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WASHINGTON, George. Partly printed document signed ("G o:Washington," on verso), a Continental Loan Office bill of exchange, Virginia issue, the 2nd bill from a sheet of four, #1755, in the amount of "Thirty Dollars, in One Hundred Fifty Livres Tournois," paid to the order of "His Excellency, George Washington," for "Interest due on Money borrowed by the United States," countersigned by Francis Hopkinson as Treasurer of Loans and William Armistead, n.p., 20 December 1779. 2 pages, an oblong (3 11/16 x 8¼ in.), accomplished in manuscript, decorative border in left-hand margin, first line of text engraved and printed in blue-green ink, left margin preserving original deckle edge, dampstains affecting five letters of Hopkinson's signature, small holes in lower right corner affecting two letters of printed text . William G. Anderson, The Price of Liberty (Charlottesville, 1983), US 97 - 13A, p. 89. WASHINGTON AND THE AMERICAN WAR DEBT: AN APPARENTLY UNIQUE VIRGINIA CONTINENTAL LOAN CERTIFICATE, ENDORSED BY WASHINGTON At the outset of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress faced mushrooming expenses for the conduct of a wide-spread conflict but lacked effective means to fund the war and found its overseas trade severely curtailed. Direct taxation, a privilege reserved to the separate states, was not a workable option, partly due to the fact that the issue of taxation had been one of the causes of the war. Congress resorted to the emission of large quantities of paper currency between 1775 and 1780, but the Continental bills depreciated rapidly and became virtually worthless by late 1779. Financing the war required a ready source of cash, thus, an alternative was to seek direct loans from home and abroad. Domestic loans would be obtained by issuing certificates carrying 4 percent interest. The first loan office certificates generated only a lukewarm public response, however. In the wake of the American victory at Saratoga in late 1778, the financial situation was considerably improved by large loans from France (and, later, Spain and the Netherlands). Based upon these loans, Congress floated new certificates whose interest would be paid through bills of exchange drawn on American credits in France. The certificates, which were offered in various denominations ranging from $18 to $1,200, were issued by loan offices in the different states, each bearing the signature of the Congressional Loan Office treasurer (initially Francis Hopkinson later Michael Hillegas) as well as the loan officer assigned to the state where they were issued. The bills were produced four to a sheet and each was watermarked with the corresponding number in the group. The present example is marked "UNITED STATES 2" and is from the series of certificates issued in the state of Virginia. When he accepted the rank of General and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the summer of 1775, Washington assured Congress that "no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to have accepted this Arduous employment at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness. I do not wish to make a profit from it: I will keep an exact account of my expenses..." (letter to Congress, 16 June 1775). For the duration of the war, he expended his own funds to meet his needs in camp. Whether Washington purchased this certificate himself or received it as a grant in lieu of payment is not known. (It was not uncommon for Congress to tender certificates as payment to contractors (cf. Anderson, p. 10). At the end of the war, Washington was evidently in possession of certificates, given in payment for expenditures incurred at his Headquarters (J.T. Flexner, George Washington and the New Nation , p. 62). All Virginia Continental loan certificates are EXTREMELY RARE (in 1983, William Anderson gave this type of certificate a rarity rating of R8, meaning he knew of only 1-3 examples). No other Continental loan certificate bearing Washington's signature is recorded at present