BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SIGNS A DOCUMENT AS PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF PENNSYLVANIA.
An exceptional partly printed document dated May 15, 1786, Philadelphia, signed by Benjamin Franklin as President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. This document is ordering state treasurer David Rittenhouse to pay Samuel Fisher, late a captain of the militia of the state, the sum of 44 pounds, seven shillings and two pence for two years interest on his depreciation certificate. The order is countersigned by John Nicholson, the able comptroller general who brought order into the state’s financial affairs. Less wise in his personal business interests, Nicholson, as the partner of Robert Morris in a number of land companies, would become overextended and sent to debtor’s prison with his partner. Signed boldly, “B. Franklin, President.” A truly magnificent piece!