"I see no reason to call Bruce Vogel's Continental Currency a "Test Note". I think it is more likely what we call a "remainder", notes that are printed and either not signed or partially signed."

I asked, "How common are remainders for colonial currency? Not sure if I ever heard of or saw one." -Editor

"Now that you mention it, I don't remember a Continental Currency remainder. But I haven't looked for one. There were certainly overruns printed in case of damage or problems. It is assumed overruns were destroyed after the full authorized number had been successfully signed. I've seen a number of them for colonies and states. You do raise a good question."

"I thought I would try playing around with the brightness and contrast, from your best image of the face of the note. And it seems there's definitely SOMETHING there, though I don't know what!"

   

Interesting approach. I can sorta see some letters there, but nothing is even close to clear. -Editor

"Unfortunately, Eric Newman lists the signers of Continental Currency alphabetically. You sometimes need to go thru hundreds of names to try to identify a name that is only partially visible."

Ray has a list of signers by issue date. If someone thinks they can ID a signature if they knew what to look for, I can forward this to you. -Editor

"I think it's just a damaged note. I’m sure that Eric P. Newman would have recognized it as a damaged note also. No remainders of Continental Currency are known. I've never heard of a "test note", nor during our thousands of discussions regarding Colonial Currency did Eric P. Newman and I ever discuss anything referred to as a "test note." One-sided proofs exist. Eric owned a $65 obverse impression. Counterfeit detectors also exist. This item is not one of those either."

"Last week’s anecdotal report of a Continental Currency test note requires clarification. Known variants of Continental Currency include proofs (one-sided) and counterfeit detectors (two-sided, on blue or pink paper). Newman further mentioned a test printing of a January 14, 1779 $65 Continental note in Early Paper Money of America (this example appeared in Newman VII, lot 18255, Heritage Auctions 10/2015). This two-color $65 note is one-sided and believed unique. The two-sided test note reported in The E-Sylum September 4, ex. Breen, would surely have been included in Early Paper Money of America if authenticated by Newman. Newman had two opportunities to do so, in both the 1997 and 2008 editions."

   

Thanks, everyone! -Editor

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