In early 18th century Colonial America, engravers began experimenting with copper plates as an alternative medium to wood. Applied to the production of paper currency, copper-plate engraving allowed for greater detail and production during printing. It was the transition to steel engraving that enabled banknote design and printing to rapidly advance in the United States during the 19th century.
The first issue of government-authorized paper currency in America was printed by the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1690. [1] This first issue, dated 10 December 1690, was printed from an engraved copper plate with four subjects to a sheet. [2] The first engraver identified in archival records was John Coney who appears to have been paid 30£ on 12 March 1703 [3] to engrave three copper plates for the Massachusetts issue dated 21 November 1702. [4] Given the many design similarities between the 1690 note and those engraved by Coney in 1702, there has been speculation that he may have engraved the earlier note. If true, he would be the first American to engrave on copper plates. [5] Several historical figures with a background in engraving and printing were involved in the production of early American currency.
Benjamin Franklin began printing Province of Pennsylvania notes in 1729, [6] took on a partner (David Hall) in 1749, [7] and then left the currency printing business after the 1764 issue. [8] Paul Revere both engraved and printed bank notes [9] [10] for the Province and then the state of Massachusetts between 1775 and 1779, [11] and the Province of New Hampshire in 1775. [12] Revere's father, Apollos Rivoire, was John Coney's pupil. [13] David Rittenhouse engraved some border designs for the 10 May 1775 Continental currency [14] and 25 March 1776 Colony of New Jersey 6£ note. [15] Francis Hopkinson does not appear to have done engraving, but he is credited with the designs for border-cuts, emblems, and mottos on three issues of Continental currency in 1778–1779. [16]
The first series of Federally-issued United States banknotes was authorized by Congressional acts on 17 July 1861 (12 Stat. 259) and 5 August 1861 (12 Stat. 313). While the Demand Notes were issued from the United States Treasury, they were engraved and printed elsewhere. In 1861, in fact until the mid-1870s, the Treasury Department lacked the facilities or infrastructure to engrave and print the bulk of it financial paper and therefore relied on external contracts with private bank note companies. By means of a Congressional act dated 11 July 1862 (12 Stat. 532), the Secretary of the Treasury received authorization to purchase machinery and employ the staff necessary to manufacture currency at the Treasury. It was not until 1877 (19 Stat. 353) that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was given funding for labor, paper, transportation, and other expenses with the provision that all work be conducted on site, and for a price commensurate with that of the private bank note companies. On 1 October 1877, the BEP took over the production of both United States Note and National Bank Note production. [17]
“TO ARTISTS, ENGRAVERS AND OTHERS – Designs for National Currency Notes are hereby invited, of the denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1,000, to be issued under the Act of Congress authorizing a National Currency, approved 25 February 1863”. [18] Salmon Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, placed this classified notice in late March, 1863. Other than describe some of the required features of each note (e.g., legal wording, placement of Treasury signatures, etc.), the only direction given to prospective applicants was that submissions must be original (i.e., they cannot have ever been illustrated on U.S. currency) and that "the designs must be national in their character". [18] It is uncertain how many proposals were submitted, or what was involved in the selection process, but the final decision was to draw heavily on the use of historic American images which adorn the Capitol Rotunda. [nb 1] The motivation for this selection was two-fold: educationally it would circulate images depicting important scenes from American history while at the same time enhancing the security of the note by involving highly complex engravings. [20]
By July 1863, contracts were signed with American Bank Note Company (ABNCo) and Continental Bank Note Company (CBNCo) (which would later be absorbed by ABNCo) to design, engrave, and begin printing National Bank Notes. [21] ABNCo was contracted for the $20, $50, and $100 denominations, [22] CBNCo was contracted for the $5 and $10 denominations, [23] and National Bank Note Company contracted for the designs for the $2, $500, and $1,000 denominations. [24] The contract descriptions addresses each denomination individually and specifies which image from the Capitol Rotunda should be used for the reverse and what type of vignettes should be on the obverse (with specific names). [nb 2]
The first National Bank Notes were issued on 21 December 1863. [17]
Banknote | Value/series [nb 4] | Vignette | Vignette information [nb 5] |
---|---|---|---|
$1 Original Series The First National Bank Lebanon, Indiana Pres John C. Daily Cash Abram O. Miller | Concordia (eng) Charles Burt [28] (Art) Theodore August Liebler [29] | ||
Landing of the Pilgrims (eng) Charles Burt [nb 6] (art) Edwin White [30] | |||
$2 Series 1875 [nb 7] The First National Bank Emporia, Kansas Pres Harrison Cory Cross Cash Elliott Raper Holderman | Stars and Stripes (eng) Luigi (Louis) Delnoce [31] | ||
$5 Series 1875 [nb 8] The Vineland National Bank Vineland, New Jersey Pres Horatio N. Greene Cash Willis T. Virgil | Landing of Columbus (eng) Unsure [nb 9] ( art ) John Vanderlyn | ||
$10 Series 1875 [nb 10] The First National Bank Bismarck, North Dakota VP Henry Rinaldo Porter Cash O.H. Whitaker | Franklin and Electricity (eng) Alfred Jones [33] | ||
DeSoto Discovering the Mississippi (eng) Frederick Girsch [34] ( art ) John Trumbull | |||
$20 Series 1875 The First National Bank Butte, Montana Pres Andrew Jackson Davis Cash Emerson B. Weirick | Battle of Lexington (eng) Luigi (Louis) Delnoce [31] (Art) F. O. C. Darley [35] | ||
Loyalty (eng) Alfred Jones [33] | |||
Baptism of Pocahontas (eng) Charles Burt [28] ( art ) John G. Chapman | |||
$50 Series 1875 [nb 11] The First National Bank Cleveland, Ohio Pres James Barnett Cash Albert K. Spencer | Embarkation of the Pilgrims (eng) W.W. Rice [36] ( art ) Robert W. Weir | ||
$100 Original Series [nb 12] The Raleigh National Bank Raleigh, North Carolina Pres William Horn Battle Cash Charles Francis Dewey | Declaration of Independence (eng) Frederick Girsch [34] ( art ) John Trumbull | ||
$500 Original Series [nb 13] The Appleton National Bank Lowell, Massachusetts Pres John A. Knowles Cash John F. Kimball | Civilization (eng) James David Smillie [37] | ||
Surrender of General Burgoyne (eng) Frederick Girsch [34] ( art ) John Trumbull | |||
$1,000 Series 1875 (proof) [nb 14] The First National Bank Salem, Massachusetts | Scott Entering City of Mexico (eng) Alfred Jones [33] | ||
General George Washington Resigning His Commission (eng) Delnoce [31] & Girsch [34] ( art ) John Trumbull | |||
Banknote | Value/series | Vignette | Vignette information [nb 5] |
---|---|---|---|
$10 One-year 5% (1864) | Peace | ||
$50 Two-year 5% (1864) | Caduceus (eng) Alfred Jones (art) John W. Casilear | ||
$100 Two-year 5% (1864) | Farmer and Mechanic | ||
In the Turret | |||
$1,000 One-year 5% (1863) | Justice | ||
$1,000 Two-year 5% (1863) | Guerriere and Constitution [nb 15] | ||
$5,000 One-year 5% (1863) | The Altar of Liberty (eng) Luigi (Louis) Delnoce | ||
Banknote | Value/series | Vignette | Vignette information [nb 5] |
---|---|---|---|
$10 Legal Tender (1880) | Introduction of the Old World to the New | ||
$5 Legal Tender (1880) | The Pioneer (eng) Gugler | ||
$500 Gold certificate (1882) | Eagle | ||
Banknote [nb 16] | Value/series | Portrait | Vignette information [nb 5] |
---|---|---|---|
$1 Legal Tender (1880) | George Washington | ||
$2 Legal Tender (1880) | Thomas Jefferson (Eng) Charles Burt [39] | ||
$5,000 Gold certificate (1870) | James Madison (Eng) Alfred Sealey [40] | ||
$100 Silver certificate (1891) | James Monroe (Eng) Luigi (Louis) Delnoce [41] | ||
$500 Legal Tender (1869) | John Quincy Adams (Eng) Charles Burt [42] | ||
$10,000 Gold certificate (1875) | Andrew Jackson (Eng) Alfred Sealey [40] | ||
$500 Gold certificate (1870) | Abraham Lincoln | ||
$5,000 4% Consol Bond (1877) | Andrew Johnson | ||
$20,000 U.S. Funded Loan Bond (1891) | Zachary Taylor | ||
$20 Legal Tender (1869) | Alexander Hamilton (Eng) Charles Burt [43] | ||
$0.50 Fractional currency | Samuel Dexter | ||
$0.50 Fractional currency | William Crawford (Eng) Charles Burt [44] | ||
$0.25 Fractional currency | Robert Walker (Eng) Charles Burt [44] | ||
$0.10 Fractional currency | William Meredith (Eng) Charles Burt [44] | ||
$20,000 4% Consol Bond (1877) | Salmon P. Chase | ||
$20 Silver certificate (1886) | Daniel Manning (Eng) Lorenzo Hatch [45] | ||
$2 Silver certificate (1891) | William Windom (Eng) William Phillips [46] | ||
paul revere engraving currency.
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(help)The United States five-dollar bill ($5) is a denomination of United States currency. The current $5 bill features a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. president (1861-1865), on the front and the Lincoln Memorial on the back. All $5 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes.
The United States ten-dollar bill ($10) is a denomination of U.S. currency. The obverse of the bill features the portrait of Alexander Hamilton, who served as the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. The reverse features the U.S. Treasury Building. All $10 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes.
The United States fifty-dollar bill ($50) is a denomination of United States currency. The 18th U.S. president (1869-1877), Ulysses S. Grant, is featured on the obverse, while the U.S. Capitol is featured on the reverse. All current-issue $50 bills are Federal Reserve Notes.
The United States one-hundred-dollar bill ($100) is a denomination of United States currency. The first United States Note with this value was issued in 1862 and the Federal Reserve Note version was launched in 1914, alongside other denominations. Statesman, inventor, diplomat, and American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin has been featured on the obverse of the bill since 1914. On the reverse of the banknote is an image of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, which has been used since 1928. The $100 bill is the largest denomination that has been printed and circulated since July 13, 1969, when the larger denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 were retired. As of December 2018, the average life of a $100 bill in circulation is 22.9 years before it is replaced due to wear.
Large denominations of United States currency greater than $100 were circulated by the United States Treasury until 1969. Since then, U.S. dollar banknotes have been issued in seven denominations: $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.
The United States one-dollar bill (US$1), sometimes referred to as a single, has been the lowest value denomination of United States paper currency since the discontinuation of U.S. fractional currency notes in 1876. An image of the first U.S. president (1789–1797), George Washington, based on the Athenaeum Portrait, a 1796 painting by Gilbert Stuart, is currently featured on the obverse, and the Great Seal of the United States is featured on the reverse. The one-dollar bill has the oldest overall design of all U.S. currency currently being produced. The obverse design of the dollar bill seen today debuted in 1963 when it was first issued as a Federal Reserve Note.
Silver certificates are a type of representative money issued between 1878 and 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency. They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Fourth Coinage Act, which had effectively placed the United States on a gold standard. The certificates were initially redeemable for their face value of silver dollar coins and later in raw silver bullion. Since 1968 they have been redeemable only in Federal Reserve Notes and are thus obsolete, but still valid legal tender at their face value and thus are still an accepted form of currency.
Postal notes were the specialized money order successors to the United States Department of the Treasury's postage and fractional currency. They were created so Americans could safely and inexpensively send sums of money under $5 to distant places.
National Bank Notes were United States currency banknotes issued by National Banks chartered by the United States Government. The notes were usually backed by United States bonds the bank deposited with the United States Treasury. In addition, banks were required to maintain a redemption fund amounting to five percent of any outstanding note balance, in gold or "lawful money." The notes were not legal tender in general, but were satisfactory for nearly all payments to and by the federal government.
A Demand Note is a type of United States paper money that was issued from August 1861 to April 1862 during the American Civil War in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 US$. Demand Notes were the first issue of paper money by the United States that achieved wide circulation and they are still in circulation today, though they are now extremely rare. The U.S. government placed the Demand Notes into circulation by using them to pay expenses incurred during the Civil War including the salaries of its workers and military personnel.
The Confederate States dollar was first issued just before the outbreak of the American Civil War by the newly formed Confederacy. It was not backed by hard assets, but simply by a promise to pay the bearer after the war, on the prospect of Southern victory and independence. As the Civil War progressed and victory for the South seemed less and less likely, its value declined. After the Confederacy's defeat, its money had no value, and both individuals and banks lost large sums.
"Educational Series" is the informal name used by numismatists to refer to a series of United States silver certificates produced by the U.S. Treasury in 1896, after its Bureau of Engraving and Printing chief Claude M. Johnson ordered a new currency design. The notes depict various allegorical motifs and are considered by some numismatists to be the most beautiful monetary designs ever produced by the United States.
ABCorp is an American corporation providing contract manufacturing and related services to the authentication, payment and secure access business sectors. Its history dates back to 1795 as a secure engraver and printer, and assisting the newly formed First Bank of the United States to design and produce more counterfeit resistant currency. The company has facilities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The American Bank Note Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of ABCorp.
This page is a glossary of notaphily. Notaphily is the study of paper money or banknotes.
Canadian Landscape is the third series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada, first circulated in 1954. The banknotes were designed in 1952 following the accession of Elizabeth II to the throne after the death of her father George VI. The banknote designs differed significantly from the preceding 1937 Series banknotes, though the denomination colours and bilingual printing were retained. This series was followed by the 1969 Scenes of Canada series.
Scenes of Canada is the fourth series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada. It was first circulated in 1970 to succeed the 1954 Canadian Landscape series and was followed by the 1986 Birds of Canada banknote series. This was the last series to feature a $1 bill, which was replaced by a $1 coin known as the loonie in 1987, although both the $1 bill and the loonie were produced concurrently for 21 months, from June 1987 to April 1989.
Interest bearing notes refers to a grouping of Civil War era paper money-related emissions of the US Treasury. The grouping includes the one- and two-year notes authorized by the Act of March 3, 1863, which bore interest at five percent per annum, were a legal tender at face value, and were issued in denominations of $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1000. The grouping also frequently includes the early civil war treasury notes which matured in either sixty days or two years and bore interest at six percent and the seven-thirties which matured in three years and bore interest at 7.3 percent—though both of these latter issues lacked legal tender status. Reference texts used by currency collectors will also sometimes include compound interest treasury notes and Refunding Certificates in this grouping as well.
Historical coats of arms of the U.S. states date back to the admission of the first states to the Union. Despite the widely accepted practice of determining early statehood from the date of ratification of the United States Constitution, many of the original colonies referred to themselves as states shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed on 4 July 1776. Committees of political leaders and intellectuals were established by state legislatures to research and propose a seal and coat of arms. Many of these members were signers of the Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, and United States Constitution. Several of the earliest adopted state coats of arms and seals were similar or identical to their colonial counterparts.
US Treasury Department Specimen books, also known as BEP presentation albums, were published by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) from the mid-1860s through the 1910s. Prepared upon request of the United States Secretary of the Treasury, albums were generally presented to Cabinet members, select Members of Congress, diplomats and visiting dignitaries. Some extant albums still in their original binding bear the name of the recipient impressed in gold lettering on the cover. While no two presentation albums have exactly the same contents, each book usually contained portraits, vignettes, and/or images of buildings. Specimen books which contain whole proof images of currency are extremely rare.
The United States two-dollar bill ($2) is a current denomination of United States currency. A portrait of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States (1801–1809), is featured on the obverse of the note. The reverse features an engraving of the circa 1818 painting Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull.