1780, Commodities Interest Bond, Abisha Packard, Signatures On Bond, Great Shape
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:24949784 |
This is a wonderful, original document, a Massachusetts Commodity Bond January 1, 1780. One page, 11" x 5.5", "State of Massachusetts Bay", with printed date "First Day of January, A.D. 1780." Intricately engraved border and reading in part: "...I the subscriber do hereby promise and oblige myself and successors in the Office of Treasure of the said State to pay unto Abisha Packard or to his order, the sum of three hundred twenty pounds on or before the first day of Mar...ch, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Four with interest at six per Cent. per Anum: Both Principal and Interest to be paid in the then current Money of said State, in a greater or less sum according as five bushels of Corn, sixty-eight pounds and four-seventh parts of a pound of beef, ten pounds of sheeps wool, and sixteen pounds of sole leather..." These Commodity Bonds are perhaps the most interesting of all the Massachusetts fiscal paper, because both their principal and interest were tied to the current price of various commodities (corn, beef, sheep's wool, sole leather) at the date the bond was due. The bonds were authorized to cover the depreciation of pay received by Continental soldiers and sailors. Signed by Henry Gardner as Treasurer, Thomas Dawes and Richard Cranch, Near fine condition. Henry Gardner had been treasurer of Massachusetts, having been appointed by the Sons of Liberty to that office as early as 1774. Thomas Dawes (August 5, 1731 – January 2, 1809) was a Patriot who served as a Massachusetts militia colonel during the American Revolution and afterward assumed prominent positions in Massachusetts's government. His positions included membership and chairmanship of the Massachusetts Governor's Council and representative in both the House and Senate. As chairman of the Governor's Council, Dawes served briefly as the de jure presiding officer of the executive branch of Massachusetts' state government for ten days – May 20, 1800 to May 30, 1800 – following the death of first Governor Increase Sumner and then Lieutenant Governor Moses Gill. (See List of Governors of Massachusetts. Richard Cranch (26 October 1726 - 16 October 1811), Massachusetts watchmaker, legislator, local official. Born at Kingsbridge, Devonshire, Cranch arrived in Boston in November 1746 and established a shop as a card-maker, but quickly became known for his interest in religious scholarship. He taught himself Latin, Hebrew, and Greek, and befriended Rev. Jonathan Mayhew.Cranch relocated to Braintree in 1750, and later to Weymouth, where he took up the business of watch repair. He married in November 1762 Mary Smith, the sister of Abigail Smith (later the wife of John Adams).Cranch served two terms in the state House of Representatives (1779-1783) and a term in the State Senate (1785-1787), and held the office of Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Suffolk County from 1779 through 1793, along with several local offices at various times. Cranch was a delegate to the Massachusetts convention to ratify the federal constitution, and supported ratification. Please view the other historical and Civil War related documents I'll be listing this week.SEE SCAN.I now accept PAYPAL but PREFER other forms of traditional paper payment. Buyer pays shipping(usually FREE within the US and $16 for International), payment must be received within 5 days.
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