50 Cents

The 1846 Liberian 50 Cents note is among the earliest paper currency issued by the republic, which had only declared independence in 1847 — making this note a pre-independence instrument, technically issued by the Commonwealth of Liberia under the authority of the American Colonization Society before full sovereignty was established. The timing matters: these circulated in a settler economy still defining its own monetary footing, with trade goods and foreign coin dominating daily exchange.

The American Bank Note Company's involvement is unsurprising — they handled most early American-sphere colonial and republican issues — but it does mean the notes were produced thousands of miles from where they circulated, with no local printing infrastructure to fall back on for replacements.