Not a colonial note collector, can any one tell me about these two colonial notes?

Kurtflorida

I know practically nothing about Colonial Bank Notes. Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

sellitstore

The top one is from Pennsylvania, 1773 and the bottom from Maryland, 1774. The are mid grade, around fine or so, worth $50-$75 each.

Kurtflorida

Thanks. Anybody interested?

Kurtflorida

Judging by value, I would assume they are not really worth having certified. Assuming they are properly stored. Is that about right?

SaorAlba

If they were rare or high grade they would be worth having certified. The thing is with colonial era paper money, it is not rare for one simple fact - it lost most of it's value during the Revolutionary War, and all of it's value shortly thereafter. People at the time held onto it, resulting in its preservation, in the hopes it would be redeemed by the issuing authorities later on.

Ben Franklin once commented that the depreciation of the paper money of that era was in effect a form of tax to pay for the Revolution. It doesn't help the people then obviously, but does make for a cool and affordable memento from that era for modern collectors.

SaorAlba

"Did all these colonial notes (including those dated 1780) lose all their value? "

Of the colonial notes the only examples that had a form of redemption are the 1780 "Guaranty" notes like the $5 in the previous post. But they were only redeemed for 1 cent on the dollar and only for long term bonds that were due ca. 1815. This is why most of the 1780 "Guarantee" notes survive - they were redeemed for the bonds - even with a minimum payout over a long period of time. When they were redeemed by the states, for instance Massachusetts-Bay they were cutout cancelled with a circular punch and sometimes a triangular shaped punch. They were then stored in state archives until the 1960s-1970s when they were sold off in large lots.

"And price based on rarity / numismatic value?"

Yes, most 1770s an 1780s notes are reasonably common because they were often retained by states after their circulation period had ended. Some notes from 1750s-1760s from New Jersey and Maryland are relatively common. A curiousity is the issues of North Carolina, a large hoard appeared on the market starting about 10-15 years ago - so that notes dated as early as the late 1740s are common - but the notes are in usually poor condition.

" Just wondering. I mean a post Revolutionary War not is not technically redeemable like a post 1862 note, right?" All US Govt issued notes released to general circulation are redeemable from 1861 on to today. The only ones that aren't are items like the Series 1934 Gold Certificates that were traded only between Federal Reserve Banks. One area that comes up are obsolete bank issued notes that were issued as late as 1864 - for instance Bank of North America, Charter #1 still exists as part of Wachovia bank, I believe. As it survived into the National Bank era, it might be possible that the earlier notes could be redeemed by the bank - but the notes are relatively rare.

Kurtflorida

Thanks SaorAlba,

I did not know about the North Carolina hoard.

Thanks again