The Curious Shape of Money in Old New York

By Kyle R. Triplett, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Rare Book Division
August 8, 2017
Indented bills from the colony of New York, 1709.

Indented bills from the colony of New York, 1709.

On August 8, we're celebrating National Dollar Day, which commemorates the day that Congress defined the construction of the dollar, the newly established currency of the United States. But long before American currency bore "E Pluribus Unum" or a portrait of George Washington, there were all sorts of bills of credit in use in the colonies, including so-called "Contentinental bills," British shillings, and even Spanish dollars.

One of the more interesting kinds of paper money used in colonial-era New York was called an "indented bill," depicted below and in the image at the top of this post. These shilling notes date back to 1709, and were the very first paper money in the colony of New York. As you can see, bills tended to have a lot more writing on them back then, and the signatures you see belonged to military captains, as these notes were printed to finance the Canadian front in Queen Anne's War (1702-1713). But what's up with that odd curve at the top of the bill?

Turns out, that swirl design was an ingenious anti-counterfeit feature. Each bill had a unique cutout, created with a burin tool, so that it would match with the cut away portion, which the government office would keep. If you wanted to turn in your bill for the proper shilling amount or to pay taxes, the government office would match your bill to its counterpart—checking the number, cut, and design.

 

These bills were printed by William Bradford, who, in addition to printing the first money in New York, was also the printer of the first newspaper and the first book in the city.

 

300 years since their printing, only a few copies of these unique bills remain, and we are lucky that these treasures have survived. If you want to see more documents and artifacts from colonial America, look at our materials in the Thomas Addis Emmet Collection online, or browse our digitzed collection of paper money for more curious bills.