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Virginia Colonial Currency, Three Pounds, 1773

Colony of Virginia · 1773

A colonial Virginia banknote from 1773, signed by Peyton Randolph, a political peer of Patrick Henry.

This currency note, signed by Henry's political peer Peyton Randolph, reflects the colonial Virginia world Henry inhabited.

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Scan of a Virginia colonial three-pound note dated 1773, cream paper with black ornamental border on left, black banner reading Three Pounds, handwritten signatures of Peyton Randolph and John Blair, and printed text about current money of Virginia.
Colony of Virginia, Three Pounds note, 1773. National Museum of American History.

About this source

What it is

This is a three-pound paper note issued by the Colony of Virginia in 1773, signed by Peyton Randolph and John Blair, Jr. It is now held by the National Museum of American History.

Why it matters

This banknote is a genuine object from the world Patrick Henry lived in as a Virginia politician in the years just before the Revolution. Peyton Randolph, whose signature appears on the note, was a leading Virginia statesman and a contemporary of Henry's in colonial and early revolutionary politics. Objects like this show the everyday economic life of the colony that Henry and his fellow Virginians were part of.

Look closer

  • Why did colonies like Virginia print their own paper money instead of only using British currency?
  • What does the signature of a political figure like Peyton Randolph tell us about how trust was established in paper money?
  • How might this everyday object help us understand the economic conditions leading up to the Revolution?

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