CHAPTER XV.

THE ENGRAVED PLATES AND THEIR VARIOUS ALTERATIONS.—THE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD NEW TENOR AND THE 1750 BILLS.

The denominations of the first new tenor bills to be issued under the act passed in February, 1736-37, were specifically set forth in the act. They were: ten pence, one shilling and eight pence, three shillings and four pence, six shillings and eight pence, ten shillings, twenty shillings, thirty shillings, and forty shillings. The unit upon which this scale was constructed was the supposed normal value of the ounce of silver, 6s. 8d., the small denominations being the eighth, quarter and half of that unit, while the larger were represented by the multiples, one and one-half, three, four and one-half, and six. As was the case with the old tenor bills, the task of preparing suitable stamps devolved upon the governor and council. The bills were to be signed by a committee, the number of which was not designated, but three signatures were required for each bill.¹ The bills were not required to be indented.

In all previous emissions the height of the bill had exceeded the width. A single specimen of this set of bills is to be found in the cabinet of the Massachusetts Historical Society.² Its shape indicates a change in shape for the bills of this emission. As is the case with our modern bank notes the width is considerably in excess of the height. The engraving of the plate is excellent.

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The number is in the upper left hand corner. The value in pence is expressed in letters upon a species of escutcheon in the middle of the top, immediately beneath which, to the right, the same is again given, this time in figures, and in shillings and pence. The Indian from the province seal, bearing a quiver upon his back and a bow and arrow in either hand, appears upon a sort of shield in the right hand upper corner, beneath which upon a ribbon folded back and overlapping itself are the words, “Province of the Massachusetts.” A scroll work device about half an inch wide runs from top to bottom on the left hand side of the bill, and on the right hand side there is a border composed of a dark and a light line parallel to each other, which is interposed between the reading matter and the edge of the bill. The signatures of three of the committee follow each other in sequence on the lowest line of the bill, the word “Committee” being in the middle at the bottom. The value is also printed in bold letters on the back of the bill and this is surrounded by a border made up of emblems from a printer’s font. To the right and to the left respectively, of the inscribed value, are the letters “G” and “K,” in equally bold type, so placed that they form a part of the border above mentioned. Their presence doubtless has some signification. To the right, beyond the border and at the edge was a coarse engraving, which in the bill in question appears only in part.

On the back of the bill, beneath the words expressing the value, will be found “Massachusetts Bay, New England,” and beneath that, intermingled with the emblems which constitute the border at the bottom, the figures, “1737.” The border at the top is composed of three lines, and carries, interwoven in its parts, the words, “One Ounce Coined Silver, Troy Weight,

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Sterling Alloy, Eighty Pence.” The letters composing these words are broken into lines, the length of which is determined by the several sides of the bill. The first line is easily read with the bill in a normal position, but to follow the inscription the bill must be turned to the left, then upside down, then again to the left and finally restored to its first position.

July 2, 1737, it was ordered that the committee already appointed for the making of bills of credit of the new tenor should take effectual care that there should be printed thirty thousand bills of each of the following denominations: one penny, two pence, three pence, four pence, five pence and six pence, the total amount of which would be £2625. The figures and inscriptions for the face of the bills were prescribed by the act and are to be found delineated in the statute books.¹

Each bill bore upon its face in prominent type the denomination. This was followed by the inscription, “Due from the province of the Massachusetts Bay, in silver money at six shillings and eight pence per ounce, according to law, 1737.” Each bill had some special design for the border surrounding the text of the inscription. These were evidently printed from wood cuts. Upon all except the bill for one penny, means were provided for determining the denomination through numerals or printed matter incorporated in the embellishments of the border. None of these bills bears any signature. Two denominational values, one corresponding with that given on the face of the bill, and one expressed in old tenor, were printed in common type upon the back, the whole being surrounded by an improvised border made up from materials at command of an ordinary printing office. See Plate 10.

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The denominations of the second new tenor bills, as well as their grouping upon the plates, were fixed by the act first authorizing their emission, which was passed in January, 1741-42. There were to be three plates, the first containing the bills for forty, thirty, twenty and fifteen shillings; the second, the ten, five, four and three; the third, the two shillings and one shilling and the bills for eight, six, four and two pence. The stamps were to be projected and directed by the governor and council, and the committee was directed and empowered to print and sign these bills, but nothing was said in the act as to the number of signatures required on each bill.¹

January 14, 1742-43, the following alterations were ordered in the plates: In the second plate the four shillings bill to be altered to half a crown, and the three shillings bill to fifteen pence; in the third plate, the two shillings bill to be altered to nine pence, and the eight pence bill to three pence.² The engraving of these plates is of a high order of excellence and rivals the best hand work that can be produced to-day. In their preparation the engraver reverted to the shape which had been in use prior to 1737, the height of the

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bills being greater than the width in about the same proportion as in the early series.¹ The bills of the second plate were considerably larger than those of the third, and it may be inferred that this distinguishing feature was carried through the series and applied to the bills upon the first plate also. The general appearance of the engraving was distinct for the different plates, although the characteristics of the third plate were perhaps most capable of individual variation for the several denominations. It seems quite clear that when these designs were accepted they were thought to have solved the problem of what was essential for a paper currency, for we find that with the variations of which they were easily susceptible, they were made use of in New Hampshire and in Rhode Island, and when a new form of bill was adopted in Massachusetts in 1744, these plates were continued in use, the inscription being altered to meet the requirements of the new form. Owing to the small number of specimens of these bills which have been preserved, most of our students, and indeed many of our collectors, have only been familiar with the miserable temporary subterfuges for a paper currency which were emitted at a later date. To such, the high grade of this work will be a revelation. It would seem, indeed, as if our engravers might with advantage study some of the devices embodied in these designs.

The description of the bills of this emission will necessarily be limited to specimens impressed from the second and third plates, since no example of those upon the first plate has up to this time been met with by the writer. In the second plate² the reading matter of the

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bill was surrounded by an elaborate ornamental border, about half an inch in depth, the general features of which are very similar in the different denominations, although a close examination shows that each denomination has an individual and characteristic pattern of its own. The Indian of the province seal, surrounded by the inscription, “Province of the Massachusetts,” was introduced at the center of the bottom of this pattern on an escutcheon, on each of the bills, but the details of the method by which this was done were different in every case, nor was the engraver bound to any particular attitude for the Indian. Beneath the reading matter on the left, the royal arms of Great Britain were engraved. Immediately under the ornamental border of the reading matter on each side, the denomination of the bill was given in numerals, and in addition, on the right, was the date of the year, 1742, while the space beneath to the right of the coat of arms was reserved for the signatures of the committee.

The value in old tenor was printed on the back, the same being surrounded with a border made up from a printer’s font, in which the words “Massachusetts Bay, N.E.” can be picked out. Beneath this the face value in new tenor was given, and this again was surrounded with a similar border which contains the value of the bill stated in penny-weights of silver and the equivalent rate per ounce of gold. To follow the inscription requires patience, as the method of the composer was not logical and the different borders were not alike in their composition.

The several denominations on the third plate¹ were distinguished from each other by the individual character of the geometric figure within which the text of the

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inscription was enclosed. The general effect of the ornamental engraving outside these borders was such that at a casual glance the observer could identify the plates from which the bill was impressed. Closer inspection discloses the fact that each denomination bore distinct and characteristic features. The royal arms of Great Britain occupied the lower left-hand corner, while the lower right-hand corner was devoted to what was evidently intended as a representation of the province seal. In the middle of each bill, at the top, was a crown surmounted by a lion, and running through the ornamental work of that portion of the bill was a ribbon bearing the words, “Honi soit qui mal y pense.” This motto was interwoven and worked through the ornamental pattern in such a way that, although the same feature was repeated in every bill, yet upon examination it will be seen that no two of the bills closely resemble each other. The signatures of the committee were to be found between the two seals at the bottom of the bill, the abbreviation for committee, “Comm^tt,” being placed at the lower edge of the plate beneath the space reserved for signatures. This was separated from the signatures by a bracket, and immediately over the bracket was the date, 1742, in Arabic numerals.

The old tenor value was printed on the back of these bills, the same being surrounded with a border such as could be composed in an ordinary printing office, with the signs and emblems usually to be found in a font. The new tenor value in Troy weight silver, in pence, and the equivalent gold rate were also printed on the back, and around the text of the inscription were borders imprinted from rude wood cuts. Some of these can be readily identified as those prepared for the small money in 1737.

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So far as we can judge from the specimens now to be seen, the protection against raising denominations which was first applied in 1713, namely, enclosing the reading matter in a specific figure adopted exclusively for that denomination, was abandoned in this series except upon the third plate. So long as this rule was rigidly applied, an observer after he had familiarized himself with the outlines of the several enclosing figures of the bills, could determine at a glance what the denomination ought to be, but in the case of this series, the alterations already referred to, as authorized in January, 1742-43, which violated the rule by placing in circulation more than one denomination for a particular figure, must have undermined confidence in the test even in its limited application to the single plate of this series, on which the device was put in force.

On the 20th of June, 1744, the third and last form of the new tenor bills was adopted, and a committee which was not then named but was to be appointed by the court, was empowered and directed to cause a certain sum in these bills to be printed and to sign and deliver them to the treasurer. Unlike the previous acts containing a new form of bill, there is no provision made for the preparation of the stamps for the new bills, nor any rule laid down for the number of signatures upon each bill. The denominations prescribed were limited to forty shillings, thirty shillings, twenty shillings and fifteen shillings.¹

The statement has already been made that the plates prepared in 1742 were made use of for the emissions of 1744. The existence of bills of the second and third plates having the silver value and the gold rate stated in accordance with the act of 1744, and bearing on the

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face the inscription “Agreeable to Act of Assembly, June 20th, 1744”, shows that the committee actually exercised powers in the emission of notes not specifically authorized in the original act. Allusions in the house journal to emissions from the third plate under date of July 20 and November 1, 1744, show that the assembly approved of these acts.¹ In the description of the 1742 bills it was stated that they not only bore the date of the act of emission in the text of the bill, but that the date of the issue, 1742, was also given in connection with the signatures of the committee. The change of the text required for the use of the plates under the new act necessarily brought with it the alteration of the first of these dates, but the second was permitted to stand, so that each specimen of this emission bears the date 1744 in the text and 1742 underneath.² The specimens upon which the foregoing conclusions are based are from the second and third plates. The inference would be strong in any event, that the first plate of the 1742 bills was also made use of in 1744, and this is made more probable by the fact that no orders were given in the act of emission to the committee to prepare any new plates. Douglass, in an obscure note, comes to our relief and states that, to save the charge of new plates in June, 1744, the necessary changes were made upon the old plates.³

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The committee appointed in 1749 to prepare a bill for restraining the currency of half pence and farthings; and coined silver and gold, at any higher rate than in proportion to milled dollars at six shillings; and to consider some method for providing change, reported January 27, 1749-50,¹ there was an immediate necessity for the appointment of a committee, which should be impowered and directed to cause to be struck off and signed, as soon as might be, small bills of the following denominations, viz.: one quarter dollar, eighteen pence lawful money of Massachusetts; one-eighth of a dollar or ninepence; one twelfth of a dollar or six pence; one sixteenth of a dollar or four pence half penny; one twenty-fourth of a dollar or three pence, and one seventy-second of a dollar, or one penny.² The treasurer was to reserve a fund of silver adequate for the redemption of the bills issued. Bills of this description were in the course of events issued. Two signatures were required for those of 18d. and 9d., and one only for the smaller bills.³ Hutchinson says with regard to them, that only a small part of those which were prepared were issued, the reason apparently being that “scarcely any person would receive them in payment, choosing rather a base coin imported from Spain, called

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pistorines, at twenty per cent. more than the intrinsic value.”¹

Although these bills were emitted for the purpose of aiding in the process of redemption, still they temporarily added to the confusion of the situation. The outstanding circulation which was then being withdrawn was composed mainly of old tenor and of second and third new tenor bills. Of the old tenor bills there were twelve denominations on the last set of plates; of the second new tenor, eighteen; of the third new tenor there were fourteen denominations. To these forty-four varieties six more were added by the action of this committee, thus bringing the number of different bills then in actual circulation up to fifty. The foregoing estimate takes no account of the different province bills dated prior to 1713, thirty-one varieties in all, nor of the eight denominations emitted in 1737. The three tokens in 1722, and the six varieties of small money emitted in 1737, are also dropped from consideration. If the statute ordering in the bills signed by three only of the committee was absolutely enforced, there could have been none of the earlier emissions extant, but if by any chance representatives of these different varieties had eluded observation, it would carry the number of distinct impressions still in circulation up to ninety-eight. Add to these the eight varieties of the colony bills, of which there were some still lying in pocket-books and hidden receptacles, and we can see that the committee appointed to supervise the redemption of the public bills might have had submitted to them over one hundred different varieties.²

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