Plate, Engraving

Object Name:

Plate, Engraving

Object ID:

2018.031.01

Creator:

Gilman, John Ward (1741-1823) -- Silversmith

Place of Origin:

Exeter, NH

Date:

1775

Description:

Copper printing plate for New Hampshire currency, engraved by John Ward Gilman (1741-1823) of Exeter, NH, 1775. Four denominations: 40 shillings, 20 shillings, 6 shillings, and 1 shilling. Vertical rectangle. The reverse is blank.

The uppermost engraving is of a forty shilling note. It contains ten lines of text entitling the possessor to receive out of the treasury, said sum of lawfull (sic) money on December 20,177_ , with interest at the rate of 6% per annum, or redeemed at the treasury prior to said date in full without interest. The engraving contains spaces within the text for the purpose of entering by hand upon the printed note, the serial numbers and unfilled numerals in the dates contained therein. Also, along the bottom there is a space for the signature of Ebenezer Thompson, and on an engraved line, a space for the signature of the Receiver General, Nicholas Gilman. Along the right side (the left side when printed), this topmost engraving contains a vignette consisting of a large spreading tree with crossed trunks.

Below the engraving for the 40 shilling note, the engravings for the 20 shilling, 6 shilling, and 1 shilling notes have been incised upon the plate, in descending order, with essentially the same form and text as the uppermost engraving, excepting changes for their respective denominations, and slight spelling and punctuation changes, presumably made as an added complication in an effort to foil counterfeiters. Each denominated engraving also contains its own distinctive vignette.

The vignette cut into the 20 shilling engraving is a stylized two-leaf design upon irregular cross-hatching. The vignette within the 6 shilling engraving is of a squirrel upon a large tree branch. The 1 shilling engraving contains a vignette of a large leaning tree. All the vignettes are designed, in combination with the designated space for the duplicate serial number above them, to result in a unique receipt for each Treasury Note after printing, numbering, and indenting.

Material:

Metal
Copper

Dimensions:

H-13 W-8.5 D-0.08 inches Weight-44.322 oz

Provenance:

The engraving of the four denominations for the June 20, 1775 issuance of £10,050 of indented Treasury Notes was authorized by the June 9, 1775 Resolve of the New Hampshire Provincial Congress to help fund New Hampshire's share of war expenses during the Revolution.

Exeter metalsmith John Ward Gilman (1741-1823) was paid 13 pounds by the Provincial Congress. This included the plate itself (which he obtained in Newburyport, MA), transport of a printing press from Newburyport, engraving of the plate, and printing of the notes. Gilman wrote a report documenting his work and itemizing the expenses.

Dr. Joshua Cohen (1801-1870) of Baltimore, MD, a collector of early American paper money, used the plate for an unofficial reprinting of the currency in the 1850s. Apparently, Dr. Cohen never returned the plate to the State of New Hampshire. It didn't resurface until 2010 when it was consigned to a currency auction in Boston by a private collector who had purchased it at an estate sale in Minnesota in 2009. After attempts to negotiate its return to New Hampshire, the plate was pulled from the auction sale and placed in a Minnesota bank vault. It resurfaced again in 2018 when it was offered for sale by Heritage Auctions and was purchased by the New Hampshire Historical Society.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase with funds provided by Q. David Bowers, Mr. and Mrs. James L. Garvin, David M. Sundman, and the Katharine Prentis Murphy Fund

People:

Gilman, John Ward (1741-1823)

Subjects:

Currency, Printing plates, American Revolution