British colonial American paper currency

British colonial American paper currency encompasses the paper money and fiat notes, historically termed bills of credit, issued by individual British North American colonies. Initiated by the Province of Massachusetts Bay in December 1690 to finance military operations during King William's War, paper currency was quickly adopted by neighbouring administrations. By 1715, ten of the thirteen colonies had introduced their own paper issues to remedy severe shortages of gold and silver specie, with some issues mortgaged against the value of land.

These notes circulated throughout the eighteenth century until the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. The bills could not be redeemed on demand for fixed quantities of gold or silver coins; instead, colonial governments pledged to retire them at specified future dates by accepting them for the payment of taxes. Because several provincial assemblies printed paper money far in excess of tax collections, the notes often suffered steep depreciation. This prompted the British Parliament to pass the Currency Acts of 1751 and 1764, which restricted colonial public banks and forbade assemblies from making new paper emissions legal tender for private debts, before partial concessions were granted in the 1770s.

Notes of this type are denominated in provincial pounds, shillings, and pence, which varied in value between colonies and were always valued below the British pound sterling. The surviving bills are printed on paper and typically feature specified issue dates, denomination statements, and hand signatures from colonial signers. To deter widespread illicit replication, the designs also commonly incorporated anti-counterfeiting devices, including nature printing.