All of today’s paper currency is Federal Reserve Notes with green Treasury seals. In the past, though, Americans used several different types of currency, and each had a distinctively colored Treasury seal and serial numbers.
• Silver Certificate bank notes once circulated alongside other types of currency such as Federal Reserve Notes.
• Each Silver Certificate was backed by its face value in Silver Dollars or silver bullion in the United States Treasury, and holders of the notes could actually exchange them for the silver.
• Silver Certificates have distinctive blue Treasury seals and blue serial numbers.
• Silver Certificates were last redeemable for silver in 1968, but they remain U.S. legal tender..
• The designs of the notes are familiar, since modern Federal Reserve Notes feature the same designs: George Washington on the $1 bill and Abraham Lincoln on the $5 bill.
• Unlike today’s $5 bill, the $5 Silver Certificate does not have “In God We Trust” on the back.
• Most of these historic Silver Certificates were worn out or destroyed in circulation half a century ago or more.
• Dollar bills last just under 6 years on average in circulation while a $5 bill lasts just 4.9 years. These specimens were first issued over 60 years ago, and it’s a miracle even one has survived.
• If redeemed at a bank today, Silver Certificates are destroyed by the government. As a result, very few exist in any condition.
• The notes are protected in a custom currency wallet .