Bill: Twenty-dollar note, issued April 2, 1776, engraved, Baltimore: Gabriel Lewyn.
Copperplate: Twenty-dollar note, issued April 2, 1776, engraved, Baltimore: Gabriel Lewyn.
In April 1776, North Carolina’s Provincial Congress met in Halifax and became the first colony to pass a resolution for independence from Britian—a decision known as the Halifax Resolves. At the same meeting, the group authorized the printing of paper currency to support the colony’s economy and wartime needs. Denominations ranged from 1/16th of a dollar to $20.
The twenty-dollar bill shown here features a coiled snake and the phrase “Don’t Tread on Me.” It was printed in Baltimore from an engraved copperplate that may have been designed by local silversmith Gabriel Lewyn (fl. 1768-1780). In all, the “Halifax Issue” of currency featured fifty-six unique designs including vignettes of a leopard, a beehive, a thrush, a fish, an eagle, and the snake.