REVERE, Paul (1735-1818), engraver. Engraved treasury note for £50 from Joseph LEE (1744-1831) at annual interest of 6%, Colony of Massachusetts-Bay, signed by Henry Gardner (canceled), Receiver General, [Boston], 22 June 1775 [redeemable 1 June 1777]. Committee signatures of S. Dexter, M. Gunn, and L. Kollock on recto. Docketed on verso with interest paid, 1 December 1781 and signed by Lee (“Joseph Lee”).

A Rare Massachusetts Revolutionary note engraved by Paul Revere, issued just a few days after the Battle of Bunker Hill to the active Son of Liberty, Joseph Lee.

These “King Philip” notes were the first loan certificates used in financing the American Revolution.

The handsome design features a standing vignette of “King Philip” (the 17^th-century Wamponoag chief) holding a liberty cap, in a border with a codfish and monogram “CMB” (Colony of the Massachusetts Bay) above the words “American Paper”.
These loan certificates were part of an emergency program authorized by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in May of 1775 to raise £100,000 for the colonial war effort—the first interest-bearing public debt issued in support of American independence.

Joseph Lee (1744–1831), to whom this bond was issued and who later endorsed it, was a Boston and Salem merchant, naval architect, and shipmaster, and an active Son of Liberty who participated in the Boston Tea Party. During the Revolution he built and outfitted privateer vessels and was among the first to receive a Massachusetts privateering commission, making him a direct contributor to the maritime war effort.

Anderson, The Price of Liberty, MA-1 (rarity “R-6,” between 21 and 30 copies known); Brigham Paul Revere’s Engravings, plate 73.

One page, 185 x 180mm., 1 page, irregular, left-hand margin cut in scallop pattern (deliberately bisecting engraved portion at extreme left, to prevent forgery), engraved in an assortment of decorative italic, roman and Gothic types, bold heading "Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, the note number ("376"), recipient (“Joseph Lee”) and amount (fifty Pounds”) accomplished in ink.(Tiny holes at fold intersection and three pinholes at lower fold, a little soiling.)