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Colonial Currency, NJ, December 31, 1763, £3

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New Jersey Currency

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Serial Number 62 of 500 Three Pounds Plate B Printed

New Jersey. December 31, 1763. Three Pounds. Plate B. Choice Very Fine.
Fr. NJ-159. Low Serial number 62. This red and black printed note is sharp and clean in appearance, having light even circulation. All three signatures are written in rich brown ink and it is quite well centered. This £3 denomination is extremely rare. Only 1,000 notes were printed in 1763, of which only 500 are Plate B. Adding to their rarity, this issue was only made legal tender until December of 1781 and made invalid after December of 1782. Thus, virtually all existing notes should have been turned back to the Treasury by 1782 and destroyed.

The production method in 1763 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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