Description:
Paul Revere first engraved a "sword in hand" image for an emission of notes of credit in August 1775. Pictured on this is a soldier holding a sword in one hand and a copy of the Magna Carta, symbolizing liberty, in the other. A Latin phrase, "Ense petit placidam sub Libertatae Quietem," the motto of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and "Issued in defence of American Liberty" curl around the image. The value "ONE shilling four pence" is printed at the top and the date, "Decmr 7th 1775" is printed at the bottom. Like the August note of credit, thisone was printed from two plates, forming a double-sided note. The image on the other plate consists of a 'Chippendale' style border, a view of a ship in an oval (lower left), the value of the note (1/4), and a statement that the holder of the note will be paid its value by the Treasurer of Massachusetts by December 7, 1781. The December 7 note was issued in sixteen denominations; this note is signed by Daniel Hopkins of Salem. The plates are described in Clarence Brigham, Paul Revere's Engravings (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1954), 146-152.
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