New Jersey Currency
Unlisted Denomination New Jersey August 6, 1776 City of Burlington JAMES CRAFT Nine Pence Private Issue Note
Currency Money of New Jersey. City of Burlington. James Craft. August 6, 1776. Nine Pence. Small Change Private Issue. Conservation. Extremely Fine.
Unlisted and Unrecorded. This exceptional Nine Pence denomination is not listed in any major reference to our best knowledge, including the current Edition of Newman. This uniface note has the extremely low Serial number of 61, which attests to the tiny population of notes issued and the extreme rarity of any existent on the entire issue. The 1776-dated, Revolutionary War era, top legend reads, “NIL DESPERANDUM” (NEVER LOSE HOPE), with “A & H” printed to the left of the signature at bottom.

The overall quality of this likely Unique note is exceptional. The printed typeset text and border designs are sharp and bold deep black. There is a deft sealed centerfold split. Overall, this note is extremely clean and perfectly centered within four large even outer margins. The strong signature of “James Craft” along with the serial number “61” are well written in brown ink and show clearly. It is printed upon period laid paper and has excellent eye appeal for being lightly circulated.

In his reference, THE EARLY PAPER MONEY OF AMERICA, Eric Newman lists the only known denominations as being Four Pence and Six Pence on this issue. This Nine Pence note is vastly superior in its quality and eye appeal to the Newman plate specimen illustrated on page 262 of the current edition. The entire issue is extremely rare, with only a handful of examples known to exist. This Unlisted, Unrecorded and likely Unique Nine Pence note is a major rarity highlight for any Colonial or specialized New Jersey currency collection.