ECONOMIC ROLE
Demand Note
Move your cursor over the bill or tap it on your screen to see the reverse side.
- "Greenbacks" remains a common nickname for U.S. currency. The term originated with these first Demand Notes because of the ink used in printing.
- First issued August 10, 1861, these notes were issued to help finance the Civil War.
- The Treasury Department was authorized to issue non–interest bearing Demand Notes.
- The front, or obverse, of the note features an off-center portrait of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, and the Statue of Freedom, which has stood atop the Capitol Dome in Washington DC since 1863.