Banknotes of the United States dollar

Multiple types of banknotes of the United States dollar have been issued, including Federal Reserve Notes, Silver Certificates, Gold certificates and United States Notes.

Before the American Revolution, every one of the Thirteen Colonies had issued its own paper money, most often denominated in British pounds, shillings and pence. In 1776, the newly created United States issued currency which was bought by people who wanted to support the war (it was promised that the currency could be redeemed for Spanish milled dollars once the war would end). At first, the banknotes circulated at par with the stated value, however after a few months they started depreciating until they became almost worthless. In an agreement, the United States agreed to redeem the notes for treasury bonds at 1% of the face value. The issued denominations ranged from $1/6 to $80.

Treasury Notes were issued from 1812 to 1913, and were interest-bearing notes issued by the United States in times of war or financial unrest. Various notes of various denominations were issued during the War of 1812 (large and small size notes), the Panic of 1837, the Mexican–American War, the Panic of 1857, the Civil War and the Panic of 1907. From the Civil War through the Panic of 1907 they were known as "Certificates of Indebtedness".

Demand Notes are considered the first paper money issued by the United States whose main purpose was to circulate. They were made because of a coin shortage as people hoarded their coins during the American Civil War and were issued in denominations of $5, $10 and $20. They were redeemable in coin. They were replaced by United States Notes in 1862. After the war ended paper money continued to circulate until present day.

United States Notes, also known as Legal Tender Notes, succeeded Demand Notes as the main currency form of the United States. They were not redeemable but were receivable for all taxes and debts, which is what persuaded people to circulate them. They had a red seal and were originally issued in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1,000. $5,000 and $10,000 notes were issued in 1878 and have not been issued anytime after. United States Notes switched to small size in 1928 and were introduced in denominations of only $1, $2 and $5. In 1934, when Federal Reserve Notes stopped being redeemable in gold, the only difference between them and Legal Tender Notes was that the first were liabilities of the Federal Reserve while the latter were direct liabilities of the United States Treasury Department. The $2 and $5 were issued through 1966, and the $2 note was only available as a United States Note. In 1966 the $5 United States Note was discontinued and the $2 denomination was discontinued altogether. In 1966 a $100 US note was issued to meet legal requirements about the amount of notes in circulation. In 1971 the production of US notes was halted and they were officially discontinued in 1994.

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