US Currency Issues | Collecting Categories| Star Notes
Currency Grading Standards | Anatomy of a $1 Bill

US Currency Issues:

A. - Demand Notes 1861-1862

The first paper money created by the US Government for general circulation. These notes were payable "on demand" at certain Treasury offices. Interestingly, the term "greenback" originally comes from these notes as the reverse of the notes was printed with green inks.

B. - United States Notes 1862-1994

United States Notes (characterized by a red seal and serial number) were the first national currency, authorized by the Legal Tender Act of 1862 and began circulating during the Civil War. Also known as legal tender notes, United States Notes were issued in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, and $1,000. United States Notes were widely used well into the 20th century.

C. - Fractional Currency 1862-1876

As tensions escalated between the north and south, public """"sentiment """" lessened, and many retained coins due to their inherent value. As a result, the number of coins in circulation dropped. In response, the US Government first authorized postage and other stamps to be used as "currency". Later paper notes in denominations of less than $1 were issued. Five issues of Fractional Currency were created, in denominations ranging from 3 cents to 50 cents.

D. - National Bank Notes 1863-1938

Issued by private banks prior to the issuance of currency by the US Government, National Bank Notes were treated much as international currency is today in the US. Exchange rates were often charged by a bank upon acceptance. Design of the notes, regardless of the issuing bank, was identical - name, location and charter number of the bank being the only differentiating features.

E. - Gold Certificates 1878-1965

First produced in 1865, a total of nine issues of Gold Certificates would be created - four of which would circulate among the public. Largely, Gold Certificates were generally used by banks and other financial institutions. Gold Certificates were issued in denominations of $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $10,000 and even $100,000. The latter circulated only among the Federal Reserve Banks.

F. - Silver Certificates 1878-1965

To increase the money supply, the US Government in 1878 decided to up production of silver coinage. The Government issued Silver Certificates in return for deposits of silver coins with the Treasury. If presented the Treasury would redeem these certificates for silver.

If you have a question about the value of a Silver Certificate you may own, please see our Valuing FAQ.

G. - Treasury (or Coin) Notes 1890-1899

Issued under an 1890 and 1891 Series, Treasury Notes in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 (1891 Series only), $100 and $1,000 were handed out to those individuals selling silver bullion to the Treasury.

H. - Federal Reserve Notes 1914-Present

Federal Reserve Notes are the only currency currently issued by the US Government. Early FRN issues were larger in size than the FRN's we are familiar with today. In addition, red and blue seals were displayed on these notes. With the 1928 Series, the size of FRN's was reduced to their current measurements, and green Treasury seals were overprinted on all denominations.

The design of FRN's remained the largely the same until the 1990's. New security features were added to the $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes beginning with the 1996 Series, including larger portraits, watermarks, and color-shifting ink. With the 2004 Series, background color was added to the existing security features, further deterring counterfeiting.

I. - Federal Reserve Bank Notes 1915-1945

Created at the time when National Bank Notes were being phased out, FRBN's were to take the place of these notes during the transition to Federal Reserve Notes. Federal Reserve Bank Notes were obligations of the individual Federal Reserve Bans that issued them, not the US Government, as is the case with Federal Reserve Notes.

US Currency Collecting Categories

The following are simply suggested categories of US notes, and are by no means the only way to categorize a collection.

1) Large Size US Notes
2) US National Bank Notes (local bank issues)
3) US Fractional Currency
4) Colonial Currency
5a) Obsolete Notes (Issued by private banks in the 1880's)
5b) Confederate States of America notes
6) Small Size US Notes
8) Error Notes

Currency Grading Standards

 

Star Notes

Many people write asking what is the significance of a "Star Note". A star note is a note with a "*" in the prefix or suffix of the serial number. A Star Note is typically used as a replacement for a note found to be defective or otherwise damaged during the printing process to maintain the correct number of notes in a specific print run. Because Star Notes are replacements for errors made in the printing process, they are much more uncommon than "normal" notes, and are therefore popular with collectors.

Anatomy of a $1 Bill

A. Plate Position Letters and Numbers - Current bills are printed using a 32-subject printing plate. This number indicates the position of the note on that plate. Notice the letter appears both in the upper left corner and the bottom right corner of each bill.

B. Federal Reserve Bank Number - This number, repeated four times on the face of the bill. Each bank has its own letter and number, as follows:

C. Federal Reserve Bank Seal - The seal represents the issuing Federal Reserve Bank, one of 12 in the US. See B for specific FRB letter.

D. Serial Number - Appearing twice identically on the face of each note, the serial number is the unique feature of each bill. The serial number includes prefix and suffix letters.

E. Series Date - The series date represents the year the design of a particular note originated, not necessarily the year it was released or printed. Series date may also change when a major revision is made to a bill. Minor changes to bill design are noted by adding a letter to the series year, i.e. "1969C" or "1977A".

F. Treasury Seal - This seal represents the Department of the Treasury, established 1789. The current seal (Federal Reserve Notes) is green, though different colors have been used on past bills.

G. Plate Serial Number - This number, different than the Plate Position Number, represents the actual printing plate used to print the note.

 

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