Our Collection

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.

Jacobs, Benjamin (fl. 1776) [Signed five dollar Contintental bill, no. 57990]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01450.500.03 Author/Creator: Jacobs, Benjamin (fl. 1776) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Printed document signed Date: 1776 Pagination: 1 p. ; 7.3 x 9.5 cm. Order a Copy

United States currency note worth "five Spanish milled dollars or the value thereof in gold or silver." Cosigned by Israel Whelen, and numbered 57990, possibly in Jacobs' hand. Reverse states it was printed by Hall and Sellers.

Benjamin Jacobs was a Jewish merchant from New York who loaned significant amounts of money to the Continental congress during the American Revolution.
Israel Whalen served as a Commissary General during the American Revolution, and was later a Pennsylvania state senator.

Jacobs, Benjamin, fl. 1776
Whelen, Israel, 1752-1806

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