United States Banknotes: History, Notable Notes & Collecting Guide
American paper money runs from the doomed Continental currency of the Revolution to the Civil War greenbacks, hometown National Bank Notes, gleaming Gold Certificates, and the Federal Reserve Notes in every wallet today. No other country offers collectors so many distinct classes of currency, or so many ways into the story.
Federal notes since 1861 Large size to 1929 Twelve collectible types One guide per class
Last updated: September 2026
United States banknotes divide into two eras: large-size notes printed before 1929, and the small-size notes still in wallets today. Within those eras sit the federal classes, from the Demand Notes of 1861 to today's Federal Reserve Notes, each with its own legal basis and seal color. Every federal note issued since 1861 is still legal tender.
What are the types of US banknotes?
Unlike most countries, the United States ran several classes of currency side by side, each with its own legal basis, backing and seal color. Collectors organize the whole field by type rather than by date, and every type below links to a fuller guide in this library.
| Type | Era | What it is | Full guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continental currency | From 1775 | Paper authorized by the Continental Congress to pay for the Revolutionary War, issued before the United States had a Treasury | Continental currency |
| Demand Notes | 1861 to 1862 | The first federal greenbacks, authorized in $5, $10 and $20 as non-interest-bearing notes to finance the Civil War | Greenbacks and Legal Tender Notes |
| United States Notes | 1862 to 1971 | Legal Tender Notes with red seals and serial numbers, issued in $1 through $100 and discontinued in 1971 | Greenbacks and Legal Tender Notes |
| Fractional currency | From 1863 | Notes of 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents, the first currency produced entirely inside the Treasury Department | Fractional currency |
| National Bank Notes | 1863 to 1935 | Hometown money naming the issuing bank, its town and state, and its charter number | National Bank Notes |
| Gold Certificates | From 1865 | Gold seals and gold overprints, once redeemable in gold coin | Gold Certificates |
| Silver Certificates | From 1878 | Issued under legislation expanding silver purchases and coinage; blue seals on the small-size issues | Silver Certificates |
| Treasury or Coin Notes | From 1890 | Redeemable in coin, with the most lavishly engraved backs the Treasury ever authorized | The Grand Watermelon |
| Federal Reserve Notes | 1914 to present | Issued through the Federal Reserve System; every note in circulation today is one | History of US paper money |
| Hawaii overprint notes | 1942 | Wartime Silver Certificates and Federal Reserve Notes with brown seals, brown serial numbers and HAWAII overprints | Hawaii overprint notes |
| Military Payment Certificates | Overseas military use | Scrip issued to US personnel on overseas bases in place of dollars, catalogued by series number rather than by date | Military Payment Certificates |
| High denominations | Last printed 1945 | $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 notes, discontinued in 1969 and never demonetized | Most valuable US banknotes |
Dates in the table come from the US Currency Education Program's own timeline and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (uscurrency.gov, Bureau of Engraving and Printing). If you would rather read the whole arc as one narrative than class by class, start with the history of US paper money. Two neighbouring fields sit just outside the federal classes: Confederate currency, issued by a separate government with its own catalog, and star notes, which are replacements rather than a class of their own.
How did American paper money begin?
America's first national paper money predates the nation. From 1775 the Continental Congress authorized paper called Continental currency to pay for the Revolutionary War, and a lack of solid backing combined with widespread counterfeiting drove its value down within a few years (US Currency Education Program).
The collapse gave American English a lasting phrase, "not worth a Continental", and left the young republic so wary of paper money that the federal government issued none for the next eight decades. The irony is complete today: surviving Continentals are prized Revolutionary artifacts that collectors compete to own, and the designs themselves, full of emblems chosen to stand for independence and strength, are among the most studied in American numismatics.
What were the greenbacks of 1861?
The Civil War forced Washington back into the paper money business. In 1861 Congress authorized non-interest-bearing Demand Notes in $5, $10 and $20, and their green-inked backs earned American currency the nickname greenbacks. The $10 note carried Abraham Lincoln's portrait, fine-line engraving and geometric lathe patterns (US Currency Education Program).
When redemption in coin was suspended, Congress authorized a new class the following year: United States Notes, also called Legal Tender Notes, issued in $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. The first $1 Legal Tender Note carried a portrait of Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, and 1862 also brought the Treasury seal to American currency, fixing a design grammar of fine-line engraving, lathe work, seal and engraved signatures that US notes still follow. United States Notes stayed in issue until 1971, one of the longest runs of any American currency class (US Currency Education Program).
The same decade built the institutions behind the money. Treasury staff began signing, separating and trimming Demand Note sheets inside the Treasury building in 1862, the work that became the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; fractional currency of 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents followed in 1863 as the first currency produced entirely at the Treasury; and by 1877 Congress had made the Treasury the sole printer of United States notes and securities (Bureau of Engraving and Printing, US Currency Education Program).
Why do collectors love National Bank Notes?
Because they are local. The National Banking System created in 1863 let federally chartered banks issue currency secured by government bonds, and every note names its issuing bank, its town and state, and its unique charter number (US Currency Education Program). No other American series is this personal.
That geography is the hook. More than 14,000 banks were chartered to issue National Bank Notes between 1863 and 1935, according to the Society of Paper Money Collectors' Bank Note History project, and collectors hunt notes from their hometown, their home county, or a bank an ancestor once used. Rarity swings enormously, from common big-city issuers with thousands of surviving notes to small-town banks where only a handful are known, so two notes of the same denomination and grade can sit at opposite ends of the price scale purely because of the name on the face. The National Bank Notes guide explains charter numbers, the brown back and plain back types, and how to research a specific bank.
When did US notes shrink to their modern size?
In 1929. Every note was reduced by about 30 percent, from 7.375 by 3.125 inches to 6.14 by 2.61 inches, to lower manufacturing costs and standardize designs by denomination, and the new notes carry the Series 1928 date (US Currency Education Program).
That changeover created the large-size versus small-size divide that still organizes American collecting, and it is the single most useful thing a beginner can learn to recognize, because it sorts almost any US note into the right half of the field on sight. The small-size era produced its own famous varieties, including the brown-seal Hawaii overprint notes of 1942, printed so that the currency circulating in the islands could be identified separately if Hawaii were overrun. By the 1970s the Federal Reserve Note stood alone as the only class still being issued.
What happened to the $500 to $10,000 bills?
They were last printed in 1945 and discontinued in 1969 for lack of use, by which time electronic bank transfers had replaced the role they once played between institutions. They were never demonetized, so they remain legal tender at face value, and every one of them is worth far more to a collector than the number printed on it (Bureau of Engraving and Printing).
One denomination stands entirely apart. The $100,000 Gold Certificate of Series 1934, carrying Woodrow Wilson's portrait, was issued by the Treasurer of the United States to Federal Reserve Banks to settle large-value transactions and never circulated among the public (US Currency Education Program). Issued examples remain government property, which is why the note appears in museums rather than in auction catalogs. Where American rarities do trade, the results are documented in our ranking of the most valuable US banknotes.
How do you start collecting US banknotes?
Pick one lane and stay in it. Type collecting takes one representative note from each class in the table above and builds a museum in miniature. Hometown National Bank Notes reward research. Small-size Silver Certificates and early Federal Reserve Notes are the cheapest way in. Condition decides price in every lane.
Grade first, then buy. American notes are graded on the same 1 to 70 numerical scale the rest of the world uses, with EPQ or PPQ designations confirming the paper is original and unaltered (Paper Money Guaranty). Our banknote grading guide walks the scale, and graded versus raw banknotes explains when certification is worth the premium. For a first US purchase, a certified small-size Silver Certificate or a mid-grade National Bank Note from a town that means something to you will teach you more than a scattered handful of worn notes.
Prices in this field cover an enormous range on a single shelf. In September 2026 the Planet Banknote United States collection listed items from a Series 1950 $10 Federal Reserve Note set at $439 to an 1861 $10 Demand Note face and back proof pair at $53,461.80, with large-size type notes and National Bank Notes from several states in between; inventory and pricing change constantly. Certified stock sits in the graded banknotes selection. Before you order anywhere, read how to buy world banknotes for the dealer checks worth running first.
The fastest way to date an unfamiliar US note is to measure it. Anything larger than about 6.14 by 2.61 inches was printed before 1929, which immediately narrows the field to the large-size classes and their far smaller surviving populations.
Frequently asked questions
Are old United States banknotes still legal tender?
Yes. All US currency issued since 1861 remains valid and redeemable at full face value, according to the US Currency Education Program. That includes discontinued classes such as United States Notes and Silver Certificates, and discontinued denominations such as the $500 and $1,000 bills. In practice almost every older note is worth more to collectors than its face value, so have one evaluated before spending it.
What are the main types of US paper money?
US paper money is organized by class rather than by date. The federal classes are Demand Notes, United States Notes, Fractional Currency, National Bank Notes, Gold Certificates, Silver Certificates, Treasury or Coin Notes and Federal Reserve Notes, alongside wartime issues such as the 1942 Hawaii overprints and Military Payment Certificates. Each ran on its own legal basis and carried its own seal color.
What does "not worth a Continental" mean?
It refers to Continental currency, the paper money the Continental Congress authorized from 1775 to finance the Revolutionary War. A lack of solid backing and the rise of counterfeiting drove its value down quickly, and the phrase became American shorthand for anything of no value, according to the US Currency Education Program. Surviving Continentals are now sought-after Revolutionary artifacts.
What are National Bank Notes?
Currency issued between 1863 and 1935 by federally chartered national banks and secured by US government bonds. Each note names its issuing bank, town and charter number, and more than 14,000 banks were chartered to issue them, according to the Society of Paper Money Collectors' Bank Note History project. Collectors prize them for their hometown connections and enormous range of rarity.
When did US banknotes get smaller?
In 1929. Every note was reduced by about 30 percent, from 7.375 by 3.125 inches to 6.14 by 2.61 inches, to cut manufacturing costs and standardize designs by denomination, according to the US Currency Education Program. The new notes carry the Series 1928 date, and the change created the large-size versus small-size divide that still organizes American collecting.
What is the most valuable United States banknote?
The 1890 $1,000 Treasury Note known as the Grand Watermelon, nicknamed for the bulging green zeros on its back. One example sold for $3,290,000 at Heritage Auctions in January 2014, a record for United States paper money at auction. It belongs to the short-lived Treasury or Coin Note class that began in 1890.
Planet Banknote is a family-owned dealership in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 2021. Every note is sourced direct from mints, central banks, and authorized distributors, inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process, and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity. US orders ship free via USPS Priority, and every order includes a free bonus gift.