South Carolina Bills of Credit
Anonymous, American, 18th century American
Printer Peter Timothy
Not on view
Colonial paper notes functioned as currency but actually were bills of credit, that is, short term public loans to the government. Previously, currency had been limited to coins with an intrinsic value based on their gold, silver or copper content. Now, for the first time, the money itself had no intrinsic value other than the value of the paper on which it was printed. The value of the notes came from the fact they were issued by and accepted by the government of the colony in payment of debts.. Each denomination has a different vignette with a motto taken from the books of J.C. Weigels, Nicholas Verien and Joachim Camerarius. There are wood cut borders on the front giving the value of the note in dollars and pounds. The reverse was typeset using Greek and Hebrew letters as ornaments, they are found near the denomination designation. The notes were printed in 1777 in Charleston by Peter Timothy on a thick brown paper. There were five signers but several partially signed unissued remainders exist. Each of these notes is only partially signed since there is only one signature, that of James Wakefield. The first note is denoted as both two Spanish milled dollars and as £3 5s. The front contains four border cuts and a seal. The seal depicts a rooster with the motto: ".ET.SOLI.ET.MARTI " which means, "For the Sun and for Mars. The second note is denominated as both three Spanish milled dollars or £4 17s6d. The front contains four border cuts and a seal. The seal depicts what appears to be a tree stump. The motto reads: ":FATA.VIAM.INVENIENT," which means, "The fates will find a way." The last note is denoted as four Spanish milled dollars or £6 10s. The front contains four border cuts and a seal. The seal depicts a boat at sea named the Actaeon that is on fire with the motto:".THE ACTAEON.IRAM.PRUDENTIA.VINCIT," which means, "The Actaeon; Prudence conquers anger." The verso of each of these notes contains typeset borders and four Hebrew letters in the corners of the center that act as anti counterfeiting devices.
