Label Type
Object LabelLabel
U.S. Continental Currency, $5 bill [with the back of the bill shown in facsimile]
September 26, 1778
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Possibly Hall & Sellers, printer
Struggling to finance the Revolutionary War, and without the authority to tax, the Continental Congress began printing currency in 1775. The money was devoted toward war expenses, and was to be redeemed through taxes from each colony. However, continental notes, such as the examples on display, quickly became devalued due to a lack of systematic coordination and control of printing of currency amongst the states and the fledgling government. This gave rise to the phrase, “not worth a Continental.”
Nevertheless, Benjamin Franklin was a long-time advocate of paper money and contributed greatly to the design and printing of Pennsylvania and Continental currency. One major contribution was his implementation of an anti-counterfeit measure called “nature printing.” By pressing an item from nature, such as a leaf, into a cast mold, the plate with the nature image was then used to make a direct impression, or imprint, into the paper. While the technique existed since the Renaissance, its application to printed currency by Franklin—along with his use of the intricate and unique patterning made from the veins of a leaf—made the designs difficult for engravers to replicate. The two willow tree leaves on the back of the five-dollar bill on our display (bottom right), demonstrate his use of this technique.
Franklin also believed that printed money should contain meaningful words and symbols that demonstrated the enlightened minds and ideals that were shaping the developing American society. On the øth dollar bill (top left), he used a rebus, a puzzle using images and words. From a sundial (signifying “time”), a Latin word FUGIO (meaning “I fly”), and the phrase “Mind Your business”, the viewers read “Time flies so mind your business. Its meaning in modern sense would be: “time flies so take care of your business”. Additionally, on the back of the bill (top right), 13 rings with the names of the colonies are bound together with the motto “We Are One—American Congress”, strengthening the message of a united nation.Label Type
Object LabelLabel
Continental Currency, Five Dollars
September 26, 1776
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Unknown
2010.000.17