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7 Dollars 'Continental Currency' - United Colonies
| Issuer | Continental Congress of the United Colonies |
|---|---|
| Year | 1775-1776 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in letterpress, with a large central vignette in a rectangular frame depicting a nature-printed leaf or botanical motif — a technique used as an early anti-counterfeiting measure — surrounded by an intricate border of typographic ornaments, fleurons, and geometric repeat units. Below the vignette, the imprint block reads 'PHILADELPHIA: Printed by HALL and SELLERS. 1775.' in a mix of roman and italic display type, and the denomination '+ SEVEN DOLLARS. +' appears at the top. |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Reverse carries a nature-printed botanical vignette — an impression taken directly from a leaf or plant — used as an early anti-counterfeiting device unique to each printed sheet. |
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| Comments |
Hall and Sellers — the Philadelphia printing partnership of David Hall and William Sellers — produced this note as part of the Continental Congress's effort to fund a war it had no tax authority to finance. The nature print border, made by pressing actual leaves against the plate to create an inimitable organic impression, was Benjamin Franklin's anti-counterfeiting innovation. British forgers, working with engraved facsimiles, found it effectively impossible to replicate convincingly.
The "United Colonies" designation dates this issue to before July 1776. After the Declaration, subsequent emissions used "United States." That wording shift is the quickest way to bracket the issue date without consulting the emission records directly.