North Carolina Currency “Hoard” At Colonial Williamsburg

The following is from a news release by Colonial Williamsburg:

“The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has acquired a large collection of colonial paper currency issued by North Carolina prior to the American Revolution.

“Comprised of more than 6,600 notes in varying denominations issued between 1748 and 1771, the stash of cash was worth about 7,176 pounds sterling in 1775. If legal tender today, the currency would have purchasing power of more than $750,000…

“Named the ‘Cornell Hoard,’ the money was collected originally by Samuel Cornell, a transplanted New Yorker who became a wealthy merchant after moving as a young man to New Bern, N.C. in the mid-1750s. In addition to his activities as a merchant, Cornell also was involved in high risk currency speculation as evidenced by the hoard of colonial currency.”

Read more about this collection of NC currency at: http://www.history.org/foundation/press_release/displayPressRelease.cfm?pressReleaseId=1592

To see a portion of the North Carolina Collection’s currency holdings, see the following digital collection: “Historic Moneys in the North Carolina Collection

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