Thirty-shilling note, issued March 18, 1776, typeset, Providence: John Carter.
In March 1776, the Rhode Island General Assembly met in East Greenwich and authorized £20,000 in new paper currency to support wartime needs, just weeks before declaring independence from Britain. To ensure authenticity, the bills were endorsed by local Sons of Liberty members, including William Ellery (1727-1820), later a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
The notes were printed in Providence by John Carter (1745-1814), a former apprentice to Benjamin Franklin (1709-1790) in Philadelphia. After moving to Rhode Island in 1767, Carter partnered with printer Sarah Updike Goddard (d. 1770) before taking over her shop. An active member of the Committee of Correspondence, he also published The Providence Gazette until 1812. In his History of Printing in America, fellow printer Isaiah Thomas praised Carter, writing “He was a staunch supporter of the cause of our country, before its independence; and after that important event took place, he did not lose sight of her best interests.”