A Guide Book of Continental Currency and Coins: History, Values, Collecting

Only weeks after the “Shot Heard ’Round the World,” the Continental Congress authorized its very first issuance of paper money—an ambitious act rooted in the hope of independence rather than in reserves of silver or gold. Continental Currency, plagued by counterfeiting, depreciation, and distrust, nonetheless marked a critical step in the economic foundation of the new United States. Its legacy continues to shape American money today.

In A Guide Book of Continental Currency and Coins, reader...