30 Dollars, Continental Congress, 1776
date: label: date made
content: 1776
label: date on object
content: 1776-07-22
name: label: maker
content: Continental Congress
label: maker
content: Hall & Sellers
notes: label: Description
content: The thirty-dollar note was the highest denomination issued during the first three years or so of Continental Currency. We might wonder why the authorities issued such an odd denomination. The answer is that what seems odd to us seemed perfectly logical to them.
label: Description
content: The thirty-dollar bills-and threes, fours, sixes, and eights, as well as bills worth a sixth, or a third, or two-thirds of a dollar-were put into circulation for two reasons. First, some of them were conscious substitutes for coins of the same value. And second, they were there to make change: if all you have in circulation is paper currency, you had better give the public the money it needs.
label: Description
content: So if a merchant got an eight-dollar Continental note in payment for a five-dollar object, he could give the customer a three in return. This situation in fact lasted through the mid-1860s. Notes in today's familiar denominations are a recent phenomenon.
label: Description
content: The image on the face of the note speaks to the advantages of righteous dealing (appropriate for a commercial object such as this note). The images on the back present two views on the reasons for the war against England. The left one (VI CONCITATAE) suggests that the colonies were forced into the conflict, while the one on the right (CESSANTE VENTO CONQUIESCEMUS) promises that they would rest and revive after it was over.
label: Description
content: Continental currency often split in half because it was frequently folded. This bill was sewn back together to repair it.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
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content: NNC Colonial Currency
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content: Coins
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content: Numismatics
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content: Coins, Currency and Medals
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content: NNC Continental Currency
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content: Legendary Coins
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Zoomable Image and Details
label: Related Publication
content: Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Stack's
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: NU.69.217.54
label: catalog number
content: 69.217.54
label: accession number
content: 287114
label: serial number
content: 29269
objectType: label: Object Name
content: note
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: thread (part material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7.2 cm x 9.2 cm x .01 cm; 2 27/32 in x 3 5/8 in x in