The image of a Spanish colonial coin is not uncommon on US obsolete paper money. It appears on notes from at least 20 different states, and it was used by a number of printers. Perhaps the printer which produced the largest number of notes with this image was Rawdon, Wright, and Hatch, one of the precursors to the American Bank Note Company. Spanish coins were legal tender in the United States until 1857, and their respected value may have led note designers to include the coin image to bolster the notes’ apparent worthiness.

Almost invariably, though, only the reverse of the Spanish colonial coin was used for the image (see figure 1 above). The obverse, or portrait side, was used on a few obsolete notes from Canada (Henry’s Bank is one), but I am aware of an obverse used only once on a US note, the one shown in figure 2 below.

The note, dated Sept 11, 1837, is from the George Hatie coin note collection, recently auctioned by R. M. Smythe. Hatie wrote about obsolete paper money depicting coins in a series of articles appearing in the Numismatist (April and May 1975 with a supplement in December 1981 and January 1982). There, he described this note as from New Bedford, Massachusetts. The Smythe cataloger attributed the note to Bedford, New York, but I think this is erroneous. Because the signature area has been cut off (probably a form of cancellation), there is little else to tell us the origin of the note, except a very small imprint across the right margin, reading "Sold at Valentines 50 John St N.Y."

The note clearly depicts the obverse of a 1773 coin of Carolus III. The crude reverse image lacks the usual mintmark that would tell us the coin’s country. However, the assayers’ initials are FF, consistent with a Mexican issue, but not consistent with the date 1773. The assayers’ initials for that year for a one real coin are FM. In the image, the denomination is indicated on the reverse as R, for one real, the equivalent of 12 ½ cents, the note’s value.

Why would coin reverses be relatively common, but obverses rare? We can only speculate:

• Americans had a dislike for royalty stemming from our British colonial experience. Note designers would not choose to put a king's face or name, both appearing on the coin obverse, on an American note.

• The obverse had the date, usually much earlier than many of the notes' issue or due date. Designers may have been concerned that the coin's earlier date might be a sign of the note's obsolescence, and hence bring into question its value.

• The obverse of the coins changed when there was a new king. The reverses stayed invariant except for occasional mintmark or assayers’ mark change.

• The coin's denomination is on the reverse. In the images used, this was usually consistent with the note’s denomination.

Readers are asked to share information about any other US obsolete notes that depict the obverse of a Spanish coin. For more information about US obsoletes depicting Spanish coins, see my numismatic World Wide Web exhibit.

ã Copyright Raleigh Coin Club   -  1998, 1999,2000,2001,2002

The RCC grants permission to reprint any articles not copyrighted by the author for non-profit educational purposes only, provided the Raleigh Coin Club and the author are cited as the original source.