At first glance my new Maryland $8 note might not seem that different from your average colonial note, or even continental note, with its black text and simple design, and plant/nature security feature on the reverse.... But don't let first appearances fool you, for you are looking at perhaps one of the top, most stable colonial currencies in pre-Revolutionary America. While notes from many other colonies traded at 10-30% discount in the north, and as much as 50% discount in some of the southern colonies, the Maryland paper currency traded on parity with actual coinage. That $8 Maryland Note would actually get you one of these, $8 Spanish Dollars, also known as 8 Reales. No discount, no disappointment....but exactly what it promised. How did Maryland do it? Read the note again, and you will see a curious phrase: "payable in London". That's right, as in London, England. Let me explain. Maryland, unlike many other colonies, actually invested some of their tax revenues in securities with the Bank of England to back up their paper currency, and furthermore they also had specific colonial taxes whose collections were exclusively used towards the redeeming of their colonial paper money. And what that means is that Maryland's paper money was fully trusted because you knew if you had one of their notes the colony would always pay you the full value in silver when it came time to redeem, and that the colony had funds in London as an extra backup to ensure the notes would be redeemed. Which is why Maryland notes were traded on parity with actual silver coins. It was the gold standard of colonial paper money. But if none of that is particularly interesting to you, there is one more thing this bill has that may appeal to your sensibilities....the phrase "Tis Death to Counterfeit" ☠️ And who doesn't love a note that promises the death penalty on it?
I love the note and the write up. As for the death penalty on it, that was not unusual at the time. This Pennsylvania note also warns the counterfeiter: This French Assignat says on the left side in French, "The law punishes the counterfeiter with death." On the right side it goes one step further, "The nation rewards the denouncer," that is, the one who turns in the counterfeiter. Unlike your Maryland note, these became nearly worthless, except that citizens who refused them could be accused of disloyalty and might find themselves on a wagon going to the guillotine.
