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United States
Small Size Paper
Money
Silver Certificates
In accordance with an Act of
Congress, dated February 28, 1878, the Department of the Treasury issued
to the public Silver Certificates which could be exchanged for silver
dollars. On March 25, 1964, the Secretary of the Treasury announced that
Silver Certificates would no longer be redeemable for silver dollars.
Subsequently, another act of Congress dated June 24, 1967, provided that
Silver Certificates could be exchanged for silver bullion for a period of
one year, until June 24,1968. Even though silver certificates are no
longer printed, those which remain outstanding are still legal tender and
can be spent.
"Funny
Back" Silver Certificates
These seldom seen $1.00 Silver
Certificates acquired the nickname "Funny Backs" from their
unique back design. Dramatically different from the back of any other
currency, Funny Backs were printed in only two years - Series 1928 and
Series 1934.
United States Notes
United States Notes (characterized
by a red seal and serial number), originally issued in 1862, were the first
National currency. Federal Reserve Notes were not issued until the creation of
the Federal Reserve System in 1913. Both types of notes were redeemable in gold
until 1933, when the United States abandoned the gold standard. Since then, both
currencies have served essentially the same purpose, and have had the same
value. Because United States Notes serve no function that is not already
adequately served by Federal Reserve Notes, their issuance was discontinued, and
none have been placed into circulation since January 21, 1971.
$2 1976 Currency
The $2 denomination enjoys a
rich tradition in American history. It first originated on June 25, 1776,
when the Continental Congress authorized issuance of $2 denominations in
"bills of credit for the defense of America." Under this
authority, 49,000 bills of the $2 denomination were issued.
In 1928, the present size U.S.
Note with the portrait of Thomas Jefferson, third U.S. President and
author of the Declaration of Independence, was issued.
The Series 1963A note bore
Jefferson on its face and Monticello on the reverse. The Series 1976 note
features a portrait of Thomas Jefferson painted in the early 1800's by
Gilbert Stuart and the back design is a vignette based on an engraved
reduction of the painting, "The Signing of the Declaration of
Independence," by John Trumbull. The Series 1976 note was printed to
celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial.
On September 12, 1996,
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin was presented with a new series $2 bill.
The 1995 series notes were printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing¹s
Western Currency Facility and bear the seal of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Atlanta. These notes carry the signatures of Secretary of the Treasury
Robert Rubin and U.S. Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow.
590,720,000 Series 1976 $2
notes were printed. As of February 28, 1999, $1,166,091,458 in $2 notes
were in circulation world-wide.
We also offer uncut
sheets of $2.00 bills.
Hawaiian (Brown
Seal) Currency
Notes bearing a
"Hawaii" overprint were used during World War II(July of 1942)
to insure identification should they have fallen into enemy hands. Types
of these notes (with brown seals and serial numbers) included $1 Silver
Certificates and $5, $10, and $20 Federal Reserve Notes. It was not until
October 21, 1944 that all currency restrictions were revoked and normal
monetary conditions returned to that area.
North African
(Yellow Seal) Currency
During WWII, the U.S. had
troops all over the world. Since the local economies were in ruins and a
soldier might be in England one day and North Africa the next, the only
way to pay a soldier would be in U.S. dollars. The problem was that large
sums of cash could be captured by the enemy and used to supply their
troops. The solution in the North African theater was to issue $1, $5 and
$10 Silver Certificates with a yellow seal instead of the familiar blue
seal. As with the HAWAII notes, they would be distinctive enough to easily
demonetized if required.
Where did the dollar sign originate?
Irish immigrant Oliver Pollock moved to New
Orleans, then part of the Spanish Empire, where he became a wealthy
plantation owner and trader. He did most of his business in Spanish pesos,
which he abbreviated with an elaborately scripted intertwined
"p" and an "s."
During the American Revolution, Pollock
bought supplies for the army, sending billing records to Robert Morris, a
member of the Continental Congress and the primary financier of the
American Revolution. Morris kept using Pollock's "p" and
"s" abbreviation, which evolved into the dollar sign used today.
The word "dollar" came from one
of the most common currencies in circulation in the colonies, the Spanish
milled dollar, also called "a piece of eight." In 1767 Maryland
began issuing paper money in one dollar denominations. In 1775 the
Continental Congress began issuing paper money called a dollar as well.
The term dollar was continued after the war.
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