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Colonial Currency, MA, May 5, 1780, SHEET SET

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Massachusetts Currency

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America's First Federal Bail Out "Guaranteed" Note Sheet

State of Massachusetts. May 5, 1780. "Guaranteed" by the United States Issue. Uncut Sheet of Eight Notes. $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $7, $8, & $20 Full Denomination Sheet Set. Cut Canceled. Choice Uncirculated.
Fr. MA-278 thru 285 (representing all eight different denominations of this issue). This is an extremely rare original, fully signed and issued sheet of eight notes that has remained fully complete and intact. According to Eric Newman, these legal tender notes were issued "Bills of Credit," payable in Spanish Milled Dollars. This issue carried a 5% Annual Interest, a schedule of which is actually printed upon each note on its face in the lower left corner. Interest and payment was "Guaranteed" by the United States per Act of the Continental Congress in a Resolution of March 18, 1780, guaranteeing the payment of the bills. This allowed the various participating States to accept and exchange earlier issues of Continental Currency by their Treasuries at the inflationary rate of $40 in Old Bills to receive $1 in these New, "Guaranteed" Bills.

What is extraordinary about this sheet is the fact that it was issued whole and remains today fully intact. The individual notes were never cut from this sheet. It was turned back in to the Massachusetts Treasury fully intact as a whole sheet. One year after issue it was stamped in red, "Interest Paid One Year," along the left side of each note, as usual. At some point thereafter, the entire intact sheet was again turned back to the Treasury for a final payment of the 5% Annual Interest. It was then "cut" canceled with a "V" into the outer edge of each note, as well as having a faint secondary internal cancel in each note. There are huge margins at the top and bottom of this sheet, as well as sharp large even margins along either side. There is some deft sealed splitting along the horizontal centerfold, just touching into the top border design on the reverse side. Overall, this extremely rare sheet is bright and colorful, clean and attractive for display.

The fine quality handmade laid paper carries the watermark "UNITED - STATES" within each of the eight notes. It is printed in deep black and rich red, each note is signed by Samuel Henshaw and Richard Cranch on its face and by Peter Boyer, on the reverse "Guarantee" line, representing the Continental Congress and the Federal United States. We believe that only two such fully issued, and then officially canceled, intact sheets exist. It is a remarkable and historic sheet of the first Federal ,"Bail Out," Guaranteed Notes.

The production method in 1780 for any note of two or more colors meant extra work for the printer. Each sheet had to be placed onto the printing press twice, one time to print the red text and a second pass to add the black. Each time a color was printed, the paper sheet had to be hung up to dry for a day and then laid back down, hopefully in the same exact place as proper alignment was critical, to add the second color. Obviously, this was a far more timely procedure that added extra work and cost. That is a major reason we see so few Colonial issues that are multicolor.

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