Pennsylvania pound

Pennsylvania pound

The pound was the currency of Pennsylvania until 1793. Initially, the British pound and certain foreign coins circulated, supplemented from 1723 by local paper money, called Colonial Scrip. Although these notes were denominated in pounds, shillings and pence, they were worth less than sterling, with 1 Pennsylvanian shilling = 9 pence sterling.

In March 1723, it issued Colonial Scrip, paper bills of credit to the amount of $60,000, made them a legal tender in all payments on pain of confiscating the debt or forfeiting the commodity, imposed sufficient penalties on all persons who presumed to make any bargain or sale on cheaper terms in case of being paid in gold or silver, and provided for the gradual reduction of the bills by enacting that one-eighth of the , as well as the whole interest, should be paid annually. Pennsylvania made no loans but on land security or plate deposited in the loan office, and obliged borrowers to pay 5 % for the sums they took up. The scheme worked so well that, in the latter end of the year, the government emitted bills to the amount of $150,000 on the same terms. In 1729 there was a new emission of $150,000 to be reduced one-sixteenth a year. Pennsylvania was one of the last – if not the very last – colonies that emitted a paper currency. In 1775, the Colonial "Scrip" currency was replaced by Continental currency. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania issued Continental currency denominated in £sd and Spanish dollars, with 1 dollar = 7 shillings 6 pence. The continental currency was replaced by the U.S. dollar at a rate of 1000 continental dollars = 1 U.S. dollar in 1793.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pound (currency) — The pound, a unit of currency, originated in England as the value of a pound mass of silver. [ [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pound Online Etymology Dictionary] ] For a long time, £1 worth of silver coins were a troy pound in… …   Wikipedia

  • Pound sterling — GBP redirects here. For other uses, see GBP (disambiguation). Pound sterling Peuns sterling (Cornish) Punt steirling (Irish) Punt Sostynagh …   Wikipedia

  • Pound — 〈[ paʊnd] n.; s, od. s; 〉 engl. Gewichtseinheit, 453,6 g * * * Pound [paʊnd], das; , s [engl. pound, eigtl. = Pfund, < aengl. pund < lat. pondo, ↑ Pfund]: englische Gewichtseinheit (453,60 g; Abk.: lb. [Sg.], lbs. [Pl.]). * * * I …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district — Current Representative Chaka Fattah (D–Philadelphia) Distribution 100.00% urban, 0.00% rural …   Wikipedia

  • Pound, Ezra — ▪ American poet Introduction in full  Ezra Loomis Pound  born Oct. 30, 1885, Hailey, Idaho, U.S. died Nov. 1, 1972, Venice, Italy  American poet and critic, a supremely discerning and energetic entrepreneur of the arts who did more than any other …   Universalium

  • Pound, Ezra (Weston) Loomis — (1885 1972)    Ezra Pound studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Hamilton College and graduated with an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1906. After being dismissed from a teaching position in 1907 for “bohemian” behavior, Pound …   Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era

  • Pennsylvania Route 73 — PA Route 73 Route information Maintai …   Wikipedia

  • Pennsylvania Route 309 — PA 22 redirects here. PA 22 may also refer to Pennsylvania s 22nd congressional district. PA Route 309 Major highways in eastern Pennsylvania with PA 309 in red …   Wikipedia

  • Pennsylvania Route 611 — PA Route 611 Route information Maintained by Pe …   Wikipedia

  • Pennsylvania Route 152 — PA Route 152 Route information Maintained by PennDOT Length: 25.1 mi[ …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”