The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1897-04-16

system of currency certificate system
was put into operation. The first pub
lie store house was founded in 1883,
but the perfected system was the
growth of hundred years, having
teen finally adopted in Virginia in 1870,
when some thirty-iwo rolling houses
We're in operation. In 174S the ex-
ample of Virginia was followed by
Maryland. Fer every hogshead of to-
bacco deposited in one OF these num-
bered certificate was issued, which
served to draw out this identical hogs
head, aud the certificate itself was rec
ognized as a legal tender throughout
the portion of country wherein the
system was recognized. In case of
fire or flood the provincial government
paid for all tobacco destroyed in the
warehouse. The keepers of the ware
houses were also held to strict account
as financial officers and were forbid
den to become candidates for any office
or to meddlewith elections.
The subject of "hard money" also
occupied the attention of the early col
onists. While the amount of gold and
silver current in the colonies was
small, there was the greatest variety of
pieces aud designs. Commonest of all
was the "lion dollar" of Holland, So
called from the device upon it. There
were also crusadoes and moidores of
| Portugal, pillar ducatoons of Flanders,
"pieces of eight" from Mexico, old rix
| dollars, silver louis, French crowns.
gold pistoles, Spanish doubloons and
many other varieties brought over by
ship to poster our ancestors to deter
mine their respective valuation.
III the year 1861, Massachusetts, pre-
suming upon the overthrow of the
royal government at home under
Charles l., set up mint in wooden
building, sixteen feet square aud about
ten in height, and proceeded to coin
money TO their own taste. The pieces
first coined bore the letters n. E., for
New England, ON one side. and ON the
other, the Roman numerals to distin-
guish three-penny, six-penny and
shilling pieces. Legends and lnscrip-
tons were also added with the device
of tree, which bore a resemblance to
pine, and the Boston Bay" money
soon became known as the "pine tree"
money. Virginia had preceded Mass
achusetts in enacting a law, in 1915,
land destitute of artisans it was im-
possible TO find man with skill enough
/ to become the mint-master. Lord Bal
/ timore, of the Maryland province, met
similar difficulty by setting up "a
mint in London about 1859. Every
Maryland householder was compelled
to take up leu shilliugs of this cheap
ened coin for every taxable poll in his
| family and 10 pay for it in tobacco at
/ two-pence pound. This coiuage was
soon driven out by the advent of the
/ tobacco currency. To all other expen-
ses of the settling up of a new country
there was added i'll the American colo.
MES the purchase of laborers, white or
/ black. In South Caroliua the planter
could afford to pay more than twenty
/ i've per cent. per annum for money 10
buy negroes for labor in the rice fields.
Next in succession followed a paper
currency. Iu 1860 Massachusetts, had
with some misgiviug led the way in
issuing paper money 10 pay the dis
tressed soldiers who had returned
from Sir William Philipps' unsuccess-
full expedition against Quebec. The
province allowed five per cent. premi-
UNI GU these bills in the payment of
taxes, and this provision kept the
Massachusetts, paper money of the ear
lier issues at par value for nearly twen-
ty years-so long as the amount was
small As the issue, however, increas-
ed disastrous reaction followed aud
Massachusetts, was soon suffering from
all The attendant evils of an inflated
paper currency. Many of the other
colonies that hastily followed her ex
ample found themselves in the same
ruinous situation. In South Carolina
for over twenty years one shilling in
silver was worth seven of paper aud at
one period the exchange rose to the
rate or one thousand per cent, or ten
for one.
While Indian wampum was in use
for currency the separate beads answer
ed the purpose OF small change, but in
1885 the Massachusetts General Court
issued decree that four musket balls
should pass for farthing. In nearly
all the colonies the large clins, such as
the 'dog dollar" were cut into halves
and quarters and the fractions were
called ''sharpshlns. The Virginians
were SO inconvencienced from the alb.
senee OF coin to pay their debts that
they passed an order that dollars of
base metal should pass as good coin.
In the year 1866, however, they hastily
repealed this act, as it greatly injured
the colony, all the people refusing to
take bad money for honest work.
Various attempts were made to sup
ply the colonies with small coin. In
1874 copper piece was struck off in
New England which bore the device
of au elephant on one side and the in
scription of ''God Preserve New Eng
land" on the other. In the year 1903
spectators imported into New Eng
land s., COO worth of copper half-penee.
Between the years l720 and 1880 the
coins known as the Rosa Americanau
were made by one William Wood. Tn
hopes Of receiving some of these Rosa
pieces the Virginia Assembly fixed a
rate for copper coins in 1927. Woods
COINS 1t appears. circulated quite freely
IN the Southern colonies. In 1857.
however, the province of New York.
becoming alarmed at the influx of con.
per coins, forbade any ship from bring
ing more than ten shillings in copper
coins for each person on board. A la
per currency had now become COM
mon, which was also halved aud QUAR-
tered to make change until the issue of
small bills answered this purpose.
Many of our school children are ia.
mlllar with the history of the "Conti-
mental Currency" which, during the
revolutionary period, wrecked many
lives and fortunes. At the commence.
ment of the war the feeble colonies.
having no funds on hand, were obliged