State of Massachusetts Debt Certificates, 1786

State of Massachusetts treasury office certificate used for tax payment 1786, and paper money with face value of 5 Spansh milled dollars, to be paid with 5% annual interest by December 31, 1786. The security was issued May 5th (1786 assuming). During this time, the Spanish milled dollar was commonly used in the colonies because America was prohibited from minting its own coins. Circulated from trade withthe West Indies, each coin contained approx. one ounce of silver or 387 grains, and was divided into eights. The Spanish coin was legal tender in the US up until 1857, when Congress enacted the Coinage Act.During the Revolutionary War period of 1775-1783, the state of Massachusetts issued a series of bonds to individual private investors. This is an eample of states funding military efforts through private debt.

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