[Document] 1773 April 1 / Robert Carter Nicholas.

The recto side is decorated with elegant swirls and the image of a ship. The heading reads, "Virginia (James River Bank)." The verso side bears the words "Death to Counterfeit."

Nicholas' signature appears on this draft in 1773 for the sum of three pounds to be paid to the bearer by 1775. Nicholas signs himself as the Treasurer of the Colony and Dominions of Virginia. The recto also bears the signatures of witnesses (Taylor Randolph and John Blair). This draft was written during the period leading to the Revolutionary War. Often a moderate when compared with acquaintances Patrick Henry or even Thomas Jefferson, Nicholas sought accommodations with Britain, but stood firm in his opposition to the stamp tax and the Townshend duties; he urged a boycott of British imports after the response of that country to the Boston Tea Party. Nicholas had served fifteen years in the Virginia House of Burgesses in addition to acting as treasurer, and from 1760-1774 he also served as trustee of a Williamsburg school for African Americans.