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8 Dollars / 36 Shillings Colony of Maryland
| Issuer | Province of Maryland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1775 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| 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 carries a central heraldic vignette of an armoured arm issuing from the left, the hand grasping the strap of a shield while simultaneously holding aloft a laurel branch symbolic of victory, rendered in engraved letterpress. Surrounding the vignette is the denomination repeated in bold type, with the printer's imprint and the sterling equivalent stated in the surrounding legend. |
| Reverse lettering | EIGHT DOLLARS SUB CLY PEO ANNAPOLIS: Printed by Frederick Green. Equal to Thirty Six Shillings Sterling. |
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| Comments |
Maryland's colonial legislature authorized this emission in July 1775, by which point the political situation had made British monetary authority largely irrelevant in practice. The dual denomination — eight dollars and thirty-six shillings simultaneously — reflects the awkward coexistence of Spanish milled dollar accounting and traditional sterling reckoning that defined colonial finance right up to independence. Neither system had clean precedent for what came next.
Frederick Green was the Maryland Gazette's printer, not a specialist currency engraver. That the legislature turned to a newspaper printer for both press work and plate cutting tells you something about Annapolis's limited options in 1775.