New Jersey - December 31, 1763 18 PENCE The front of the bill states: This BILL shall pass current in NEW JERSEY, for Four Penny-weight and Nine Grains of Plate. December 31, 1763 Eighteen Pence ( signed in ink)

Counterfeiting of early American money was a constant menace to the circulation of genuine bills.The death penalty for counterfeiting in many Colonies did not deter the dishonest, nor did branding, ear cropping, whipping, or the pillory. Many means were employed to prevent this from happening. The back of this bill states "To counterfeit is DEATH" and uses a leaf design which was developed by Benjamin Franklin. This nature printing process for leaf and cloth designs made manually copying impossible to because it could not produce natures details.

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