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Continental Money.

ue bills which are represented in |

the above engraving are speci-

mens of notes issued by the Con-

tinental Congress during the Re-
volutionary War. They adopted the
measure of paying their debts in paper
currency, early in the struggle of the
States for independence. When the
notes were first issued, they doubtless
expected to be able to redeem them, at
some future time, in specie. But as the
war continued, it became necessary to
increase the amount of this kind of cur-
rency to an enormous extent. In pro-
portion as their paper money increased
in amount, their credit went down, until,
at length, the promises to pay of the
Continental Congress became almost as
worthless as the miserable bits of smoky-
looking paper on which they were print-
ed. In March, 1780, there had been
paid out of this kind of money the
enormous amount of two hundred mil-
lions of dollars. Not a dollar of this

sum had been redeemed. At this
time, forty paper dollars were worth
only one dollar in specie. Of course
the prices of different articles rose as
the “Continental money sank in value.
The effect of all this was peculiarly op-
pressive on the poor soldiers who were
fighting for independence.

Well, what do you think Congress did
to keep up their credit, and go ahead
with the war? They recommended to
the separate States to pass laws making
paper currency, at its nominal value, a
legal tender for the payment of debts
which had been contracted to be paid
in gold and silver—that is, to pass such
a law as would oblige the creditor to
take Continental money, at the value
named in the bill, for old debts, perhaps
contracted before there was any paper
money in the market. Such laws were
enacted in some of the States, and a
great many debtors took advantage of
them. There was much dissatisfaction.