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Morgan Dollars
Collectible Coins
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Changing Times Silver Certificates 2 pc set
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Item Number: NK11904
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Changing Times Silver Certificates – 2 –pc set
Final Silver Certificates that could be Redeemed for an actual Morgan or Peace Silver Dollar.
The Series of 1923 $1 Silver Certificate is about 50% bigger than today’s notes – and was so large that it was called a “Horse blanket.” What’s more, it was backed by silver that was stored at the U.S. Treasury – and it was actually exchangeable for “One Silver Dollar” at the U.S. Treasury. In 1923, you could have taken this Silver Certificate to the Treasury and redeemed it for a Morgan or Peace Silver Dollar. Because of this, Silver Certificates were trusted by the American public. They were just as valuable as the actual Silver Dollars, unlike today’s Federal Reserve bank notes which are backed only by the faith of the Government and not by precious metal.
The inscription reads, “This certifies that there is on deposit in the Treasury of the United States of America ONE SILVER DOLLAR payable to the bearer on demand.” Silver Certificates are the only bank notes that have a blue Treasury seal and serial numbers, unlike today’s Federal Reserve Notes that have a green seal and numbers.
In 1928, the U.S. Government switched to a small-size bank note to save money. The special bank-note paper that is used for America’s paper money is very expensive and time-consuming to make. By cutting the bank note to its present size, the Government saved a considerable amount of money.
The 1928 $1 Silver Certificate looks similar to the 1923 note, but it is much smaller. It was also backed by “ONE SILVER DOLLAR” in the Treasury, but it was the last Silver Certificate that was redeemable for a Silver Dollar. The next series was issued in 1934, and those and all subsequent Silver Certificates were redeemable only for one dollar in silver; the U.S. Mint stopped making Silver Dollars in 1935, and the Treasury stopped redeeming the notes for silver in 1968. They remain legal tender, though.
The back of the 1923 note is also different from the back of the 1928 note. The 1928 note is known as the “Funny back” because the new design looked “funny” (i.e. different from the 1923 note) and at first people thought it was a counterfeit or a foreign note.
Finding a set of 1923 and 1928 $1 Silver Certificates gets tougher every year. Most were worn out in circulation or destroyed by the Government generations ago. Just a fraction of the original bank notes remain for today’s collectors. A bank note, on average, lasts only a few months in circulation before it must be withdrawn and destroyed. Amazingly, both the last large-size Series of 1923 $1 Silver Certificate and the first small-size 1928 $1 Silver Certificate are in Extremely Fine condition. They are presented is a custom wallet that protects and displays them.
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