Template:POTD/2022-12-28

Greenbacks were emergency paper currency issued by the United States during the American Civil War that were printed in green on the reverse side. They were in two forms: Demand Notes, issued from 1861 to 1862, and United States Notes, issued from 1862 to 1865. A form of fiat money, the banknotes were legal tender for most purposes and carried varying promises of eventual payment in coin, but were not backed by existing gold or silver reserves. These nine banknotes, part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, form a complete set of the 1862–63 issue of greenbacks. Each bears the signatures of L. E. Chittenden (Register of the Treasury) and F. E. Spinner (Treasurer of the United States), and features an engraving of a prominent individual or other artwork, identified above.Banknote design credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; scanned by Andrew Shiva