Vintage Republic of Texas Government 10 dollar bill 1838 marked change note

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Vintage Republic of Texas Government 10 dollar bill 1838 marked change note:
$68.00

Please note, this is a first issue bill hand numbered and signed by Henry Smith, the 1st governor and later treasurer to republic of Texas.
Republic of Texas Currency

When the new government of the Republic of Texas was organized, one of its first challenges was paying the military expenses and debts for the war the Texians had just fought with Mexico. On June 9, 1837, Congress authorized the first circulating paper money of Texas. It was called “Star Money” because of the prominent five-pointed star in the center of the bill. They were printed by Cruger & Moore in Houston and were designed only to be a temporary issue.

To provide higher quality bills, the Texas government issued its first series of engraved notes in 1838. They were marked “Government of Texas” and featured several allegorical figures. These notes also listed the City of Houston as the location of the seat of government. The Government of Texas notes were printed in denominations of $1, $3, $5, $10, $20 and $50 by the private firm of Draper, Toppan, Longacre & Co. of Philadelphia and New York.

These notes were initially signed by Henry Smith as Treasurer and William G. Cooke, who signed the name of Sam Houston as President. As noted by James P. Bevill in his book The Paper Republic, Congress passed an act allowing Houston’s personal secretary to sign his name on the bills. The practice was continued by Texas’ second President, Mirabeau B. Lamar.

The allegorical figures on these notes are examples of the intricate art of 19th century engraving and provided the Texas government with a level of quality that would be difficult to counterfeit. The images were painstakingly engraved by hand with customized details. The goddesses of liberty, justice and agriculture were combined with Texas scenes like buffalo hunting to create unique bills for the new republic. There were small variations in the designs. For example, all denominations of these notes depicted a seated portrait of Lady Liberty with a shield or an eagle, except the $5 note, which pictured her standing.

The second issue of notes, authorized by Congress on December 14, 1838, coincided with the seat of the government moving from Houston to Austin. The change, or small denomination notes, featured allegorical vignettes reflecting wildlife and western themes of Texas.

A total of $1,165,139 in notes was issued in 1837 and 1838. Houston believed that the notes should not be issued to \"a greater amount than would meet the actual necessities of a circulating medium.\" This condition appears to have been practically met in the case of the printed interest notes, for they, in an amount of $514,500, circulated at, or nearly at, par in specie. Their interest-bearing feature caused them to have an investment character and accounted for their readier acceptance in the states. The engraved interest notes, however, depreciated; their value in specie per dollar dropped from sixty-five cents in May 1838 to forty cents in January 1839.