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MAJOR DESIGNS OF

UNITED STATES CURRENCY

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People on U.S. Paper Money

*** An ongoing project ***

Here you will find some US Banknotes to illustrate various design elements that existed in our not too distant past. Certainly our Grandfathers used the larger banknotes, which were about 1/3 larger than our current size US Banknotes. Their designs were often very different than what we are used to now.

Below you will find a complete One-Dollar type-set of banknotes from 1899 to Present day. There are many different signature combinations, and Star notes (issued in lieu of damaged notes), but each major style change of One-Dollar Bills is represented below. Other note denominations are represented, but not complete. In addition, a few 'Extras' have been added to show even broader changes.

An interesting historical aspect of these notes is what they could be used for. While most stores, people and banks had no problem in accepting them, there were some specific rules that were in place on some of the notes at certain times. You could certainly buy your groceries, pay your bills, go to the hardware store, etc. and pay with any of the notes, so most people were not affected. But there were some limitations that were in place for things such as Duties on Imports and Interest on Public Debt. These restrictions were in place because the different types of banknotes were issued with separate funds. For instance one type of banknote called the "United States Note" (AKA Legal Tender or Red Seal Notes) were restricted for being used to repay the public debt with notes that are a part of the public debt. This was because the way that the country funded (or at any rate accounted) for the notes, they were considered a direct obligation of the United States, and thus were public debt. At the time, it was seen as fiscally irresponsible to repay debt with notes that were issued that were a large part of that debt.

After a while, the Legal Tender Notes lessened their restrictions and began using the generic phrase "Legal Tender For All Debts Public and Private", which in effect made them indistinguishable from Federal Reserve Notes, and they were eventually discontinued.

Another interesting feature is that there was a long time when you could redeem your notes, and not just the Silver Certificates, or Gold Certificates. Certain phrases such as "Redeemable in Lawful Money" were common, and to prove that these were Bank 'Notes', the phrase "Will Pay To The Bearer" told the person who had the note that they could indeed go and get 'Real' money for their paper notes. Few did so, as there was no reason to: people accepted the notes as money, and thus it became so. That's why the phrase "LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE" is on our notes today. It is a declaration that it is money itself, not a check, a note, a certificate or a receipt of money.

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Here is an 1899 "Black Eagle" Silver Certificate, which, as the clause at the top center states, this note was backed by an actual dollars worth of silver. You could take this to the US Treasury and redeem it for a silver dollar if you wished. Silver Certificates were issued until 1963, and in 1964 redemption for silver was ended. Like all federally issued banknotes, silver certificates continued to be, and are still today, legal tender. Below this note you can see the redemption clause - what the note could officially be spent on.

Next up is a 1917 United States Note, also referred to as Legal Tender Notes. Legal Tender Notes are among the oldest types of circulating U.S. banknotes and were introduced during the Civil War. These were direct obligations of the government and thus were pieces of the national debt. The vignette on the left side of the front is by Charles Schussele and is called "Columbus' Discovery of Land". This vignette is also on the back of the large-size 1914 5 dollar Federal Reserve Note found further down on this page.

Here's an enlarged redemption clause from the note above. This note was restricted from being used to pay duties on imports and interest on the public debt. It also details the law on counterfeiting the banknote and lists the punishments available to those who did.

Next is a 1918 Federal Reserve Bank Note, also called National Currency. A subtype of the Nationals, Federal Reserve Bank Notes were issued by Federal Reserve Banks, but unlike ordinary Federal Reserve Notes, they were direct obligations of the issuing bank, not the U.S. government. Look at the front and you'll see that the note is backed by securities of indebtedness or one-year gold notes deposited in the treasury.

This clause is quite different from the others you'll see here. It's hard to read even blown up so here's it typed out:

"This note is receivable in all parts of the United States in payments of all taxes and excises and all other duties to the United Sates except duties on imports and also for all salaries and other debts and demands owing by the United States to individuals corporations and associations within the United States except interest on the public debt. "

So what's limited with National Currency is that it Can Not be used to pay for duties on imports, money owed by the government to US Individuals, corporations and associations, and then a strange, likely unintended, double negative in the last six words: except interest on the public debt. I believe the last "Except" should have been "and" but this is only a guess.

Below is a 1923 United States Note, or Legal Tender Note. This design change from the 1917 Legal Tender note was concurrent with the Silver Certificate following this note, however, these Legal Tender Notes are more scarce than Silver Certificate type below. This note's reverse design is popularly referred to as a 'Horse Blanket'.

The differences between the two notes is not all very obvious. The Legal Tender Note has red color on the seals, denomination at right and the serial numbers, which is the most striking. The declaration of the "United States Note" type at top is of course different than the "Silver Certificate". Look closer and you can see that the Silver Certificate has an additional obligation above "The United States of America" which is continued below the portrait of Washington. The obligation stamped over the treasury seals is different too. The red seal's obligation reads: "This note is legal tender at its face value for all debts public and private except for duties on imports and interest on the public debt". The obligation over the blue treasury seal reads: "This certificate is receivable for customs, taxes, and all public dues and when so received may be issued". The notes were backed by separate government funds and the Legal Tender note had a limitation placed on certain payments for duties, imports and interest on public debt. Most people were not concerned with these matters however, and both notes circulated together and spent equally well at the stores.

Here is a great example to illustrate the limitations on the Legal Tender Notes. These are both $1 notes issued in 1923, the red note is a United Sates Note, and the Blue Note is a Silver Certificate.



Below is a 1923 Silver Certificate. These were backed by silver coin, and were redeemable for silver at the Treasury. Production of Silver Certificates stopped in 1963, with a deadline of June 24, 1968 imposed for redemption. Silver Certificates still in circulation are no longer redeemable in silver, but remain legal tender. The 1923 is known as a “Horse Blanket” due to the design on the reverse.

Next up is a 1928 Silver Certificate. The size of all banknotes was reduced beginning in 1928. This is a small-size note that begins to resemble what we use today on the front. The back design is known as a “Funny Back”, incorporating the “Horse Blanket” design of the 1923 Large Size note.

This United States Note, also known as a Legal Tender Note, was printed in only one series, 1928. Even though it has that date, it wasn't printed until 1933. The fact is that the dates on banknotes are not like coins. The dates are grouped in Series and reflect the last time the notes underwent a design change at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. These Legal Tender notes are direct obligations of the United States, and were in production for only about two months when it became apparent that there was not much of a need for them. Only 1,872,012 notes were printed, a very low number for a print run. Of those only 5,000 notes were actually released into the contiguous United States, the vast majority were put aside in the treasury until they were finally issued in Puerto Rico about 1949. Because so few of these red seal $1 small size notes were printed, they command a nice strong premium among collectors.

In 1928 the notes were resized, and new Treasury Seals were introduced, but the clauses remained the same.



In 1934 there was a design change on the front of the $1 bill. Here you can see that the blue Treasury Seal is now on the right and under the word ONE, while the left side has a blue tinted 1 and the redemption clause is shortened. The certificate states at top that "there is on deposit" instead of "there has been deposited", and at the bottom it changed from "One Silver Dollar" to "One Dollar in Silver" . This design lasted only for 1 year.

Even closer to what we are used to today is the next note, a 1935 Silver Certificate. The design of this note added the One Dollar designation under the top right serial number and changed the design of the left numeral 1 under the redemption clause. The reverse still lacks the “In God We Trust” motto we have today.

This next note is a 1935A note which is an Experimental Note. During World War II, there was concern that there may be a shortage of materials to make paper money. There were two experimental notes issued in this series, one with a red R which was a control group made of regular paper, and one with a red S, which was the Special note with the experimental paper. 1,184,000 of each type were made and released to the public to test the durability of the Special notes compared to the Regular notes. Reports on this experiment state that it didn't produce any worthwhile data, but collectors love the nice, red letters on these notes.

The next two are oddballs. The first one is a Silver Certificate with “Hawaii’ stamped on the front and back, and a brown seal. This was used during WWII, and the thought was that if Japan seized the islands, the US could quickly render these designs invalid, and keep the Japanese from using them. There were others used in North Africa for this purpose as well, but with a yellow seal and no overprint, like the second note listed here. While the one dollar note issued in Hawaii was a silver certificate, all the other issues ($5, $10 and $20 notes), were Federal Reserve notes. At the time, no one dollar FRN's were being printed. Higher denominations were not used in Hawaii. In North Africa, all issues were Silver Certificates and included the $1, $5, and $10 only.

Beginning in 1957 the Bureau of Engraving and Printing began printing the "In God We Trust" motto on the back of the One Dollar notes. Remember that Banknotes aren't dated like coins, and the series dates reflect the last time the notes underwent a design change. So in 1957 the notes were dated series 1935 G. This changeover pair of the series 1935 G Silver Certificates placed the motto over the ONE on the back of the banknote. The change in design weren't on all series 1935 G notes, but they were on all series 1935 H and later notes.

The motto had been introduced on US coins beginning in 1864.

As the price of silver rose, the government decided to abandon the Silver Certificates, and in November 1963 the last silver certificates were printed. In 1964 silver backed currency officially ended in the USA when the Treasury Secretary issued an order to stop redemption of silver certificates for silver, though they were still legal tender for $1. Silver would be removed U.S. coinage production in 1965. The creation of a new Federal Reserve One-Dollar Banknote replaced the older Silver Certificate, and the world kept on spending.

Next is our modern US $1. Federal Reserve Notes. These were first issued in 1914 and are backed by the U.S. government but issued by Federal Reserve Banks, which are required to maintain enough assets to balance all the notes issued. Small-size Federal Reserve Notes have green seals and serial numbers. These are different than the Federal Reserve Bank Notes, which were obligations of the Issuing Federal Reserve Banks. Changes from the Silver Certificates include the denomination with the Treasury Seal is spelled out, front border changes, Federal Reserve seal on the left with letter designations coupled with numbers etc. are quite noticeable.

This next note is a 1963B series note, commonly known as a "Barr Note" after the signature of the Secretary of the treasury Joseph W. Barr on the lower right. Joseph Barr was serving as the Undersecretary of the treasury from 1965-1968. At that time the Secretary was Henry F. Fowler. But Mr. Fowler resigned his position in December 1968 and became a partner of the GOldman Sachs firm. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Joseph Barr as the Secretary of the Treasury for the last month of President Johnson's presidency. So Joseph Barr has the distinction of serving the shortest term of any Secretary of the Treasury - December 21, 1968 to January 20, 1969. As the secretary, his signature was to be printed on the currency, but as there was only one month left, only the One Dollar denomination was being printed, and the only denomination to bear his signature. It was thought that this fact would make the $1 bill quite scarce and valuable, so many people held onto them in hopes that they would increase in value. With a circulating lifespan of 21 months, this might have been. But most people didn't realize just how many $1 bills could be printed in one month: 458,880,000 bills were printed with Joseph Barr's signature. A "small" number in comparison to a regular printing, but the number of bills kept by collectors and investors ensure that there are still plenty of Barr Notes available today, at a very modest premium to collectors.

The following is a Web Press Note. This is a federal Reserve Note that is an experimental issue that used a different type of printing process. These were issued to the public, and were rarely noticed by the common user. The main differences are the tiny numbers on the lower right front and above the letter "E" in the "ONE" on the back of the banknote.

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The following note is a 1917 Legal Tender (also known as a United States Note or Red Seal Note) featuring Tomas Jefferson. This large sized note is known also as the Bracelet Note due to the design on the reverse featuring two types of ovals and two types of shields. The vignette on the front seems to hearken back to an older time, even for 1917. This is because the front design of the note goes back to 1869. There were minor changes made on this note between 1869 to 1917, such as the red seal size and the serial number area. The design on the reverse of this notes dates back to 1875. Like the other Legal Tenders of the time, this note has the restriction from being used to pay duties on imports and interest on the public debt, along with the warnings for counterfeiting.

1917 was a turbulent year. In January a munitions factory in Kingsland, NJ (Now Lyndhurst NJ), was sabotaged by German and Austrian spies, completely destroying the building. President Woodrow Wilson, hoping to stay out of the war, declared that he hoped for "Peace without victory". Nevertheless, the USA bought the Danish West Indies for $25,000,000 in fear that the Germans would defeat the Danish and occupy the islands. After interception of a German message the Dutch Exotic Dancer Mata Hari was arrested in Paris in February on suspicion of spying for the Germans. She maintained her innocence and, even though the message was sent in a code that the Germans knew the French had broken, she was convicted and executed on October 15th. By March the US publicly released the Zimmerman Telegraph, which was another intercepted message, this time from Germany to Mexico declaring it's intentions to make war against the United States. By April 6th, the US declared war on Germany. In June, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded, and the next day the US began it's draft for the military. Later that month, Ford Motor Company rolled out it's second million Model T car. Then on November 15th, 33 women picketed the White House for the right to vote and were jailed for obstructing sidewalk traffic. That night began their torture: Lucy Burns was handcuffed high on the bars and beaten. Dora Lewis was beaten and thrown against a metal bed, knocking her out. Seeing this caused her cellmate to have a heart attack. Another woman, Alice Paul, went on a hunger strike. For weeks she was forcibly fed with a tube down her throat until she would vomit. They were released only when word of their ordeal made its way to the papers. In the United States, women would not get the right to vote until 1920.

Here's a red seal United States Note (Legal Tender Note) dated 1928C. These notes were actually a direct obligation of the government, not a bank. This particular note was the first money ever earned, and saved, by my wife's maternal grandmother, Jadwiga Szczepaniak, after she immigrated to the US from Poland after WWII. The ragged condition is no doubt an indication of how hard she had to work in the Chicago factory to earn this.

Below is a cleaner version of the above note, showing more detail, a 1928G series. This note design was issued until 1953.

This 1953 note's design was updated with the seal moved to the right, a gray 2 on the left, placement of the series date and the size of the serial numbers. The $2 US Notes were issued until 1965.

Below is the Federal Reserve $2 banknote from 1996. After the US $2 Notes were discontinued in 1965 (with the 1963A series date), no $2 bills were printed again until 1976. In celebration of the nations Bicentennial, the reverse was depicted with a scene of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

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1907 was a year that probably went by as mundane as most others, but there were quite a few things that happened then: The first automobile taxicabs began operating in New York City. Also in New York, the ship Lusitania set a record Atlantic crossing in just under 5 days on September 12^th. Women were granted the right to vote in Norway, while in the US, women would have to wait until 1920 for the their right to vote. In November Oklahoma was inaugurated as the 46^th state, while in Seattle, Washington, the worlds famous Pikes Market was dedicated. Future Hollywood stars Barbara Stanwyk, Buster Crabbe, Katharine Hepburn and John Wayne were born, and “Mutt and Jeff” premiered as the first successful daily newspaper comic strip. Then on December 31, 1907 the famous Ball dropped in Times Square for the very first time.

That was over 100 years ago, and it was a completely different world, as further evidenced by this $5 Large Sized US Note. The design of this note is a favorite among collectors. This is commonly known as the “Woodchopper”. This note shows the transition from an older style to a newer design concept that was adopted in the 1910's.

Like the $1 US Note above, this note has a limitation on spending for duties on imports and paying off the public debt.

Federal Reserve Notes were first issued in 1914, and are the only type of paper money that the United States prints today. All other banknotes issued by the US still remain legal tender, but only the Federal Reserve notes are still in production. This five dollar note was initially printed with red serial numbers and a red Treasury Seal but soon were changed to blue. The Treasury Seal and Serial Numbers changed to green in 1928. Note that the Federal Reserve Seal has both the number and it's designate letter in the center of the seal. This letter was dropped for the small size 1928 and 1928A series FRN's and only the number was printed. Beginning with the 1928 B series the letter replaced the number. There are two vignettes on the back of this note. The left one is by Charles Schussele and is called "Columbus' Discovery of Land", the same as the one found on the front of the 1917 large size 1 dollar United States (Legal Tender) banknote towards the top of this page. The vignette on the right side on the back of this note depicts the "Landing of the Pilgrims".

Federal Reserve Notes used to be redeemable in gold if turned into the Treasury. Otherwise it was gold OR lawful money, i.e. Silver Dollars, etc.

Next up is another $5 United States Note, but this time it is a 1928 small sized note. Notice the red Seal, indicating the note is a US (aka Legal Tender) Note. The size of all banknotes became smaller beginning in 1928.

Here's a 1928 Federal Reserve 5 Dollar note. You'll of course notice that the Treasury Seal on the right is green like our modern notes, and the federal reserve seal has a number instead of a letter. The numbers were printed on the 1928 and 1928A series of notes only. With 1928B series they went to the lettered designation, so this number, 11, would later become K which is, as written on the bottom of the seal, the Dallas, Texas branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. Today only the One and Two Dollar notes follow the lettered Federal Reserve Seal format, as there is an eagle in the middle of the seal on all other denominations.

This Federal reserve note was redeemable in gold or lawful money in 1928. This clause was changed with the removal of the word "Gold Or" when the gold act of 1933 made it illegal for US citizens to own gold, and the US went off the gold standard.

Next up is the 1934 Blue Seal Silver Certificate. Though the USA left the gold standard, Silver certificates were widely used, and were legal tender for all debts public and private. This note, with four leading zeros in the serial number would be considered to have a low serial number. Lower serial numbers, or repeating numbers, and other special types are often more desirable to collectors. This note would just be on the edge of being desirable due to the low number.

Here's another pair of Wartime issues for Hawaii and North Africa.

In Hawaii, it was thought that the Japanese might try to invade the Hawaiian Islands, and as a precautionary measure, the government issued notes specifically for this island chain. Federal Reserve notes were stamped with HAWAII on the left and right of the fronts and a larger stamp on the reverse (the One Dollar bill was a Silver Certificate, as no $1 FRN's were printed at that time). As a further precautionary measure, the Treasury seal and serial numbers of the notes were colored brown. If the Japanese had invaded Hawaii, the US Government would have been able to easily decree that the Hawaii stamped notes were no longer Legal Tender. These notes were brought home and are still legal tender today, as all government notes are.

Below is a 1934A 5 Dollar Silver Certificate which was issued for military use in North Africa during WWII. The yellow seal and serial numbers were used as a precautionary measure to ensure that if the Axis were to obtain a large amount of these notes in battle, the U.S. could easily declare these notes invalid and keep them from being used by the enemy. These notes were brought home and are still legal tender today, as all government notes are. All the notes issued in North Africa were Silver Certificates.

Unknown to many people, Silver Certificates, US Notes, Federal Reserve Banknotes, Federal Reserve Notes, and others, overlapped in their issues. Today we only have Federal Reserve notes like the one below from 1934, with a green seal and serial numbers which was issued along with the notes above: the U.S. Note which had red seals and serials and the Silver Certificate with blue seals and serial numbers.

After the USA left the gold standard, and citizens were not allowed to own gold, the clause had to remove the words "Gold Or" before "Lawful Money".

The following 1953 Silver Certificate had some design changes from the 1934, including a gray 5, smaller seal, change in the placement of the date, etc.

Like the above Silver Cert, the following 1963 US Note had some design changes from the 1934, including a gray 5, smaller seal, change in the placement of the date, etc.

Issued at the same time as the above, this 1963 Federal reserve note has the familiar green seals and serial numbers.

As time went on, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing decided that the banknotes of the United States needed to be updated with more elements to deter counterfeiting. In 1996 they introduced the new large portrait designs of the 20, 50 and 100 dollar banknotes, and in 1999 the 10 and 5 dollar banknotes were introduced. Here's the 'Big-Head' five introduced in 1999. This design change was primarily done to combat counterfeiting and incorporated a watermark, new security thread and microprint.

Now we move on to the current colorized Federal Reserve $5. Like the big-heads, the colorized banknotes were primarily made to deter counterfeiters. This $5 note issued in 2006 underwent major design changes, including color shifting inks, watermarks, micro-printing and the EURion pattern of 5 rings based on the placement of the stars in the constellation Orion. These rings are disguised as zeroes in the grouping of several yellow 05's on the front left and right reverse. The pattern was developed in 2002 for the Euro banknotes and the word is a combination of Euro and Orion.

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Here is a rather nice large-sized $10 Federal Reserve Note that was issued in 1914. This was before the Federal Reserve adopted the green seals we are used to seeing today. When this note was issued World War One (known then as the Great War) began and lasted four devastating years. Meanwhile, Pancho Villa was riding the wave of revolution in Mexico. In 1914 Ford Motor Company introduced the eight-hour work day and, even though Federal Minimum Wage laws weren't enacted until 1938, Ford set their minimum wage at $5 a day. This banknote was worth Two-days of minimum wage labor. It would cost five - cents to see the new movie 'Making a Living' in which Charlie Chaplin made his debut in silent film. The reverse of this note is interesting as it's vignette depicts allegorical representations of Agriculture and Industry in what was then common form. Note the four horses and three men instead of one tractor and one man in the wheat field, and the many smokestacks in the factory darkening the sky. These images bring to mind how much the United States, and the world, has changed since then. This $10 FRN has a design similar in composition to the 1914 $5 FRN above, which stayed common until the major redesign and resizing that took place in 1928.

Most us us have known that there were Silver Certificates, but we also had Gold certificates as well. These notes were backed by gold just as the silver certificates were. First authorized back in 1865, they weren't issued to the general public at first, and were used only in fiscal transactions between banks and other fiscal organizations. In 1907 they were released for general public use and were used just like any other banknote. The last large size issue was series 1922. These issues were very distinctive, as they were not only large, but the reverse images were all printed in a bright orange color, which is carried onto the front with the seals and serial numbers.

Gold certificates were subject to the Gold Reserve Act of 1934 which required all U.S. citizens to turn in their gold, as well as their gold certificates, to the treasury, which exchanged the gold and the certificates for other types of currency. While the large sized notes were by then gone from circulation, they were not allowed to be owned by the public. In 1964 they were let back into the public hands, albeit without the gold backing. Combined with their being fewer in number, their long absence helped to make them less well known to most of the general public .

Below is a 1922 Large Sized 10 dollar Gold Certificate. The portrait is of Michael Hillegas, the first U.S. Treasurer. Actually, he held the offices of the Treasurer of the United Colonies (1775), later changed to the Treasurer of the United States(1778). When congress created the Treasury Department in 1789, Alexander Hamilton was appointed the Treasury Secretary, and Hillegas resigned his position of Treasurer to Samuel Meredith. The Redemption Clause reads: "This certificate is a legal tender in the amount thereof in payment of all debts and dues Public and private. Acts of March 14, 1900, as amended and December 24, 1919."

Gold has always been good for paying all debts.

As with all the other notes, the 10 dollar Silver Certificates were resized in 1928 to their present dimensions. The note shown below is a 1934 C Series note. I can remember getting these in change and in cards as presents when I was a kid in the 1970's and 1980's, but even though I tried taking them to the coin shops to see how valuable they were, the coin shops no interest in them, so I spent them (usually on candy and such). This one I had to buy; sure wish I kept them instead. It has the modern redemption clause we use today.

Below is a 1934 $10 Federal Reserve Note, small size. While this looks much more familiar to us, you will notice that the seal and serial numbers are pale, lime green color. The greens actually come in Dark Green, Lime (or light) Green and normal green. Depending on how the inks were mixed and how many were printed with that color, some notes can command a premium for collectors.

Here's a pair of Wartime $10 bills for Hawaii and North Africa.

In Hawaii, it was thought that the Japanese might try to invade the Hawaiian Islands, and as a precautionary measure, the government issued notes specifically for this island chain. Federal Reserve notes were stamped with HAWAII on the left and right of the fronts and a larger stamp on the reverse (the One Dollar bill was a Silver Certificate, as no $1 FRN's were printed at that time). As a further precautionary measure, the Treasury seal and serial numbers of the notes were colored brown. If the Japanese had invaded Hawaii, the US Government would have been able to easily decree that the Hawaii stamped notes were no longer Legal Tender. These notes were brought home and are still legal tender today, as all government notes are.

Next is a 1934A 10 Dollar Silver Certificate which was issued for military use in North Africa during WWII. The yellow seal and serial numbers were used as a precautionary measure to ensure that if the Axis were to obtain a large amount of these notes in battle, the U.S. could easily declare these notes invalid and keep them from being used by the enemy. These notes were brought home and are still legal tender today, as all government notes are.

This note is a 1953 Silver Certificate. The main changes from the 1934 issue were in the numeral color at left and the smaller size of the treasury seal on the right.

Below is an example of the larger portrait 10 dollar note issued in 1999, and is a "Big Head" design. The new design was done to combat counterfeiting and incorporated a watermark, new security thread and microprint, and color changing ink. This particular note is also called a 'Star Note' due to the star at the ends of the serial numbers. The star is a designation that the individual note was issued as a replacement for a note that was not issued due to printing errors or other notes that were destroyed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing because they were damaged, too worn, etc.

Here's the colorized 10 dollar banknote that followed the big head issue above. The EURion pattern is disguised in the pattern of yellow 10's that are on the front left and again on the right reverse.

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In 1914 the notes were bigger than today, and there was a lot of modernization going on everywhere, especially in the field of transportation. The reverse of this 20 Dollar Federal Reserve Note below depicts what were then very modern conveyances: a locomotive, a biplane, an automobile, and a tugboat escorting a massive ocean liner past the Statue of Liberty. Trains and ships were of course the best way to cover long distances then, as the automobile was just a burgeoning market in the United States. The plane was still a long way from being able to carry passengers beyond the pilot and perhaps one other person. The road depicted on the note next to the train appears to be much better than the average road in those days, which were often in deplorable condition: muddy, rutty, bumpy, not paved, un-level, etc., etc.

Note the larger, scalloped blue seal on this FRN; The green seals on FRN's were not adopted until the series 1928, when all types of notes (FRN's, USN's, Siver Cert's, etc.) adopted standardized colorization for seals and serial numbers, smaller size and other design aspects, including the Federal Reserve seal on the left which would later change from the number-letter combination to the letter only, and today, no number or letter, as seen below. The portrait would also change from Grover Cleveland to Andrew Jackson.

When the currency was redesigned and resized in 1928, the gold certificates suffered the loss of their bright reverse image, but retained the color for the serial number and the seal.

The series 1928 small sized gold certificate shown below was rather short lived, as it was subject to the Gold Reserve Act of 1934 which stated that all United States citizens were required to turn in their gold as well as their gold certificates to the treasury, which exchanged the gold and the certificates for other types of currency. Exceptions were made for some jewelry and collector coins. Wisely, not everyone did so, and we have a large number of these notes to collect, though they are rather expensive, especially in uncirculated conditions. The gold certificates were released back to the public again in 1964 and are still considered legal tender, but their redemption clause was rendered invalid just like the silver certificates. It sounds strange now, but it was a criminal offense for US citizens to have or trade gold until 1975.

Up next is a 1928 Federal Reserve 20 Dollar note. The Treasury Seal on the right is green like our modern notes, and the Federal Reserve seal has a number instead of a letter designation. These numbers were printed on the 1928 and 1928A series of notes only. With 1928B series they went to the lettered designation, so this number, 4, would later become D which is, as written on the bottom of the seal, the Dallas, Texas branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. Today only the One and Two Dollar notes follow the lettered Federal Reserve Seal format, as there is an eagle in the middle of the seal on all other denominations.

Here is the 1929 issue of a National Banknote. National Banknotes were first brought about in 1863 and effectively replaced the unstable 'Private' banknotes, (aka Broken Banknotes) when the National Currency Act authorized banks with $50,000 in capital to become a 'National Bank'. In addition, a safeguard to stop the banks from going broke was instituted; they had to deposit one-third of their assets in bonds with the US Treasury. Once done, the banks then could issue National Currency with their banks name on it as well as the city and state that branch was in. When the US decided to create smaller currency, the National Banknotes adopted the brown seal and serial number scheme and followed a standard design to fall into a more cohesive look for US Currency. Notice that the Bank and Location are stamped on the left side of the portrait. There are four signatures on this note. The top two are the Register of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Treasury. The bottom two are the local Bank Officers signatures. These banknotes were backed by bonds the banks deposited, which is noted under the National Currency at the top of the banknote. The bold numbers on the left and right are the National Banks Charter Numbers. National Banknotes were discontinued in 1935 when they were slowly removed from circulation.

In the first months of 1933, there was a heavy withdrawal from the Federal Reserve in part due to people holding onto their money personally because many banks were failing. National Banks could not issue more currency, due to limitations based on their holdings to issued notes ratio. This resulted in a shortage of available Federal Reserve banknotes for the public. So on March 09, 1933 Federal Reserve Banknotes (FRBN's) were authorized as an emergency currency to be issued to overcome this shortage of cash.

These emergency notes were printed on unused National Banknotes. There are some obvious differences though, including the overstamp of the bank and location, which was replaced by the Federal Reserve Bank for the district. Instead of leaving the two bottom signatures blank, they Federal Reserve Bank officers signed there (note the two blacked out National Bank titles replaced with appropriate Federal Reserve Bank titles). Similar to the National Banknotes, these Federal Reserve Banknotes were backed by the Federal Reserve Bank, but with an important distinction. While National Banknotes were backed by bonds from the National Banks, these FRBN's had the added clause of "Or Like Deposit Of Other Securities" added to conform to actual backing practices for these notes. The Charter Numbers were replaced by the letter designation for the Federal Reserve Bank Branch (A=1=Boston, 8=H=St. Louis, etc.). After two years in service, these notes were removed from circulation by the banks.

Then there's the Federal Reserve Banknote issue. Remember, these $20 all could have been circulating at the same time! While it is unlikely that this particular note below would have met the above, this basic design was issued from 1928 on. This design stayed on until the change to the large headed notes in 1996.

In 1996 the twenty dollar bill was redesigned into this "Big Head" style. A new portrait engraving was nice, but the oval frame view carried over from the previous design and made the whole thing look off balance. On the reverse the depiction of the white house changed from the South Facade to the North Portico. This design was in production for only seven years. To thwart counterfeiters, a watermark, new security thread and microprint were placed into the design as well.

Today's $20 bill's design is drastically different than the ones above. Many overt and subtle changes were made, making it much harder for counterfeiters. The Big Head still remains and, without the oval frame, looks much more modern and less lopsided.

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Here is another example of a Federal Reserve Bank Note (FRBN) that was issued in 1933, with different over-stamps and signatures on the pre-printed 1929 National Banknotes. They were a form of emergency currency, used to bolster the Federal Reserve notes after the National Notes were no longer available. They were officially in use for only two years before they were removed from circulation by banks when they came in for transactions or deposit. These notes are distinct in several ways including their brown seals and serial numbers, the National Currency title at the top, the bold printed letters designating the Federal Reserve Branch, blacked out titles replaced with Federal Reserve titles, etc.

Similar to the National Banknotes, these Federal Reserve Banknotes were backed by the Federal Reserve Bank, but with an important distinction. While National Banknotes were backed by bonds from the National Banks, these FRBN's had the added clause of "Or Like Deposit of Other Securities" added to conform to actual backing practices for these notes.

The Fifty Dollar note is one of my favorites. It just seems to have a distinguished air to it. U.S. Grant, the Civil War General and later President of the United States is pictured on this note, and the U. S. Capitol is on the reverse, with a great scene of Washington D.C. in the vignette as well. This note was in print with only minor variations until 1996 when a major design change occurred.

Below is the 50 Dollar Federal Reserve Note - a star note, which as we've read before is a replacement note for one which had a defect in the production process. This first one is a "Big Head" design which was introduced in 1996 and was printed through 2003. This new design was brought about to thwart counterfeiters.

In 2004 there was another design change. To me, this is a welcome change and provides a lot of eye appeal and presents American symbolism properly. U.S. Grant, a US Civil War general and later U.S. President has been featured on this note for many years, but with the introduction of color to the note, the designers thoughtfully placed the American flag behind him. It gives one a sense of his efforts to preserve the Union of the United States. I added it up and the front of the note has the denomination in numerical or printed form 7 times, while the reverse has the denomination a whopping 74 times. The larger number incorporates the Eurion security feature, those little yellow numbers, on the reverse. Without those little numbers there'd only be 5 denominations placed on the reverse.

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Now we're at the One Hundred Dollar Bill. Thanks to the United States having a great economy for so long, U.S. Currency is known world wide and is the preferred currency for most business and governments to deal with for international trade. The $100 bill is perhaps the greatest symbol of wealth in the world today. There are several other countries that have issued banknotes that, given their exchange rate, are higher in denomination, it is the US $100 that is the most famous banknote worldwide. It is depicted in movies, magazines, pop art, on clothing, in advertising on busses and billboards and just about anywhere else.

This note below is a United States Note, also known as a Legal Tender Note, which, due to the red serial and treasury seal, stands out like a red herring when compared to the notes we are used to seeing today. Issued in 1966, it was a rather short lived banknote, as the last issue of a United States 100 Dollar Banknote was in 1968 (albeit with a series 1966A date). One bit of trivia that's sure to win you over with all your friends is that this note was this first one to have the new design of the Treasury Seal. It's the same look, but with a change in the wording. The older seal read: "Thesaur. Amer. Septent. Sigil", which is of course Latin for "Seal of the Treasury of North America." The new seal reads in modern English "The Department of the Treasury."

This Red Seal $100 is also rather scarce. It was issued in two series: 1966 and 1966A (new signatures). Combined, the two series issued only 1,280,000 notes.

This note is a series 1969 note issued by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank. This Federal Reserve design has several changes from the United States Note above, including the color of the seals and serial numbers, the type of banknote denoted at the top, the number 100 moved from left to right and the words ONE HUNDRED over the treasury seal omitted, while the Federal Reserve Seal with letter designator and the corresponding numbers are added to the front.

This design is from the short lived "Big Head" design from 1996. Though this design was reportedly done to fight counterfeiting, it's methods weren't quite enough, and is due to be replaced with a new colorized design in 2011.

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Here's a little extra:

There was a time when there were banknotes issued by private banks. In fact, there are still some countries which allow this, such as Scotland, Northern Ireland, and in China Hong Kong still has banks that issue private notes. In the United States, the issues of banknotes started early on with the Colonies issuing notes, which naturally converted to state issues. After the Revolutionary War, Federal notes depreciated greatly in value, and the term "Worthless as a Continental Dollar" was prominent. As a result of the public losing faith in Federal dollars, private banks, railroads, and even businesses began issuing banknotes. In fact, according to the Professional Currency Dealers Association, there were well over 1,600 banks which issued over 300,000 varieties of banknotes.

This was all well and good, but there is the inevitable question of what happens when you try to spend a banknote issued from the state of Massachusetts in Georgia? And what happens when a local bank in New Jersey issues a note and you want to go to Chicago? Well you'd want to change your notes over to federal issued notes, or better yet, change them into coins, which were issued federally and were accepted all over. Just because it was a banknote, it wasn't guaranteed to be worth anything, so the farther you got away from the area, the more your locally issued banknote would be discounted, as the receiver was unfamiliar with the issuer, and to exchange it was a bit of a pain. But the fact is, most people didn't travel very often, and when they did, they didn't go too far, so these notes circulated pretty well. Several of these notes exist, with many of them being un-issued remainders that were left in a vault somewhere. Those that were issued are often beat up from use.

One example below is a Two Dollar banknote issued in 1838 by the Bank of Chippeway in Sault Ste. Marie (then spelled Sault De St. Marys) in Michigan. The most striking element of this note is that top left vignette with the locomotive. The locomotive is an old Stephenson's "Rocket" which is shown pulling converted stagecoaches as passenger cars. This new technology embodies a sense of excitement of a new age and a promise of a burgeoning economy. A nice vignette of a Native American, which we can assume is of a Chippewa Indian, shows him seated in deep pastoral contemplation with his rifle. The sailor reminds one that Sault Ste. Marie is in the confluence of the Great Lakes and is at a wonderful site for economic prospects, while the image of the woman at her knitting at right gives one a feeling of warm domesticity. These vignettes are nice, but they are also meant to bring the banknotes bearer and recipient a stronger sense of viability so that the banknote would be accepted elsewhere. The reverse is left blank, as were many banknotes at the time.

Here below is an 1846 5 Dollar banknote issued in the state of Maryland by the Havre de Grace Bank. Located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River on the Chesapeake Bay, 35 miles North-East from Baltimore, Havre de Grace has a long history that even includes being considered as the Nations Capitol in 1789. The ornate design of this banknote helped to deter would be counterfeiters and also helped the bank to imparted a sense of authenticity and reliability to the user. This notes intricate designs depicting women and cherubs within and around the numerals are offset by the almost "tissue-like" paper which, when handled, gives a fragile feeling.

Did you know that there were banknotes issued by the US Government in denominations LESS than 1 dollar? They were issued during the civil war during a shortage in coinage, and were called Fractional Currency. Here’s a couple of them. They were used as small change as we use coinage now, but to be redeemed for banknotes you had to save a minimum of $3 worth (30 of these little notes). To pay dues to the U.S., they had to be in amounts less than $5. So it is evident that the banks didn't want to deal with small amounts of these as it very likely wasn't worth their while to mess with such small sums. For the Tax Collectors, or whoever collected "dues to the United States", the notes were obviously too troublesome to deal with, and they had to be limited to less than 50 notes per transaction.





Consider the note below from 1867. After the Civil War, the State of Kansas petitioned the US Government for damages resulting from the war, specifically actions resulting from what was known as the Price Raid and also the Indian Expedition under General Curtis.

Confederate Major General Sterling Price, who had been sent into Missouri and Kansas to conduct raids on the Union Military. But Price also conducted raids on civilians and his men killed and robbed unarmed civilians and pillaged properties. Though these actions were not uncommon on both sides of the war, the Price Raid became famous for its actions and was estimated to have cost over $500,000 in damages.

General Samuel Curtis was a Union General in charge of the Department of Kansas, and was tasked to defend the western frontier during the Civil War. He was specifically sent to deal with hostile Indians, primarily Cheyenne and Lakota, who were conducting attacks on travelers through their territory. The reasons for the attacks were many, including the spread of disease, devastation of the grasses for grazing, wholesale reduction of timber, and other misuse of lands other nuisances. These attacks were effective and became disruptive to the U.S. Government and companies sending freight. Eventually General Curtis was made to conduct an Indian Expedition, which enlisted "friendly' Pawnees to fight against the other Indians. Curtis also enlisted what were called "Galvanized" Yankees (ex-confederate soldiers serving in the Union Army) to conduct general military operations in the area. As a result of the Indian Expedition, the affected Indians attacked more fervently, and chose additional targets, causing what was believed to be more damage than if the military had not have acted. After the Indian Expedition, it was General Curtis who's forces joined up with others and finally stopped Confederate General Price and his raid at the battle of Westport, Missouri.

Price then retreated back south, towing a 15 mile long wagon train of booty from the raid behind him. This line of wagons was acting as an anchor and was the undoing of the Confederate's in Kansas and Missouri. Passing through the winding Mine Creek, Price crossed a ford at the head of the line, but about halfway through, the banks softened and the wagons began to bog down, and soon were stuck hard. Price was oblivious of the situation. The Union forces in pursuit from the battle of Westport were soon upon the stranded Confederates and as the rebels were scurrying to make a stand, the Union, vastly outnumbered, but better armed with repeating rifles and pistols, started a cavalry charge. After a brief stall, the Union soldiers broke the rebels lines and in less than 30 minutes, the battle was over with the Union army defeating their enemy due in large part to their weaponry and to the quickness of their charge. Price was followed, but he decided to abandon the wagon train of his loot and burn it. Thus unburdened, he found his way back south to Texas, safe and unharmed.

The U.S. Government agreed to pay out the assessed damages resulting from the Price Raid and the Indian Expedition, and Kansas issued the money to those claimants in banknotes under the title "Union Military Scrip". The following $5 banknote example was printed by the Continental Banknote Company in New York.

Little known outside the world of collectors and a few military veterans who've used them, the Military Payment Certificate (MPC) has been around as a type of a chit used to pay for goods and services on bases. They are no longer used, nor can they be redeemed, but they are an important sideline in the history of United States paper money. While some were nothing more than text on paper, most of these were steeped with imagery of American symbolism including Liberty, tanks, planes, a submarine, soldiers, sailors, American Indian Chief Hollow Horn Bear, a bison, and of course several pretty women. Issues were in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents and 1, 5, 10, and 20 dollars.

Below is a military payment certificate series 681 $1 note issued in 1969. This note depicts an Air Force pilot on the front and the Thunderbirds flying F-100 Super Sabres in formation on the back. In the spring of 1969, they switched to the newer F-4E Phantom II.

While the MPC's were not issued after 1970, things called Pogs are currently issued to members overseas for use in the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) base and post exchange stores. These pogs are simple round cardboard discs issued in 1, 5, 10 and 25 cent denominations with a plethora of computer printed images on them. Below are just a few.

It won't be too long before we can all talk to the youth of today and tomorrow about the old style of money that we grew up with, having only a couple of colors in the designs. It will look and feel old, just as the older notes shown here do.

There is a LOT more that can be shown, but this gives an idea of the types of notes and their designs that were out just since the dawn of the 20th century.



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