Virginia Currency - One Third of a Dollar 1777

Anonymous, American, 18th century American

1777

Not on view

The American colonies (or states, as they now began calling themselves) issued currency of their own to pay war expenses and keep local economies afloat. Issues from Virginia featured an armored Amazon brandishing a sword. She stands above and on the prone body of a dead male ruler, whose crown has fallen on the ground. The motto could not be more plain: SIC SEMPER TYRANNUS (Be it ever thus to tyrants). This vivid image still adorns the Virginia state flag. Unlike most Revolutionary War currency, this note was printed on only one side. And the paper for its printing left something to be desired. It looks as if this note were forcibly torn in two. But whether it was torn deliberately or by accident, someone pinned it back together — crudely but effectively. The denomination is given as "fifteen Spanish milled dollars." Those coins were the famous "pieces of eight," now minted by machinery ("milled") in Mexico City and elsewhere. They were the monies of choice when coins were available, and Americans liked them so much that they eventually based their own United States dollar on the Spanish-American prototype.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Virginia Currency - One Third of a Dollar 1777
Artist: Anonymous, American, 18th century
Date: 1777
Medium: Engraving and typeset
Dimensions: Sheet: 2 1/2 × 3 5/8 in. (6.4 × 9.2 cm)
Classifications: Prints, Ephemera
Credit Line: Bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924
Object Number: 24.90.1561
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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