248 



Committee, reported the minutes of the Committee in relation 

 to several subjects referred to them. Whereupon, on motion 

 of Mr. Kane, it was resolved, that so much of the proceed- 

 ings of the Committee as refers to the Paper of Mr. Breck, 

 entitled, "Historical Sketch of the Continental Bills of Credit, 

 from the Year 1775 to 1781, with Specimens thereof," and 

 contains a resolution, that the Paper is worthy of publication 

 in the next volume of the Transactions of the Historical and 

 Literary Committee, is approved by the Society, and the pub- 

 lication thereof ordered accordingly. 



Immediately after the battle of Lexington, which took place in 

 April, 1775, the colonial congress began to prepare for war. Having 

 neither funds, nor the means of creating any for present use, either 

 by taxation or loans, they adopted the plan of issuing paper money. 

 Whereupon, even before the battle of Bunker's Hill, one million of 

 dollars were emitted, in bills of various denominations, from one-third, 

 one-half, and two-thirds of a dollar, to eight dollars; and subsequently 

 of denominations varying from thirty to eighty dollars. These bills 

 were made payable to bearer, and entitled him to receive Spanish 

 milled dollars for them, or their value in gold or silver; and for their 

 redemption, congress bound the thirteen Confederated Colonies. Con- 

 tracts were made at Philadelphia for printing the bills; and thirty 

 individuals of that city were appointed by congress, to divide the la- 

 bour of signing them, so as to have commonly two names on each 

 bill. Appropriate mottoes, in Latin, were placed on the obverse, and 

 a rudely printed emblem on the reverse. Treasurers were named to 

 administer these funds, at an annual salary of five hundred paper 

 dollars. 



The colonies were called upon to tax themselves for the repayment 

 of this money; and the quota of each was determined, according to 

 the number of its inhabitants, including negroes and mulattoes. Vir- 

 ginia ranked first, Massachusetts second, Pennsylvania third; and 

 New York came in with Connecticut and North and South Carolina. 

 When the treasurers happened to have gold or silver, they were di- 

 rected to advertise their readiness to exchange the same for paper; 

 and some individuals, ardently patriotic, sent large sums of metallic 

 money to the treasury, and received bills of credit in return at par. 

 In the course of the year 1775, ten millions of dollars were emitted. 



The next year independence was declared, and some specie having 



