280

First Known $ and U.S. Coin in Print

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 USD
First Known $ and U.S. Coin in Print
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Lee, Chauncey. THE AMERICAN ACCOMPTANT; BEING A PLAIN, PRACTICAL AND SYSTEMATIC COMPENDIUM OF FEDERAL ARITHMETIC; IN THREE PARTS: DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS, AND SPECIALLY CALCULATED FOR THE COMMERCIAL MERIDIAN OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Lansingburgh: Printed by William W. Wands, 1797. 12mo, modern green half calf, gilt; spine with five raised bands, ruled, lettered and decorated in gilt; two red spine labels, gilt. Frontispiece engraving of coins in current usage in the U.S. by A. Reed; 297, (15) pages. Marginal wear to frontispiece, on the blank recto of which is an original ownership inscription. Moderate browning. Very good or better in an attractive recent binding. This early American accounting and bookkeeping manual contains what is generally believed to be the first appearance in print of the dollar sign ($). It also includes, as a frontispiece, an engraving depicting a 1795 U.S. eagle, which Eric Newman has called "the earliest known illustration of a United States coin." Also included on the engraving are the Spanish pistole, French "guinea," British guinea, and Portuguese Johannes and half moidore. The book consists of a series of practical lessons for clerks. The dollar sign, which appears on page 56 for the first time and then throughout the volume, is a typographical approximation based upon the handwritten dollar sign used by some during the period. It resembles our own, but also differs from it. [Online description truncated; see printed or PDF catalogue for full description.]