History Instructing Youth is a series 1896 United States one-dollar bill. It was one of three notes in the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing's (BEP) Educational Series. After many complaints about the notes in the series, the BEP replaced them in 1899. Today, it is considered one of the most beautiful and popular US large-size notes. The scene on the note's obverse is allegorical and features a woman who is instructing a young boy about United States history.
The obverse of the note features the names of 23 people within wreaths around the border. [1] The notables listed include statesmen (John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, John Marshall, Daniel Webster, George Bancroft), military figures (Oliver Hazard Perry, William Tecumseh Sherman, David Farragut), writers (Washington Irving, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson) and inventors (Robert Fulton, Samuel Morse). [2] The Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol building are visible on the obverse.
The allegorical scene on the obverse of the History Instructing Youth note portrays a woman (History) instructing a young boy (Youth) about United States history. [3] The woman is on the left of the obverse and the boy is to her left. [1] The $1 certificate's theme focused on the past and the two other denominations in the Educational Series, the $2 and $5, featured national progress and technology. [4] History is reclining on a marble block and she is pointing at a book while the boy looks on. The American flag is laid across her lap and her head is adorned with a laurel wreath. Each bottom corner of the note's obverse has an illustration of an open book. [5] The note states, "This certifies that there has been deposited in the Treasury of the United States one silver dollar, payable to bearer on demand. [5] To the right on the obverse, there is a red seal. The reverse features two allegorical winged figures and portraits of the first US president George Washington and his wife Martha Washington. [1] [6]
Large-note varieties of US currency were often referred to as "Horse Blankets". [7] [8] The 1896 large-size History Instructing Youth measured 7.38 in (187 mm) by 3.18 in (81 mm). [9] [10] In 1928 the United States transitioned to small-size notes which measured 6.14 in (156 mm) by 2.61 in (66 mm). [7]
The obverse of the note was designed by Will Hicok Low and it was called History Instructing Youth. [1] The design of the bill was accepted on July 10, 1894, and printing began on April 18, 1896. [11] The engraving for the obverse of the one-dollar History Instructing Youth note was done by Charles Schlecht. [12] Schlecht began work on the engraving for the obverse in August 1892 and completed his work on January 1, 1895. [13]
The design of the reverse was executed by Thomas F. Morris. The reverse featured complex lathework and winged figures in the upper corners. [2] The reverse also features two portraits which were completed earlier. In 1878, Charles Burt engraved the portrait of Martha and in 1867 Alfred Sealey engraved the portrait of George. [11] [14] The depiction of Martha Washington on the silver certificate was the last time a woman appeared on United States paper money. [15] [16]
The one dollar note was part of a series known as the Educational Series and it included a redesigned one, two, five and ten-dollar bill. [1] The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced fifteen separate plates for the production of the note. [13] For the first time, the BEP chose to forgo lathework on the obverse to give designers a larger area to incorporate their design. [3] The note became popular among collectors for its beauty. [14] In their guide book to American paper money, Arthur and Ira Friedberg state that History Instructing Youth is the famous note in the series and "[p]erhaps the most popular large-size note". [17] History Instructing Youth, along with the other notes of the Educational Series, are "considered to be among the most beautiful American notes ever printed", according to curator Ellen R. Feingold . [18] The note was ranked number seven in the 100 Greatest American Currency Notes book by David M. Sundman and Q. David Bowers. [19]
The Educational Series came to be called "dirty dollars" because of objections towards the portrayal of unclothed women on notes. Due to this early controversy, the BEP reissued notes in 1897 with more clothing on the women. Another complaint centered on the skin color of the women on the notes. [4] The lack of complicated lathework on the obverse meant that counterfeiters could potentially forge them more easily. [3] In 1899, the controversies caused the BEP to replace the series just three years after issue. [3]
The United States five-dollar bill (US$5) is a denomination of United States currency. The current $5 bill features U.S. president Abraham Lincoln and the Great Seal of the United States on the front and the Lincoln Memorial on the back. All $5 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes. As of December 2018, the average life of a $5 bill in circulation is 4.7 years before it is replaced due to wear. Approximately 6% of all paper currency produced by the U.S. Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 2009 were $5 bills.
The United States ten-dollar bill (US$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, two renditions of the torch of the Statue of Liberty, and the words "We the People" from the original engrossed preamble of the United States Constitution. The reverse features the U.S. Treasury Building. All $10 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes.
The United States fifty-dollar bill (US$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 (US$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 first produced in 1914. Inventor and U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin has been featured on the obverse of the bill since 1914, which now also contains stylized images of the Declaration of Independence, a quill pen, the Syng inkwell, and the Liberty Bell. The reverse depicts Independence Hall in Philadelphia, which it has featured since 1928.
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.
Will Hicok Low or Will Hicock Low was an American artist, muralist, and writer on art.
"Educational Series" refers to a series of three 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.
A Funnyback is a type of one-dollar silver certificate produced in 1928 and 1934 in the United States. People referred to the note as a "Funnyback" based on the significantly lighter green ink and unusual font printed on the reverse.
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 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.
The United States one-hundred-thousand-dollar bill (US$100,000) is a former denomination of United States currency issued from 1934 to 1935. The bill, which features President Woodrow Wilson, was created as a large denomination note for gold transactions between Federal Reserve Banks; it never circulated publicly and its private possession is illegal.
The Black Eagle is a type of one-dollar silver certificate produced in 1899 in the United States. The note measured 7.38 in (187 mm) by 3.18 in (81 mm); it was of the large-size variety of bank-notes issued by the United States. The note featured a Bald eagle with its wings spread. The note was also referred to as "Eagle of the Capitol", because the United States Capitol is visible behind the eagle. The note was issued from 1899 to 1923 and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) printed 3,604,239,600 Black Eagles. Because of the large size, it is colloquially referred to as a "horseblanket".
The United States 1000 dollar bill(US$1000) is an obsolete denomination of United States currency. It was issued by the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) beginning on 1861 and ending in 1934. The bill was recalled in 1969 but it is still legal tender.
The United States 10,000-dollar bill(US$10000) (1878–1934) is an obsolete denomination of the United States dollar. The $10,000 note was the highest denomination of US currency to be used by the public and was no longer issued after 1969. These notes are still legal tender, and thus banks will redeem them for face value. However, their value to collectors is well above their face value.
George Frederick Cumming Smillie also known as G.F.C. Smillie or Fred Smillie was an engraver for the United States Treasury who engraved portraits for the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) from 1894 to 1922. The nephew of James David Smillie, he engraved the portrait of Running Antelope and the presidents Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Woodrow Wilson, and George Washington. Several of his engravings appeared on banknotes, including the Black Eagle Silver Certificate, the United States one-hundred-thousand-dollar bill, and Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World.
Charles Schlecht (1843-1905) was an engraver at the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing. He did the engraving for the 1896 Educational Series one-dollar bill: History Instructing Youth.
The 1899 United States five-dollar Silver Certificate is known as the Indian Chief Note note. The note features Sioux chief Running Antelope wearing an incorrect war bonnet. It is the only US federal paper currency featuring a named Native American.
Alfred Sealey was an engraver for the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing. He engraved several portraits which were used by the united States Bureau of Engraving and Printing on paper money.
Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World is an 1896 United States five-dollar silver certificate. It is of the US large-size variety measuring 7.375 in (187.3 mm) by 3.125 in (79.4 mm). The note is one of three notes that are part of the "Educational Series". As a result of the nudity portrayed on the obverse and other controversies, the note was replaced in 1899.
Science presenting steam and electricity to Commerce and Manufacture is an 1896 United States two-dollar silver certificate. It is of the large-size variety measuring 7.375 in (187.3 mm) inches by 3.125 in (79.4 mm). It is one of three notes released as the "Educational Series". After complaints about the series, the note was replaced in 1899.
