What does a silver certificate look like?

Answer 1

Silver certificates were issued from 1886 to 1957. Those printed after bills were standardized in 1928 looked similar to other US paper money of the time. They carried the same portraits - Washington on the $1 bill, Lincoln on the $5 bill, and Hamilton on the $10 bill. The portraits were in the same small size as other bills, the designs were very ornate, and the ink colors were limited to green and black.

However, silver certificates were distinctive in that they had blue seals and serial numbers instead of green, and had different wording across the top and bottom of the front side: the words SILVER CERTIFICATE were at the top, and wording like "in silver on deposit" or "in silver payable to the bearer" were at the bottom.

Please see the Related Links for images.

The different wording reflects the fact that each bill was backed with an equivalent amount of silver held by the US Treasury. When silver prices were deregulated in the 1960s it became impossible to redeem the bills for specific amounts of metal. To prevent speculators from "gaming" price differences the Treasury stopped exchanging the bills and eventually replaced them with the familiar Federal Reserve Notes we use today.