New Currency

A dollar is a dollar, yet a dollar does not necessarily resemble a dollar. We have in this country, at the present time, six different kinds of paper currency with various designs. Secretary of the Treasury Mellon last week approved designs for new issues of paper currency, which will give three of the six kinds of currency a uniform type of design.

The six varieties are:

United States Notes (Green-backs). Issued in denominations of

$1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000; limited in issue to $346,681,016 (protected by a gold reserve of $152,000,000); legal tender for all debts, public and private, except Customs and interest on the public debt; payable in gold at the Treasury.

Silver Certificates. Issued in the same denominations as Greenbacks, excepting $500 and $1,000; unlimited in issue, for silver dollars in the Treasury; not legal tender; receivable for customs, taxes and all public dues; redeemable in silver dollars at the Treasury.

Federal Reserve Notes. Issued in the same denominations as Greenbacks excepting $1 and $2, and also issued in $5,000 and $10,000 denominations; unlimited in issue on proper security (at least a 40% gold reserve, and discounted paper to full value); not legal tender; payable in gold at the Treasury or in gold or lawful money at any Federal Reserve Bank.

Federal Reserve Bank Notes. Issued in the same denominations as Greenbacks; issue unlimited on paper security (5% cash reserve in the Treasury and the remainder in Government securities); not legal tender; receivable for all public dues except customs; redeemable in lawful money at the Treasury or bank of issue. (These notes, issued during the War, are now being retired.)

Bank Notes. Issued in the same denominations as Greenbacks excepting $1 and $2; issue limited to the capital of issuing bank (security the same as Federal Reserve Bank Notes); not legal tender; receivable for all public dues except customs; redeemable in lawful money at the Treasury or bank of issue.

Gold Certificates. Issued in the same denominations as Greenbacks, excepting $1, $2 and $5, and also issued in $5,000 and $10,000 denominations; unlimited in issue for gold in the Treasury (at least one-third of which must be coined) unless the gold reserve against Greenbacks falls below $100,000,000; legal tender; receivable for all public dues; redeemable in gold coin at the Treasury.

The new designs, just approved by Mr. Mellon, will apply only to Greenbacks, Silver Certificates and Federal Reserve Notes in denominations not over $100 and not including $2. Later the higher denominations, the $2 note and National Bank Notes may be included in the system.

The new designs will have a uniform back of green scroll work (without pictures) for each denomination. The faces of the notes will have uniform designs for each denomination with portraits ($1, Washington; $5, Lincoln; $10, Jackson; $20, Cleveland; $50, Grant; $100, Franklin; $2, Jefferson, if issued). The designs will be the same for all varieties, except for the proper legends on each. But for the convenience of the banks in distinguishing between kinds the seals, sequence numbers, letters, etc., will be overprinted in color. The Greenbacks will be overprinted in green; the Silver Certificates in blue; the Federal Reserve Notes in red.

The object of making denominations uniform is to make detection of counterfeits and raised notes easier. The Treasury is considering discontinuing the $2 denomination because of its unpopularity but for the present will continue the issue of that denomination in the current design of Greenbacks and Silver Certificates.