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1775

Continental paper authorized

Continental currency is first authorized this year. The two-dollar note that promises Spanish milled dollars, or gold or silver, is dated 17 February 1776.

Obverse of a two-dollar Continental currency note dated February 17, 1776.
Two-dollar Continental note, emission of 17 February 1776. Authorization is 1775. This note is not a 1775 printing.Public domain.

The war is already being paid in part with Continental paper. Authorization is this year. The printed promise on the two-dollar note — two Spanish milled dollars, or the value in gold or silver — is the emission of 17 February 1776.

Spanish dollars are still the familiar silver piece of Atlantic trade. The United States coinage statute is 1792. England has not stopped gold payout. That stop is 1797.

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