Colonial PA 1775 Cape Henlopen Lighthouse Note CU
Pennsylvania Currency
Four Shillings Cape Henlopen 2nd "Lighthouse" Issue Note
Pennsylvania, March 25, 1775, Four Shillings, Plate B, Second "Cape Henlopen Lighthouse" Issue, Very Choice Crisp Uncirculated.
Fr. PA-171. Only 3,000 notes printed of which 1,500 would bear Plate Letter "B". Signed by Ez(ekiel Edwards, Ja(me)s Wharton, and Rich(ard) Vaux. Printed on a rigid rag paper of period stock. Horizontal in format, measuring about 88mm x 75mm. Pennsylvania Arms vignette at upper left. The large "Lighthouse" woodcut vignette centered on back as used on the earlier March 20, 1773 first issue. Printed by Hall and Sellers imprint on reverse. This note is Very Choice Crisp Uncirculated with significant original press text embossing within the paper, attesting to its originality. Provenance Ex: Stack's Ford/Boyd Collection Sale, October 2006, lot 8583 (with copy of original tag). Ex F.C.C. Boyd Estate.
Before collapsing in April 1926, the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse guided vessels from the Atlantic Ocean into the Delaware Bay for more than 150 years.
Built in 1767 with money raised from a series of lotteries in Philadelphia, the lighthouse was made of stone brought down from the Brandywine River north of Wilmington, Del., near the Pennsylvania border.
The tower was 26 feet in diameter, 6 feet thick at the base, 69 feet, 3 inches tall, and 17 feet, 6 inches in diameter and 3 feet thick at the top. It was built on the north side of the Great Dune, 46 feet above sea level, to obtain additional height.
Because the dune moved 3 to 5 feet a year, it eventually claimed the lighthouse. When it collapsed, it is said many local residents went to the site to collect the stone for fireplaces and chimneys.
Before the collapse, though, the tower had been discontinued as a lighthouse. Earlier in 1924, the lens was removed from the light for refurbishing and to be placed on display. With the building of the Brandywine Light, waiting areas were no longer needed behind the breakwaters, so the light was disabled.
These notes were issued for the construction costs for Cape Henlopen Lighthouse and piers and buoys for the Delaware Bay. An engraving of the lighthouse as it looked at the time is on the reverse.
KEYWORDS:
Rare Currency, Colonial Currency, Historic Paper Money, Early Paper Money of America, Pennsylvania Colonial Currency, Revolutionary War Paper Money, Colonial America, Printing Paper Money, Pennsylvania Fiscal Paper Note, Hand Signed Paper Money, Pennsylvania Currency, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin
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Pennsylvania Currency
Four Shillings Cape Henlopen 2nd "Lighthouse" Issue Note
Pennsylvania, March 25, 1775, Four Shillings, Plate B, Second "Cape Henlopen Lighthouse" Issue, Very Choice Crisp Uncirculated.
Fr. PA-171. Only 3,000 notes printed of which 1,500 would bear Plate Letter "B". Signed by Ez(ekiel Edwards, Ja(me)s Wharton, and Rich(ard) Vaux. Printed on a rigid rag paper of period stock. Horizontal in format, measuring about 88mm x 75mm. Pennsylvania Arms vignette at upper left. The large "Lighthouse" woodcut vignette centered on back as used on the earlier March 20, 1773 first issue. Printed by Hall and Sellers imprint on reverse. This note is Very Choice Crisp Uncirculated with significant original press text embossing within the paper, attesting to its originality. Provenance Ex: Stack's Ford/Boyd Collection Sale, October 2006, lot 8583 (with copy of original tag). Ex F.C.C. Boyd Estate.
Before collapsing in April 1926, the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse guided vessels from the Atlantic Ocean into the Delaware Bay for more than 150 years.
Built in 1767 with money raised from a series of lotteries in Philadelphia, the lighthouse was made of stone brought down from the Brandywine River north of Wilmington, Del., near the Pennsylvania border.
The tower was 26 feet in diameter, 6 feet thick at the base, 69 feet, 3 inches tall, and 17 feet, 6 inches in diameter and 3 feet thick at the top. It was built on the north side of the Great Dune, 46 feet above sea level, to obtain additional height.
Because the dune moved 3 to 5 feet a year, it eventually claimed the lighthouse. When it collapsed, it is said many local residents went to the site to collect the stone for fireplaces and chimneys.
Before the collapse, though, the tower had been discontinued as a lighthouse. Earlier in 1924, the lens was removed from the light for refurbishing and to be placed on display. With the building of the Brandywine Light, waiting areas were no longer needed behind the breakwaters, so the light was disabled.
These notes were issued for the construction costs for Cape Henlopen Lighthouse and piers and buoys for the Delaware Bay. An engraving of the lighthouse as it looked at the time is on the reverse.
KEYWORDS:
Rare Currency, Colonial Currency, Historic Paper Money, Early Paper Money of America, Pennsylvania Colonial Currency, Revolutionary War Paper Money, Colonial America, Printing Paper Money, Pennsylvania Fiscal Paper Note, Hand Signed Paper Money, Pennsylvania Currency, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin
