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Civil War
On the brink of bankruptcy and pressed to finance the Civil War, Congress authorized the United States Treasury to issue paper money for the first time in the form of non-interest bearing Treasury Notes called Demand Notes. -
Greenbacks
Demand Notes were replaced by United States Notes. Commonly called “greenbacks” because of the green tint introduced to discourage photographic counterfeiting, they were last issued in 1971. The Secretary of the Treasury was empowered by Congress to have notes engraved and printed by private bank note companies. The notes were signed and affixed with seals by six Treasury Department employees. -
The Design
The design of U.S. currency incorporated a Treasury seal, the fine-line engraving necessary for the difficult-to-counterfeit intaglio printing, intricate geometric lathe work patterns, and distinctive cotton and linen paper with embedded red and blue fibers -
Secret Sevice is founded.
The Department of the Treasury established the United States Secret Service to control counterfeiting. At that time, one-third of all circulating currency was estimated to be counterfeit. -
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is Founded
The Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing started printing all U.S. currency. -
Federal Reserve Act
After the 1893 and 1907 financial panics, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was passed. It created the Federal Reserve System as the nation's central bank to regulate the flow of money and credit for economic stability and growth. The System was authorized to issue Federal Reserve Notes. Now the only U.S. currency produced, Federal Reserve Notes represent 99 percent of all currency in circulation. -
Stock Market Crash
Asmore people invested in the stock market, stock prices began to rise. this was first noticable in 1925. stock prices then bobbed up and down throught 1925-and 1926 followed by a strong upward trend in 1927 -
Standardized Design
Currency was reduced in size by 25 percent, and a consistent design was introduced with uniform portraits on the front and emblems and monuments on the back. -
In God We Trust
Paper currency was first issued with the inscription “In God We Trust” in 1957. The inscription appears on all currency Series 1963 and later. -
First National Bank
The president, directors and Company, of the bank of the united states, commonly known as the first bank of the US was a central bank, chartered for a term of twenty years, by the US congress on Feb 25, 1791.
