 1729 through 1816, a period when paper money printing technology evolved from handwritten to typeset to copper plate intaglio engraving. Notes were individually signed by officials of the issuing organization, a practice that persisted through the Civil War.
From the late 1700s through the Civil War, coins remained scarce, and an abundance of private money—money not issued by a government—circulated. Most of this was paper.
Note that early paper money was usually printed on one side. Images of backs are not shown unless they are either printed or bear interesting annotations.
Handwritten North Carolina note, 1729
Issuer: North Carolina colony
North Carolina’s first four issues of paper money (1711-1729) were entirely handwritten. No other colony produced handwritten notes. Five officials signed this note, although one signature has faded almost completely. The looped lines at top were a simple means of counterfeit detection. If a note was brought to the proper governmental authority for redemption, it could be compared to the set of paper stubs with the top half of the loops. Despite this safeguard, the handwritten series was easily counterfeited. This example might be a contemporary (issued at the same time as the genuine note) counterfeit.
North Carolina Collection Numismatic Fund
Proclamation money, 1748
Issuer: North Carolina colony
Printer: James A. Davis, New Bern
Proclamation money became a term for paper money. The term refers to Queen Anne’s 1704 proclamation setting exchange rates between the British pound and various foreign moneys current at the time. The 1748 series was produced from plates with a high degree of ornamentation, including this depiction of a drum, cannons, and flags. These three images are used today on the U.S. Army emblem and seal. The cannons represent British Army implements and the drum is a symbol of public notification of the army's purpose and intent to serve the nation and its people. On other notes of the 1748 series, vignettes include a crowned lion, Fort Jackson and the Union Jack, and a unicorn, all symbols associated with Britain.
North Carolina Collection Numismatic Fund
Four-pence note, 1754
Issuer: North Carolina Provincial Assembly
Generally, engraving in 1754 was unrefined and included simple design elements, but this note's sleek mountain lion is an exception. The technology was likely a copper plate rather than steel. Copper did not permit the fine lines that steel did, nor would copper plates produce as many impressions before noticeable wear. Four North Carolina government officials signed this note: Lewis De Rosset, John Starkey, John Swann, and Samuel Swann.
UNC University Library Fund
North Carolina Collection Numismatic Fund
"Magna Charta" note, 1771
Issuer: North Carolina Colonial Assembly
This example refers to the Magna Carta, a 1215 agreement between England's King John and a group of his feudal subjects that limited the king’s powers and protected his subject's rights. The use of this image might be an indication of the colony’s growing dissatisfaction with British rule. The 1771 issues were produced from engraved plates.
Hendrick Memorial Fund, Raleigh Coin Club
Tryon Palace vignette note, 1775
Issuer: North Carolina Provincial Congress, Hillsborough
Printer: William Tisdale, New Bern, North Carolina
The 1775 issue was produced from engraved plates, and each note featured a vignette as well as decorative flourishes. The five-dollar note depicts New Bern’s Tryon Palace, named for colonial governor William Tryon. This series is denominated in dollars, unlike earlier series that used the British pounds/shillings/pence system. Notice the promise to redeem the note in Spanish milled dollars, also known as eight reales or "pieces of eight." The Spanish dollar was a well-regarded silver coin of the time, and was the basis for the U.S. dollar.
John Jay Pittman Fund
Seven-and-one-half dollar note, 1776
Issuer: North Carolina Provincial Congress, Halifax
Printer: Gabriel Lewyn, Baltimore, Maryland
North Carolina's 1776 paper money issue was approved by the Fourth Provincial Congress in its April 1776 session in Halifax. This was the same session that passed the Halifax Resolves, an early official action in the American colonies calling for independence from Great Britain. The Halifax Resolves helped pave the way for the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. Amazingly, the 1776 issue consists of fifty-four different designs and seventeen denominations, from 1/16 dollar to twenty dollars. Most notes depict an animal. The sole seven-and- one-half dollar note depicts the Grand Union flag, considered to be the first national flag of the United States.
North Carolina Collection Numismatic Fund
"The Rising States," 1778
Issuer: North Carolina General Assembly, Hillsborough, North Carolina
Printer: James A. Davis, New Bern, North Carolina
Many of North Carolina’s colonial paper money issues were typeset, including this example from 1778. Artistic embellishments were simple. For some series issued during the Revolutionary War, patriotic slogans were included. "The Rising STATES" is among the most evocative. Other slogans include "Persecution the Ruin of Empires," "Freedom or an Honorable Death," and "Independence." From ancient times, coins, and later, paper money, were used by governments to proclaim a political message, boost morale, or communicate in some other way with the bearer.
John Jay Pittman Fund
"Peace on Honourable Terms," 1779
Issuer: North Carolina General Assembly, Smithfield, North Carolina
Printer: Hugh Walker, Wilmington, North Carolina
The 1779 series of notes was typeset but included a prominent header from an engraved element. The series includes patriotic phrases (note the British spelling of "honourable"). Other sayings include "American Virtue Triumphant" and "Behold a New World."
North Carolina Collection Numismatic Fund
Lottery ticket, 1801
Issuer: The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The lottery was an important revenue producer in colonial and early federal America, funding many projects for which government would later assume responsibility. The University of North Carolina resorted to the "goddess Fortuna" in 1801 to raise money to complete South Building. The tickets resembled early paper money. They were printed by letterpress with simple design and little embellishment. Each ticket was signed by two University officials.
This ticket won ten pounds and was bought by the Philanthropic Society, an early UNC student organization, as indicated by the endorsement on the back.
Gift of North Carolina Department of State Treasurer
Hillsborough Academy due bill
Issuer: Hillsborough Academy, Hillsborough, North Carolina
Printer: Murray Draper Fairman & Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Paper money issued by an institution other than a bank is commonly called scrip. Scrip is usually smaller in size than bank notes, less likely to be produced from engraved plates, and usually of simpler design. The Hillsborough Academy, one of many such private establishments before public education was common, produced these small change notes, or due bills, in 1816.
North Carolina Collection Numismatic Fund