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.

Sykes, James (1725-1792) [Delaware colonial currency].

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01980.05.03 Author/Creator: Sykes, James (1725-1792) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Document signed Date: 1 January 1776 Pagination: 1 p. Order a Copy

Cosigned by John McKinly. Four shilling note. Issued according to an act of the General Assembly of the counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. Back reads: "To Counterfeit is Death." Printed on thick paper containing blue thread and mica in an attempt to prevent counterfeiting. With border cuts engraved by James Adams (Wilmington), the first Delaware printer, who also printed the note. Adams worked for Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia before moving to Delaware.

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