In this lesson, students will carefully examine an authentic Massachusetts thirty-shilling note (1775) from the Museum's collection and hypothesize the meaning of its visual elements. Students will use primary and secondary sources to refine the hypothesis and in the process, discover the role the Magna Carta played in the colonists' defense of their rights as Englishmen. The lesson provides insight into the causes of the American Revolution and builds students' ability to read and interpret objects as primary sources.