 Colony of the Massachusetts Bay. December 7, 1775. Twenty Two Shillings. No.18. Signed by Morgan and Ely. Revere Sword in Hand Note. Printed on moderately thick stock. 79mm by 102mm. Some weakness on the face plate state, particularly the right end. Some back plate details are slightly similar to Thirty Six Shilling contemporary counterfeits of this series. One of the lowest serial number Sword in Hand notes we have seen or catalogued. Very Fine to Extremely Fine. The crease has not broken. Some soiling on the granular surfaces of the paper, seen mostly on the back. The upper left corner tip is jaggedly shaved and there is an ink spot at the bottom right edge. Boyd's pencil code, ''eiyx'', at the back bottom left corner.
Ex F.C.C. Boyd Estate.
This is an interesting note on several levels. Further research on Sword in Hand notes is overdue and we stated this in our 2000 Americana sale catalogue. At one time, Mr. Boyd sent his Swords to the American Antiquarian Society in order for them to make comparisons to their collection. The note in question here has linear lines in place of buttons on the waistcoat. As we know, Revere (or his apprentices) would detail the plate very sharply and conform to strict specifications. Were the lines used here instead of pointed buttons as an attempt by Revere to trick the potential counterfeiters or is this an unlisted counterfeit styled after the Thirty Six Shillings? Studying the plate diagnostics of the Thirty Six Shillings counterfeits in this sale (lots 4666-4668) and comparing them to this note makes this a debatable topic worthy of further study in the future.
| |
|
