1776 $4 Georgia Colonial Note

About This Note

The note you see here is the exact note you will receive. PMG notes "Previously Mounted" on the slab: this qualifier indicates the note was at some point affixed to a surface, which is reflected in the grade. The note itself presents with strong detail and honest wear consistent with Extremely Fine 40.

Few artifacts from the American founding era survive in any condition. This 1776 $4 Georgia Colonial Note is one of them: a tangible piece of paper handled by colonists in the very year the Declaration of Independence was signed. Issued by the Colony of Georgia under authority of the Continental Congress, the note reads: "THIS CERTIFICATE intitles the Bearer to FOUR SPANISH MILLED DOLLARS, or the Value thereof, according to Resolution of CONGRESS."

Fr #GA-75a identifies this as the Liberty Cap - Light Blue seal variety, one of the most visually striking of the Georgia colonial issues. The distinctive light blue "LIBERTAS CARIOR AURO" (Liberty More Precious Than Gold) Liberty Cap seal appears at the lower right of the obverse: a powerful motto for a note issued in the midst of revolution.

Three colonial commissioners hand-signed this note: W. Stephens, L. Habersham, and E. Telfair: names that appear throughout Georgia's Revolutionary-era history. Serial number 5819 is handwritten in period ink. The ornate typeset border, period typography, and the weight of 250 years of history make this an extraordinary acquisition for any serious collector of American colonial currency or Revolutionary War-era Americana.