Catalog
1 Dollar - Continental Currency Pattern
| Issuer | Continental Congress |
|---|---|
| Year | 1776 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse presents a large central ring bearing the circular legend AMERICAN CONGRESS with WE ARE ONE in three lines at its center, surrounded by radiating lines. Thirteen interlocking rings, each inscribed with the abbreviated name of one of the thirteen original colonies, encircle the central device: MASSACH S, N HAMP S, CONNECT T, R ISLAND, N YORK, N JERSEY, PENNSILV, DELAWARE, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, N CAROLIN, S CAROLIN, and GEORGIA. The linked rings symbolize the unity of the colonies under the Continental Congress, forming a striking and emblematic composition that fills the entire reverse field. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Continental Currency coinage of 1776 was almost certainly never intended for mass circulation — these pieces are better understood as proposals or trial strikes produced at a moment when the Continental Congress desperately needed a hard-money solution to back paper currency that was already depreciating. The brass examples are among several metal variants struck, alongside pewter and silver, likely by Elisha Gallaudet working from a design attributed to Benjamin Franklin.
The paper Continental dollar had lost roughly a third of its face value by the end of 1776. No federally sanctioned coinage would actually circulate for another decade.