NNP

£500 was printed on parchment by set type and shaped to simplify recognition of denomination. The 3d is described in the Act as “Sex-angular”. Each denomination has a different wording for the name of the Colony. These were unnumbered and unsigned, with blank backs. One denomination was counterfeited. Some notes were torn in half to make smaller change. Crude illustrations of each denomination were printed with the official text of the Act. Reproductions of the 1d and 2d printed on thin paper were prepared by Nathaniel Paine in 1866 for his book “Remarks on Early Paper Currency of Massachusetts”.

The “The Small Money For Change” issue was not created to prevent, compete with, or be affected by William Woods 1722-1724 Rosa Americana mixed metal coinage, but was the direct result of a severe small change shortage in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In April 1722 Governor Samuel Shute by proclamation forbid the willful tearing or cutting of existing Massachusetts Bay paper bills to make small change and prohibited officials from accepting them. On May 30, 1722 the small change parchment notes were approved and dated June 1722. William Wood’s English patent to mint copper for Ireland and mixed metal Rosa Americana coinage for America was announced in London on July 21, 1722 and production of Irish copper was announced on January 17, 1723 with Rosa Americana coinage to commence in Bristol; England in a month. This information was published in Boston newspapers in the ordinary course thereafter.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony small change shortage may have been influential in Wood’s desire to seek a patent in England for Rosa Americana coinage but no such evidence has been found.

1d Round shape [40,001] 
2d Rectangular shape [20,000]
3d Hexagonal shape [13,333] Almost New $34500 Stack’s May, 2004

There are two varieties of the 1d small change note:

Without Period: This variety does not have a period after the 1722 date. An example appeared in Stack's May 2004 sale, lot 511, Almost New ($37,375)
With Period: With Period variety. This variety has a period after the 1722 date. It was first illustrated in the 1944 ANS series Numismatic Notes and Monographs (no. 104).

There are two varieties of the 2d small change note:

Without Period: This variety does not have a period after the 1722 date. An example appeared in Stack's Bowers 2014 ANA Rarities sale, lot 13005 ($44,062.50). 
With Period: With Period variety. This variety has a period after the 1722 date. An example appeared in Stack's May 2004 sale, lot 512, Extremely Fine ($29,900).

Detail on the With Period and Without Period varieties is courtesy of Stu & Maureen Levine, and Bruce Hagen.