Obverse Text: THIRTY SHILLINGS. / NO. 3401 / THIS BILL OF THIRTY SHILLINGS PROCLAMATION, IS EMITTED BY A LAW OF THE COLONY OF NEW JERSEY, PAFFED IN THE FOURTEENTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF HIS MAJEFTY KING GEORGE THE THIRD. / DATED MARCH 25, 1776.
Reverse Image: Line of Zodiac symbols at top, leaf in center, line of swirls along sides, line of crowns beneath leaf, flower on either end of crown row.
Reverse Text: THIRTY SHILLINGS. / 'TIS DEATH TO COUNTERFEIT. / BURLINGTON IN NEW-JERSEY, PRINTED BY ISSAC COLLINS,
Description
Currency issued by governments is protected by law. Historically money has conveyed messages to people about the consequences of counterfeiting it. This American colonial note from the 1770s plainly states the punishment for falsely imitating the legal tender at the time: “‘Tis Death to Counterfeit.”