Early Paper Money of America / Georgia / 1786 October 16
£50,000 in legal tender Bills of Credit authorized by the Aug. 14, 1786 Act to be loaned on real estate mortgage security. A value of 4s8d to the dollar was specified. The original redemption date of Aug. 14, 1790 was extended to Jan. 15, 1794 by the Feb. 1, 1789 Act, but legal tender status was revoked after August 14, 1790 by the Dec. 23, 1789 Act. By the Feb. 22, 1785 Ordinance all Georgia paper money issued during the Revolution had been declared redeemable for taxes at $1000 for $1 in specie up to Aug. 22, 1785. This date had been extended by Act of Feb. 13, 1786 to Nov. 13, 1786 after which date such issues were unredeemable. Printed by John E. Smith of Augusta on Dutch paper watermarked HONIG & ZOONEN. The vignette was engraved by Abernethie and featured the 1777 Georgia Constitution and PRO BONO PUBLICO (For the public good). A counterfeit warning was added for the first time since the 1769 Lighthouse issue. Signers were J.H.P. Carnes, William Daniell, W. Freeman, George Jones, J. Jackson, T. McCall, T.H. Napier, and W. Steele. Two signatures on lower four denominations and three signatures on the others.
Gerry Tebben notes "The engraver listed just as Abernethie on the Ga. 10/16/1786 and City of Charleston 1786 and 1789 issues is likely THOMAS Abernethie, a Charleston copper-plate engraver and printer who died in 1795. He had two small claims to fame, engraving the first road map in North America and the maps for David Ramsay’s 1785 The History Of The Revolution Of South-Carolina, From A British Province To An Independent State, arguably the first book copyrighted in the United States. Ramsay, who lost money on his History, blamed it on high production costs, especially the $800 he paid for the engravings."
6d [25,641]1s [25,642]
2s6d [25,642]
5s [25,642]
10s [25,642]
20s [25,641]