Federal Reserve Bank Notes

We are pleased to offer our customers the ability to collect historical Federal Reserve Bank Notes. These notes represent a time in U.S. history when citizens could still redeem their paper currency for silver or gold bullion. As a discontinued form of currency, they have become increasingly valuable to collectors and traders of rare paper currency. Large size Federal Reserve Bank Notes were first issued in 1914 as part of the United States’ regular circulation of paper money. They were produced in denominations of $5, $10, and $20. Then in 1918, denominations of $1, $2, and $50 were added. Federal Reserve Bank Notes differed from Federal Reserve Notes in that they could only be redeemed at the specific bank that issued the note. The following banks produced Federal Reserve Bank Notes: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Dallas, and San Francisco. Originally, Federal Reserve Bank Notes were redeemable for their corresponding face value in silver coins and later bullion. However, this practice ended during the Great Depression after the infamous run on the banks. Additionally, many people hoarded their bank notes, causing further problems for the Federal Reserve. In 1933, the twelve Federal Reserve Banks began producing small size Federal Reserve Bank Notes in order to save money on paper costs. Interestingly, this series is labeled “1929,” and they are the only smaller size Federal Reserve Bank Notes. All other dates will be larger than our modern currency. Today, the only type of banknote still produced is the Federal Reserve Note, redeemable at any Federal Reserve Bank.