The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-04-05
EARLY VERMONT MONEY,

or savage, have made use of something
as q medium of exchange. That something,
we call money. Prior to about four hun
dred years before Christ, 1t took various
forms, and was usually some small article
formed by nature, but at about that time
metallic coined money came into use. Still
later, paper money was issued and used,
not, as is unfortunately now the case, as
money, but as the representative of money
First came the coin and then paper money
based on money and representing money.
From 1777 to 1901, Vermont was sover-
eign state, possessing sN the attributes of
sovereignty, with the sovereign right to
declare war, conclude peace, make treaties,
coin money, etc.-in word, it was free
aud independent nation, and remained such
until it surrendered certain of its powers
by becoming a part of the United States,
with the same and equal rights as every
other state in the Union. by its admission
into the Union, it surrendered certain of
its attributes of sovereignty, and, among
others, the right to issue bills of credit and
TO coin money. Prior to that time, how
ever, it had exercised both of these acts of
sovereignty but, as we shall sec, had re-
versed the general rule by first issuing bills
of credit or paper money, and, subsequent
ly by emitting coin.
AT a session of the Legislature, holden at
Windsor in April, 1881, an act was passed
'for the purpose of emitting sum OF
money, and directing the redemption of the
same." Ivy which Matthew Lyon, Edward
Harris md Ezra Styles were appointed a
committee forthwith to procure the print
ing of ''bils to the amount of twenty-five
thousand, one hundred and forty-ive
pounds lawful money, for the payment of
this states debts, and other public pur-
poses; said bills to be of various denomi-
nations from three pounds in value down
to one shilling. The preamble OF the bill
declares that sit is found necessary, for
the purposes of carrying on the war, and
the payment of the public debts of
this state, as well as for increasing the
quantity of circulating medium, to emit
a sum adequate to the several necessary
purposes, IN bills on the credit of this
state" The bills were to be redeemed by
the first of June of the following year.
with specie at the rate of six shilling for
one Spanish milled dollar, and for this
purpose tax of one shilling three pence
on the pound was laid, on the grand list,
payable in gold, silver or the bills autho-
rized to be issued. The bills, as issued,
were four inches in length by two and
seven-eighth inches in width, and were in
cribed as follows: On the face of the BILL
"No- Vermont currency" denomination
"of bilD "The Posscssor of this Bill shall
"be paid by the Treasurer of the State of
Vermont -, in "Spanish milled
"Dollars, at six shillings each or Gold or
''Silver coins equivalent by the first Day of
"June, A. D. 1852. BY order of Assemb-
"1y--Windsor February, 1881. T. Por-
"ter, Jno. Fasset." On the back of the
bill was, after the denomination, the fol-
lowing "Death to counterfeit. West
minister Printed by Spooner & Green,
'17S1." The inscription death to coun-
''terfet" will be the better understood
when it is stated, that all persons guilty of
altering or counterfeitlng any of these bills,
or of making instruments for that purpose,
and all concerned therein" "shall suffer
DEATH any law, usuage, or custom to the
contrary Notwithstanding" The face of
the bill bore also, the impress of seal, the
device being pair of scales, q sun, or a
radiated star, chain of fourteen links,
and the motto "Vermont calls for justice Z"
Thompson says that "thcse were the only
bills of credit ever issued by Vermont, and
to the credit of the state it may be added,
they suffered no depreciation and were all
faithfully redeemed" Would that the
historian of the Union could truthfully re-
cord the same fact relative to the paper
money of the United States.
We come now to the copper coins-and
only copper was ever coined in this state
of Vermont and of these there are two
kinds, and several varieties of each kind
the varieties depending upon the age, abb
breviation of the legend, and artistic finish
of the die. From 1776, the year of the
declaration of independence of the United
States, to 1888, the year of the adoption of
the constitution, "mints" were established
aud coins issued in several of the states,
Vermont being first, by an act passed June
10th, 1885. Then came Connecticut, Oc-
tober 20, 1885 New Jersey, June /, 1886;
Massachusetts,, October II, 1886. These
were the only states, or colonies, by which
coins were issued by authority of law prior
to 1888, although coins or tokens of the
value of one cent, and which circulated as
such, were coined and issued in New York
IN 1856 and 1887. At the session of the
general assembly of Vermont, held at Nor
wich in 1886, petition of Reuben Harmon
Jr., asking for leave ''to coin money" was
presented and referred to a committee, of
which Samuel Williams of Rutland was a
member, and on its report, June 18th, 1885,
II was enacted
That there be and hereby is granted to
the said Reuben Harmon, Junior, ESQ.,,
the exclusive right of coming copper with
in this State for the term of two years from
the first day of July in the present year of
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and
eighty-ive and all coppers by him coined
shall be in pieces of one third of an ounce
Troy weight each, with such Devices and
notices as shall be agreed upon by the
Committee appointed for the purpose by
this Assembly.
Another section of the act required Sc
curity of Harmon whereupon, on the
10Th of June, with David Sheldon of Ru-
pert, and Abraham Underhll and Bcnja-
min Baldwin of Dorset, as sureties, he ex-
ecuted a bond in the pennl sum of five