Description:

MARYLAND 1776 SIX DOLLAR NOTE, DOCUMENTS, AND BOOK SAFE
French book, "Histoire Naturelle" by the Comte de Buffon (Paris: Hotel de Thou Rue des Poitevins), 1778, 8vo., the pages of which have been pasted together and hollowed out to form a safe. The cavity contains three documents: the first, a printed D.S., 1p. oblong 12mo, Connecticut, Nov. 7, 1781, is a tax rebate, awarding Capt. Ebenezer thirty pennies, signed by two members of the treasury committee and endorsed on the verso by Bernard, almost completely split along the folds. The second, a manuscript D.S., 1p. 4to., New York, May 1, 1759, is a copy of a judgment made in a case against Gerardus Drake, with Capt. John Cleaves as the defendant, awarding the latter four pounds and eighteen shillings, signed at the conclusion by Isaac Hubbard, split vertically halfway along an original fold. The final and most interesting item present is a scarce Maryland Continental six dollar banknote, 3 1/2" x 2 3/4", printed at Annapolis by Francis Green, issue of Aug 14, 1776, printed on the verso with an image of an arm strapped inside a shield, grasping a laurel branch, surrounded by the Latin motto: "SUB CLYPEO" ("Under Divine Protection"). The verso bears the disclaimer: "This Bill of Six Dollars, shall entitle the Bearer hereof to receive Gold or Silver, at the Rate of Four Shillings and Six-Pence Sterling per Dollar for the said bill, according to a Resolve of the Convention of Maryland, held at the city of Annapolis, the Fourteenth Day of August, M.DCC.LXXVI." The verso also bears the very faint signature of Thomas B. Hodgkin and the almost completely invisible signature of Nicolas Harwood. The serial number is unfortunately illegible. These notes were printed at the outset of the American Revolution, as British restrictions on colonially-issued money evaporated. Interestingly, the paper on which the note is printed bears a few scattered flakes of mica embedded in the paper, as an early anti-counterfeiting measure. Very good.

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December 10, 2016 11:00 AM EST
Wilmington, DE, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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