MA-168 12 sh PMG Fine 12 Paul Revere #1 Highest grade

MA-168 - Twelve Shillings - PMG FN-12 - Massachusetts - August 18, 1775

Hand Printed by Paul Revere

#1 Highest ever graded

True Rarity:
According to the PMG Census, this exceedingly rare and historic note stands alone as the Highest grade on the Census and is the only example graded.

           A very rare note in any grade, this note may be one of a kind

The Friedberg guide does not assign a price for this series above mid grade but just calls them rare in uncirculated condition. Collectors have found this first series to indeed be rare, even in the lowest grade (torn, tattered, or incomplete). Only very little research has been done to determine which denominations are the more rare within this series (or the later series) and most experts simply lump them all together as a Sword in Hand note. And this particular 12 shillings note - has anyone else even seen one before?

Unrestored:

Because of the rarity and high value of this and the following series of Sword In Hand notes, most of the surviving examples have been repaired. Well, here is the best known example in completely unrestored condition. The tiny splits are about one eighth of an inch or less at the fold (right and left side) and hard to detect

Some important history on this note:
This was the first emission of Massachusetts printed currency for public use since 1750. Paul Revere's two earlier emissions of large sized engraved notes, of May 25th and July 8th, 1775 were authorized only for advanced pay for soldiers, hence they were called "soldier money" in contemporary sources.

On July 27th a committee report favoring the emission was brought to the House with the suggestion that a variety of denominations from one to forty shilling be printed. By August 4th the House procured the services of Revere while the final act authorizing the emission was passed on August 23rd, however the date on the notes is August 18th, possibly the date the resolution was brought to the House.

There were sixteen denominations in this issue printed from the two sets of newly engraved copper plates. The front of each note has a small oval vignette with a ship docked at a harbor or a tree; the design differs on each denomination.

The back depicts a colonial American soldier (sometimes called a minuteman) with a sword in his right hand and copy of the Magna Charta in his left. This is a document signed by King John in 1215, popularly interpreted as conferring rights to all free Englishmen. Above is the motto "Issued in defence of American Liberty" and below is the motto of Massachusetts "Ense petit placidam sub Libertate Quietem", which means: By the sword one seeks peace under tranquil liberty.

The copper plate used to print the front of the lower denominations (1s-8s) is extant in the Massachusetts State Archives; however it was extensively modified for the second emission of December 7, 1775, meaning that all denominations from this first series are unique and were never duplicated.

***  This 12 shillings note was never printed or reproduced again in any of the following Sword in Hand issues. In esense, this is a one-of-a-kind note and perhaps the rarest of all the Sword in hand notes ever printed by the hand of patriot Paul Revere ***

About Paul Revere:

Paul Revere (1734 – May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, and a patriot in the American Revolution.
He was glorified after his death for his role as a messenger in the battles of Lexington and Concord, and Revere's name and his "midnight ride" are well-known in the United States as a patriotic symbol. In his lifetime, Revere was a prosperous and prominent Boston craftsman, who helped organize an intelligence and alarm system to keep watch on the British military.
Of importance to this hobby, he was also commissioned by the colony (and later state) of Massachusetts to engrave copper plates for currency, which he also hand printed.

This is a world class quality note, worthy of the finest collections.


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