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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Boudinot, Elias (1740-1821) [Report of a committee of the Bank of the United States that was formed to investigate an alleged counterfeiting ring in North Carolina]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00496.012 Author/Creator: Boudinot, Elias (1740-1821) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: July 20, 1804 Pagination: 3 p. ; 26 x 21 cm. + 1 engraving ; b&w ; 20.6 x 13.4 cm Order a Copy

Also signed by George Fox, both as members of the committee. They confirm the existence the ring, saying of it that it is a "very extensive Combination, and of a very formidable nature, to counterfeit & pass Notes purporting to be of the Bank of the United States." It includes men of property and influence. They suggest remedies, saying that they are supported in these by Pennsylvania Congressman Joseph Clay. In June 1804 Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin and Governor of Virginia John Page had requested that a committee of the Bank of the United States be formed to investigate their suspicion of the existence of the ring. At the time of this report Boudinot was Director of the United States Mint. One black and white bust engravingn of Boudinot included.

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