A recent acquisition. Colonial currency provided the funding that made the Revolutionary War possible. The obverse of this note is printed in red and black ink with the top border being in both colors with a red, elided XV worked into the set type (see image 2). The Penn family arms with the motto "Mercy Justice" appear in upper right. A pastoral scene adorns the reverse. The various denominations in this series had slightly different farm scenes, and different spellings of Pennsylvania – a continuation of an anti-counterfeiting mechanism invented by Franklin and Hall. On this denomination, the spelling is “Pensylvania.” Mica flakes are mingled into the paper which gives it a gentle sparkle when viewed at an angle (see image 3). If that wasn’t enough to discourage counterfeiters there was also the threat of death! The reference number in Paper Money of the United States is PA-168. My wife says it look like a nice thick blanket... The execution of the XV is a bit sloppy, but it is what it is... Mica flakes mingled into the paper. (I promise it's not powdered sugar from this morning's donut!)
Nice aspect of that particular note is the deep India ink signatures that have retained all of the colour - that note spent a long time in a cool and dry environment given the look of the signatures and the serial number. Which is a bit more typical for notes from that era. This example even got stamp hinged before I purchased it a long time ago.
That is a really nice colonial piece, John Anthony! It's in amazing shape considering its age. I have a well circulated Maryland colonial note that I picked up decades ago so I'd have a representative from that time period. The printing isn't anywhere near as crisp as yours, but I do notice the mica flecks under close examination.
@gsalexan The 1776 issue from Maryland is actually scarcer than the earlier, even the 1767 issues. By 1776 Anne Catherine Green had passed away. Incredibly for the time - she ran the printing business and printed the 1767-1774 notes.
