Morton thought pieces of paper currency of less than half a dollar would be inconvenient, while, as the monetary transactions of the colony were not large, a five-dollar bill would be the largest needed, with one dollar and two-dollar pieces between the extremes. Before leaving Europe for the last time he had made arrangements to have plates engraved for printing bills of these four denominations. The plates for the backs were engraved in Amsterdam, and those for the faces in Antwerp, as a precaution against a spurious issue. The bills, in numbers as needed, were printed in Mortonia under the supervision of the governor, and signed by him and countersigned by the treasurer.
Until authority was obtained to coin money, English shillings, sixpences, and copper coins were imported and used for change. The two kinds of currency could be used together by counting the penny as two cents, and twenty-four pennies, four sixpences, or two shillings as half a dollar.
Among the importations in the spring of 1611 were several swarms of bees. These multiplied rapidly, and repaid a small amount of labor with a large amount of luxury. Many
