I write to comment on the July 15, 2018 E-Sylum. I read the following regarding James Smithers and what I believe was a plea for assistancefrom readers having more information:

I am, coincidentally, conducting research on Pitt Tokens, which were allegedly engraved and/or struck by James Smithers. My research will bepresented next year in JEAN Issue No. 3. Without getting too much into Pitt Tokens or Mr. Smithers connection to them, I wish to comment onMr. Smithers' suitability as a potential candidate to have worked for the Continental Congress as an engraver. It is true that Mr. Smithers was agifted engraver - far more gifted than your readers are perhaps aware. His skill set, in my opinion, puts him on par with Paul Revere and Abel Buell.Smithers, like these men, was a master of all forms of engraving and excelled in the rococo style popular during the period. With this skill heengraved the plates for some Pennsylvania currency emissions; even placing his name on the 40 shilling notes of 1775 and 1776.

The part of James Smithers' life that has not been discussed before is that he was a notorious Tory and counterfeiter. Indeed, his loyalty to thecrown was such that he was charged under a bill of attainder by the Pennsylvania legislature for high treason in June 1778 for aiding and assistingthe British. This aid came in the form of counterfeiting Pennsylvania notes during the British occupation of Philadelphia. As the original artist ofsome of the plates for these notes, he was uniquely qualified to copy them. He escaped the hangman's noose by fleeing Philadelphia under Britishmilitary escort to New York City, then under British occupation.

In 1779, he advertised his engraving skills in Rivington's Royal Gazette - a New York City Tory paper. Instead of returning to Philadelphiaafter the war, Smithers was transported by the Royal Navy along with his entire family (wife, 9 children, and 2 servants) to Port Roseway, NovaScotia.

As a high-profile Tory charged with treason, Smithers must have questioned his life in the hands of Washington's Army after the British left NewYork and did not want to chance fate. It was not until it became clear there would not be any violent retribution against Tories for their conductduring the war that he returned to Philadelphia in 1786.

Smithers originally came to America circa 1768 from England and died circa 1799. Your readers and other researchers can make of this informationwhat they will, but I have found no evidence that James Smithers, Sr. or Jr. were employed by the Continental Congress in 1776. Should my researchuncover any connection between Smithers and the Continental Dollar or Continental paper currency, I will be sure to update everyone. If I am in errorin any of my facts, I hope someone will take the time to correct me as my research is still under way.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEXT STEPS FOR CONTINENTAL DOLLAR RESEARCH(http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n28a19.html)