Early Notes, 1712-1729

The First Issues, Entirely Handwritten

The four issues of 1712-13, 1715, 1722, and 1729 are notable because they are entirely handwritten! No other colony—and most produced paper money before North Carolina—resorted to this crude and insecure means of production. North Carolina's first two issues have no known survivors. The 1722 is extremely rare, and the 1729 is rare by most measures, with perhaps a dozen or so examples known. Denominations among the four issues range from 12d through £20.

All survivors are thought to be contemporary counterfeits. The 1729 issue had five signers, all prominent men whose signatures survive on a variety of documents in the State Archives and elsewhere. A skilled handwriting analyst ought to be able to render a reliable opinion about the signatures on the notes, but I know of no such authentication.

The example illustrated here was acquired from Heritage in January 2006, where it was part of a FUN auction. Note the "spiral scroll" at the top of the note. This is a kind of "indenting" intended to be used to authenticate the note if necessary. The spiral was applied while the note was attached to additional paper at top. Then the paper was cut leaving half of the spiral in official hands after the note was issued. Theoretically at least, a note suspected of being fraudulent could be compared to the matching spiral based on serial number. Too bad we don't have the other part today.

Heritage's description of this note follows:

To our best knowledge, not a single genuine example of this issue survives. The issue was wholly hand written, which makes authenticating examples virtually impossible. We have seen four notes from this issue in 40+ years of specializing in Colonial currency and this piece is by far the only piece about which we have entertained thoughts that it might indeed be genuine. In fact, the only argument in favor of this note being counterfeit is the fact that someone at its time of circulation considered it to be so and pen cancelled the body of the text with an "X". The word "counterfeit" was also written across the text and later effaced with some mild bleach-like substance which removed the majority of the condemnation but left it vaguely legible. All five signatures compare favorably with known genuine signatures and none are identical to the signatures on the known counterfeits that we have examined. Another factor arguing for the genuineness of this piece is the long period of time it spent in actual circulation. The note was covered on its blank back with contemporary endorsements, a fact that indicates its wide acceptance. After the back was virtually full, the note began to split along its center fold and, as was common at the time, it was backed with a blank sheet. It continued to circulate, and its new blank back was again covered with contemporary endorsements. The original endorsements can be seen by "candling" the note. The paper-covered wax seal loosened at some point and was pinned back in place after the new backing was attached. Contemporary endorsements avoid the pin, vetting its presence since the circulation period. We will concur with some long-unknown contemporary's assessment that the note is counterfeit, although we entertain a glimmer of hope that that assessment was incorrect. In any event, this is the single most convincing example of an extraordinarily rare issue and, even as a counterfeit, it is highly desirable to any North Carolina specialist or Colonial generalist seeking the rarest and finest numismatic relics of this era.

This note is a prize in my collection, whether genuine or counterfeit.

A word about the tables (e.g., above)

The tables provide additional information about the notes.

• Issue. Usually the year or date of the enabling legislation.
• Number of Designs. A "design" may be a denomination; for some issues, there are multiple designs (e.g., use of different vignettes) for the same denomination. Not included are minor variations in layout or spelling (e.g., use of "per Cent" or "per Centum" are considered one design).
• Denomination Range. The lowest and highest denominations for the issue. Both the English and American systems were used.
• Place Names. Includes the style of indicating "North Carolina." Also included are any local place names.
• Notes. Includes printing technique, imprint, and other miscellaneous information.

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