Federal Reserve Notes are the currently issued banknotes of the United States dollar. The United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing produces the notes under the authority of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and issues them to the Federal Reserve Banks at the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Reserve Banks then circulate the notes to their member banks, at which point they become liabilities of the Reserve Banks and obligations of the United States.
The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage production functions. As of September 12, 2022, the treasurer is Marilynn Malerba, who is the first Native American to hold the office.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is Federal Reserve Notes for the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank. In addition to paper currency, the BEP produces Treasury securities; military commissions and award certificates; invitations and admission cards; and many different types of identification cards, forms, and other special security documents for a variety of government agencies. The BEP's role as printer of paper currency makes it one of two Treasury Department agencies involved in currency production. The other is the United States Mint, which mints coinage. With production facilities in Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth, Texas, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is the largest producer of government security documents in the United States.
The United States twenty-dollar bill (US$20) is a denomination of U.S. currency. A portrait of Andrew Jackson, the seventh U.S. president (1829–1837), has been featured on the obverse of the bill since 1928; the White House is featured on the reverse.
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 reverse design of the present dollar debuted in 1935, and the obverse in 1963 when it was first issued as a Federal Reserve Note.
Symbols of the United States Department of the Treasury include the Flag of the Treasury Department and the U.S. Treasury Seal. The original seal actually predates the department itself, having originated with the Board of Treasury during the period of the Articles of Confederation. The seal is used on all U.S. paper currency, and on official Treasury documents.
The Series of 1928 was the first issue of small-size currency printed and released by the U.S. government. These notes, first released to the public on July 10, 1929, were the first standardized notes in terms of design and characteristics, featuring similar portraits and other facets. These notes were also the first to measure 6.14" by 2.61", smaller than the large-sized predecessors of Series 1923 and earlier that measured 7.375" by 3.125".
Mutilated currency is a term used by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the Bank of Canada to describe currency which is damaged to the point where it is difficult to determine the value of the currency, or where it is not clear that at least half of the note is present. Common causes of damage are fire, water damage, chemicals, explosives, damage caused by animals or damage from extended burying of the currency.
Larry R. Felix is an American civil servant who served as the Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) within the United States Department of the Treasury from 2006 to 2015.
Robert Joseph Leuver was an official in the United States Department of the Treasury who was Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 1983 to 1988.
James L. Wilmeth (1870–1959) was an official in the United States Department of the Treasury who was Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 1917 to 1922.
Orsamus Hylas Irish (1830–1883) was an official in the United States Department of the Treasury who served as Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 1878 to 1883.
The Sidney R. Yates Federal Building, historically known as the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and later the Auditor's Building Complex, is a large historic federal building located on the National Mall and built between 1878 and 1880 that has housed multiple federal government offices. It is an L-shaped building of red and black brick construction in the Romanesque style and was designed by the office of James G. Hill, the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. The brick was provided by the Peerless Brick Company of Philadelphia. The builder was John Fraser, Superintendent of Construction for the Treasury, and the bricklayers were Bitting & Davidson.
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.
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 (US$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 John Trumbull's painting Declaration of Independence.
Leonard R. Olijar is an American government official who had served as the director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 2015 to 2023. As director, Olijar was responsible for managing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, an agency within the United States Department of the Treasury tasked with producing Federal Reserve Notes, paper currencies, and United States Treasury securities.
The United States five-hundred-dollar bill(US$500) (1861–1945) is an obsolete denomination of United States currency. Since 1969 banks are required to send $500 bills to the United States Department of the Treasury for destruction.
The United States 5000 dollar Bill(US$5000) is an obsolete denomination of United States currency. It is still legal tender. The United States Department of the Treasury discontinued the note $5000 bill in 1969 and it is now valued by currency collectors.
