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1880 United States Notes

A United States Note is a fiat paper currency that was issued directly into circulation by the United States Department of the Treasury. These bills of credit were also known as Legal Tender Notes because of the inscription on each obverse face stating "This Note is a Legal Tender." They were among the first national United States currency, authorized by the Legal Tender Act of 1862 and began circulating during the American Civil War. After the death of Abraham Lincoln on 15 April 1865, additional "first charter period" (i.e. banks chartered between 1863 and 1882) National Bank Notes and Gold Certificates of 1865 were issued. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 602 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (811 × 808 pixel, file size: 254 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) United States Notes (Legal Tender notes) from 1880. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 602 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (811 × 808 pixel, file size: 254 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) United States Notes (Legal Tender notes) from 1880. ... Look up fiat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A £20 Bank of England banknote. ... The U.S. Treasury building today. ... Legal tender or forced tender is payment that cannot be refused in settlement of a debt denominated in the same currency by virtue of law. ... USD redirects here. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... National Bank Notes were United States currency banknotes issued by banks chartered by the United States Government. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

On a United States Note, the Treasury seal and the note's serial number are printed in red. United States Notes were printed in the following denominations: $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1000, $5000, and $10,000. The United States Treasury Seal is the official symbol of the United States Department of the Treasury. ... A serial number is a unique number that is one of a series assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value. ...

The Treasury Department issued these notes directly into circulation, and they are obligations of the United States Government. The issuance of United States Notes is subject to limitations established by Congress. In order to stimulate the economy, the Acts of July 10, 1862 and March 3, 1863 (among other legislation) established a statutory limitation of $300 million on the amount of United States Notes authorized to be outstanding and in circulation. This currency was not backed by any deposit in any bank or government reserve, in contrast to the Gold Certificates at the time. They also do not bear interest, unlike the appropriately titled Interest Bearing Notes of 1861 to 1865. While $300 million was a significant figure in Civil War days, it is now a very small fraction of the total currency in circulation in the United States. ^[1] This article describes the government of the United States. ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political... is the 191st day of the year (192nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about 1862 . ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ...

Despite the fact that in modern times the word "Greenback" usually refers to any United States currency, the origin of the term rests solely in these Government-issued United States Notes that have since given way to private bank-issued currency, or Federal Reserve Notes, in the United States. Various Federal Reserve Notes - note that they are missing serial number imprints A Federal Reserve Note (FRNs or ferns) is a type of banknote issued by the Federal Reserve System and is the main type of paper currency in the United States. ...

The primary difference between the United States Note and the Federal Reserve Note is that a United States Note is created by the government directly as a bill of credit, and thus there is no interest for the Government to pay for the creation of that dollar. A Federal Reserve Note, on the other hand, is bank currency, and the U.S. has to pay interest on the treasury bonds that it gives the Federal Reserve System in exchange for the right to produce a like quantity of Federal Reserve Notes. This, in turn, increases the tax burden on the people. Abraham Lincoln advocated the use of United States Notes because they avoid the usury and debt multiplication aspects of debt-based currencies, and thus save the Government immense sums of interest. Thomas Jefferson also believed that the issuing power of money should rest with the US Treasury, and not the private banks. He noted in the debate over The Re-charter of the Bank Bill (1809) that, "[...]the issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs." Various Federal Reserve Notes - note that they are missing serial number imprints A Federal Reserve Note (FRNs or ferns) is a type of banknote issued by the Federal Reserve System and is the main type of paper currency in the United States. ... Various Federal Reserve Notes - note that they are missing serial number imprints A Federal Reserve Note (FRNs or ferns) is a type of banknote issued by the Federal Reserve System and is the main type of paper currency in the United States. ... Treasury Securities are bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury. ... For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). ... Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 N.S.–4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–09), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. ...

Other influential Americans who have advocated a government-issued currency include President Andrew Jackson, inventor Thomas Edison, inventor Peter Cooper, and American economists Henry C. Carey, Edward Kellogg, and Nobel-prize winner Milton Friedman. For other uses, see Andrew Jackson (disambiguation). ... “Edison” redirects here. ... Peter Cooper (February 12, 1791 – April 4, 1883) was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and candidate for President of the United States. ... Henry Charles Carey (December 15, 1793 - October 13, 1879), American economist, was born in Philadelphia. ... Edward W. Kellogg was the joint inventor of the moving coil loudspeaker in 1925 along with Chester W. Rice at General Electric, and independently by Edward Wente at Bell Labs. ... Milton Friedman (July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American Nobel Laureate economist and public intellectual. ...

Both United States Notes and Federal Reserve Notes are parts of the national currency of the United States and both are legal tender. They circulate as money in the same way. However, the issuing authority for them comes from different statutes. United States Notes (like the later Federal Reserve Notes) were fiat currency, in that they were never redeemable explicitly for any precious metal. During the Civil War, the banking interests did not want these notes to be a legal tender to pay the national debt, so the Senate depreciated the currency by putting an exception clause in, which allowed Government creditors to be paid in gold. Thaddeus Stevens, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee of Ways and Means which authored the original United States Notes bill to be a legal tender for all debts, viciously denounced the Senate's amended exception clause, calling the new bill "mischievous" because it made United States Notes an intentionally depreciated currency for the masses, while the banks who loaned to the government got "sound money" in gold. However, it appeared necessary to allow the banks the exception clause or perhaps there would have been no other way to fund the Civil War effort. Various Federal Reserve Notes - note that they are missing serial number imprints A Federal Reserve Note (FRNs or ferns) is a type of banknote issued by the Federal Reserve System and is the main type of paper currency in the United States. ... For the CSI episode of the same name, see Precious Metal (CSI episode). ... Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792 – August 11, 1868), was one of the most powerful members of the United States House of Representatives, representing the state of Pennsylvania. ...

The notes were not immediately redeemable in gold. However, while the United States was on the gold standard, it was possible to redeem them for gold indirectly by exchanging them for a currency of a different obligation, for example a Gold Certificate. Whoever accepted the exchange was left with the less-trusted fiat currency. At the time United States Notes were issued, this was a serious concern, as the government sought to strike a balance between coin shortages and fiat currency. The greenback traded at a substantial discount from gold, which prompted Congress to pass the short-lived Anti-gold futures act of 1864 which was promptly repealed after it seemed to accelerate the decline of the greenback. For other uses, see Gold standard (disambiguation). ... The Anti-Gold Futures Act of 1864 was the first instance of United States Federal regulation of derivatives. ...

At the close of the Civil War, the Radical Republicans, led by Abraham Lincoln and his economic advisor Henry Charles Carey, sought to make the Greenback system permanent. In March of 1865 Carey published a series of letters to the Speaker of the House of Representatives [Schuyler Colfax]] entitled ""The Way to Outdo England Without Fighting Her. Carey called for the reserve requirements of the Nationally chartered banks to be raised to 50%, while emitting more Greenbacks to help with reconstruction. However, Lincoln was assassinated in the next month and the United States then began to move towards a gold standard and contract the supply of Greenbacks. For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). ... Henry Charles Carey (December 15, 1793 - October 13, 1879), American economist, was born in Philadelphia. ...

After the abandonment of the gold standard in 1933, all types of issued currency (silver certificates, Federal Reserve notes, and United States Notes) were redeemable only for silver. This ceased to be the case in 1963, during a time in which all U.S. currency was becoming fiat currency. At this point, the United States Notes became obsolete, and no more were issued after about 1966. Because they circulate interest-free, up to the statutory maximum of $300 million in "circulation", a series of $100 bills was printed in 1966, and comically moved from one Federal Reserve Bank to another every few weeks. These $100 notes, depending on condition, may be of significant numismatic value. A picture of a Silver Certificate (top image is the obverse of the certificate, bottom image is the reverse of the certificate). ... This article is about the chemical element. ... Federal Reserve Districts The United States Federal Reserve System consists of twelve Federal Reserve Banks, each responsible for a particular district, and some with branches. ... Numismatics (ancient Greek: νομισματική) is the scientific study of money and its history in all its varied forms. ...

The act was repealed in 1970, and none has been placed into circulation since January 21, 1971. As is the case with all issue of the U.S. from 1861 onward, any United States Note is legal tender at its face value and may have a numismatic premium to collectors. is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Face Value is the title of Phil Collins debut solo album, released in February of 1981. ...

External links

Numismatics Portal

• U.S. Treasury Dept. information about United States Notes
• Six Kinds of United States Paper Currency