banknote of the United States dollar

In 1861, the US began issuing Demand Notes, which were the first paper money issued by the United States whose main purpose was to circulate. Since 1971, Federal Reserve Notes have been the only banknotes of the United States dollar that have been issued. But at some points in the past, the United States had multiple different types of banknotes, such as United States Notes (1862–1971), interest bearing notes (1863-1865), and gold certificates (1865–1934).

Federal Reserve Notes were first issued in 1914, and are liabilities of the Federal Reserve System. They were redeemable in gold until 1933. After that date they ceased to be redeemable in anything, much like United States Notes (which later led to the halting of the production of United States Notes). They switched to small size in 1929 and are the only type of currency in circulation today in the United States. They were originally printed in denominations of, and. The, and denominations were last printed in 1945 and discontinued in 1969, making the bill the largest denomination banknote in circulation. A note was added in 1963 to replace the silver certificate after that type of currency had been discontinued. Since United States Notes were discontinued in 1971, Federal Reserve Notes are the only type of currency circulating in the US. In 1976, a note was added, 10 years after the denomination of United States Note was officially discontinued. The denomination proved to be unpopular and is now treated as a curiosity, although it is still being printed. Starting in 1996, all notes except and were redesigned to have a larger portrait of the people depicted on them. Since 2004, all notes (except and) were progressively changed to have different colors to make them more easily distinguishable from each other, until the last such note was introduced in 2013 (the). Current circulating banknotes of the United States • Images — Value — Background color — Fluorescent strip color — Description — Date of • Obverse — Reverse — Obverse — Reverse — Watermark — First series — Issue • — — $1 — Green — None — George Washington(1st president) — Great Seal of the United States — None — 1963 — 1963 • — — $2 — Green — None — Thomas Jefferson(3rd president) — Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull — None — 1976 — April 13, 1976 • — — $5 — Purple — Blue — Abraham Lincoln(16th president) — Lincoln Memorial — Two watermarks of the number "5" — 2006 — March 13, 2008 • Obverse of the Great Seal of the United States • — — $10 — Orange — Orange — Alexander Hamilton(Founding father; 1st treasury secretary) — Treasury Building — Alexander Hamilton — 2004 A — March 2, 2006 • The phrase "We the People" from the Constitution The torch of the Statue of Liberty • — — $20 — Green — Green — Andrew Jackson(7th president) — White House — Andrew Jackson — 2004 — October 9, 2003 • Eagle • — — $50 — Pink — Yellow — Ulysses S. Grant(18th president) — United States Capitol — Ulysses S. Grant — 2004 — September 28, 2004 • Flag of the United States • — — $100 — Teal — Pink — Benjamin Franklin(Founding father) — Independence Hall — Benjamin Franklin — 2009A — October 8, 2013 • Declaration of Independence

• Illustration — Continental one-third dollar note (obverse) Before the American Revolution, every one of the Thirteen Colonies had issued its own paper money, most often denominated in British pounds, shillings and pence. In 1776, the newly created United States issued currency which was bought by people who wanted to support the war (it was promised that the currency could be redeemed for Spanish milled dollars once the war would end). At first, the banknotes circulated at par with the stated value, however after a few months they started depreciating until they became almost worthless. The United States agreed to redeem the notes for treasury bonds at 1% of the face value. The issued denominations ranged from /6 to.

• Illustration — $10 Demand Note Demand Notes are considered the first paper money issued by the United States whose main purpose was to circulate. They were made because of a coin shortage as people hoarded their coins during the American Civil War and were issued in denominations of, and. They were redeemable in coin. They were replaced by United States Notes in 1862. After the war ended paper money continued to circulate until present day.

• Illustration — $10 United States large-size note from 1901, nicknamed the "Bison Note" United States Notes, also known as Legal Tender Notes, succeeded Demand Notes as the main currency form of the United States. They were not redeemable but were receivable for all taxes and debts, which is what persuaded people to circulate them. They had a red seal and were originally issued in denominations of, and. and notes were issued in 1878 and have not been issued anytime after. United States Notes switched to small size in 1928 and were introduced only in denominations of, and. In 1934, when Federal Reserve Notes stopped being redeemable in gold, the only difference between them and Legal Tender Notes was that the first were liabilities of the Federal Reserve while the latter were direct liabilities of the United States Treasury Department. The and were issued through 1966, and the note was available only as a United States Note. In 1966 the United States Note was discontinued and the denomination was discontinued altogether. In 1966 a US note was issued to meet legal requirements about the amount of notes in circulation. In 1971 the production of US notes was halted and they were officially discontinued in 1994.

• Illustration — Fifty-cent fractional currency depicting Francis E. Spinner During the American Civil War silver and gold coins were hoarded by the public because of uncertainty about the outcome of the war. People began to use postage stamps instead, encasing them in metal for better protection. The U.S. government decided to substitute paper currency of denominations under a dollar for coins in order to solve the problem. The denominations issued were 3¢, 5¢, 10¢, 15¢, 25¢ and 50¢. There were five issues of fractional currency.

• Illustration — Two-year 1864 compound interest treasury note In 1863 and 1864, compound interest treasury notes were issued. They paid out 6% annual interest compounded semi-annually 3 years after their issue. Their denominations were, and.

• Illustration — $20 large-size gold certificate, depicting George Washington Gold certificates were issued from 1865 through 1934 and were redeemable in gold coin. Following the 1933 ban on gold ownership in the United States, they were recalled to be redeemed for United States Notes. They were issued in large size through 1929 and in small size thereafter. They were originally issued in denominations of, and. A note was added in 1882, followed by a note in 1907. A note which was used only for inter-bank transactions was also issued in 1934 but never made available to the general public. It is still illegal to own.

• Illustration — $10 National Bank Note issued by the First National Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu National Bank Notes were issued by banks chartered or authorized to do so by the Federal Government. The charter expired after 20 years, but could be renewed. They were of uniform appearance except for the name of the bank and were issued as three series or charter periods: 1869–1882, 1882–1902, and 1902–1922. In 1929 the Great Depression motivated an emergency reissue, but they were discontinued in 1933. The denominations issued were, and. The, and notes were only issued in large size until 1882. The and notes are common from most issuing banks. Only three remaining examples of the note are known, with one held privately; the note is unknown to exist.

• Illustration — $5 National Gold Bank Note from San Francisco National Gold Bank Notes were issued by private banks, mostly from California. The concept is similar to that of the National Bank Notes, the difference being that National Gold Bank Notes were redeemable in gold. They were issued from 1870 to 1875 in denominations of, and. They are all rare with the being by far the most common, with 427 examples known, and the the rarest, with only 7 examples known. The note is not known to exist.

• Illustration — $5 large-size silver certificate, depicting Running Antelope Silver certificates were issued from 1878 through 1964 and were redeemable in silver coin through 1967 and thereafter in raw silver bullion. Since 1968 they are not redeemable in anything but Federal Reserve Notes. They were removed from circulation in 1964, at the same time as silver coins. They were issued in large size through 1929 and in small size thereafter. They were originally issued in denominations of, and., and notes were added in 1882. Small size notes were only made in denominations of, and. The small notes were made with a blue seal, except for notes made as an emergency issue for American soldiers in North Africa during World War II, which were made with a yellow seal, as well as a note made for use only in Hawaii during World War II, which had a brown seal.

• Illustration — Refunding Certificate Refunding Certificates, issued only in 1879 and only in the denomination, were special in that their interest (4% per annum) did accrue indefinitely, which was meant as a way to persuade people into buying them. However, as very few of these notes were redeemed, in 1907 Congress passed an act stopping the accrual of interest, fixing the value of the notes at.

• Illustration — The 1890 Coin Note, nicknamed the Grand Watermelon These notes were issued in 1890 and 1891 and were redeemable for coins. It was the decision of the Secretary of the Treasury whether the coins would be silver or gold. They were originally issued in denominations of, and. and notes were introduced in 1891.

• Illustration — $5 large-size Federal Reserve Bank Note, Series 1918 After the Federal Reserve System was created in 1914, alongside Federal Reserve Notes, which are liabilities of the Federal Reserve System as a whole, Federal Reserve Bank Notes were issued. They were liabilities of only the Federal Reserve Bank which issued them. In 1929, like other kinds of notes they switched to small size. They were discontinued in 1934 and no longer available from banks since 1945.