CONTINENTAL CURRENCY
AIRED: Season 5, Episode 2
THE DETECTIVE: Gwen Wright
THE PLACE: New York City
THE CASE:
Between the pages of a book, a family in Omaha, Nebraska has found a puzzling $6 bill dated February 17, 1776.
The bill’s text and designs are replete with mysteries and clues. How could it claim to be federal currency when it’s dated five months before the colonies actually declared their independence? Why does it say it’s backed by “Spanish milled dollars”? What do the strange images on it mean?
Britain rightfully considered these monies sheer provocation, and reacted by flooding the market with counterfeit bills. Is our bill real – or perhaps real fakery?
History Detectives investigates an artifact that could represent America’s first declaration of its independence.
Feature: Great Historical Counterfeits
Read more about famous fake money scandals.
Think you have a case for the History Detectives? Send us your mystery here. 