The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
federal R e s e r v e Ba n k o f D a l l a s DALLAS. TEXAS 75222 C i r c u l a r No. 76-36 M a rc h 9, 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial ISSUE OF NEW $2 FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ALL BANKS IN THE ELEVENTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT: O n A p r i l 13, a n ew s e r i e s 1976 $2 F e d e r a l R e s e r v e n o te w ill b e m a d e a v a i l a b l e to t h e p u b l i c . B efo re t h e n , t h i s B an k w ill d i s t r i b u t e t h e n o te s to a ll b a n k s in t h e E l e v e n t h D i s t r i c t t h r o u g h its r e g u l a r a r m o r e d c a r r i e r a n d mail s e r v i c e s . B a n k e r s a r e u r g e d to p a r t i c i p a t e a c t i v e l y in p r o m o t i n g p u b l i c a c c e p t a n c e o f th i s n e w n o t e , s i n c e its u s e b y t h e p u b l i c c o u l d r e d u c e t h e v o lu m e of c u r r e n c y h a n d l e d b y t h e b a n k in g a n d b u s i n e s s c o m m u n it ie s . T h e i s s u a n c e o f t h e s e n o te s e n d s a 1 0 - y e a r a b s e n c e o f $2 b i l l s . I s s u e d in co m m e m o ra tio n o f T h o m a s J e f f e r s o n ' s b i r t h d a y a n d in c o n j u n c tion w ith t h e B i c e n t e n n i a l , t h e n e w $2 n o te is s e e n a s a p e r m a n e n t a d d i tio n to c u r r e n c y in c i r c u l a t i o n . T h e $2 n o te is e x p e c t e d to r e p l a c e a b o u t h a l f of t h e $1 n o te s in c i r c u l a t i o n o v e r t h e n e x t s e v e r a l y e a r s . If s o , t h e T r e a s u r y ' s B u r e a u of E n g r a v i n g a n d P r i n t i n g a n d t h e F e d e r a l R e s e r v e S y s te m c o u l d r e a l i z e a su b stan tial cost s a v in g s . E n c lo s e d y o u w ill f in d le aflets p r e p a r e d from in fo rm a tio n p r o v i d e d b y t h e T r e a s u r y D e p a r t m e n t . A lim ite d s u p p l y of a d d i tio n a l leaf le ts is a v a i l a b l e t h r o u g h t h e S e c r e t a r y ' s Office of t h i s B a n k . S in ce rely y o u rs , E rnest T . Baughm an P resident E nclosures This publication was digitized and made available by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Historical Library (FedHistory@dal.frb.org) FACT SHEET BACK • The new two-dollar Federal Reserve note will have the signatures o f William E. Simon, Secretary of the Treasury, and Francine I. Neff, Treasurer of the U.S. • By April 13, 1976, Thomas Jefferson's birthday, 225,000,000 new bills will be available to banks through the Federal Reserve System. An annual printing o f 400,000,000 is anticipated. IN T H E M ONEY • Issuance o f the bill is designed to save the Fed eral Reserve System about $27 million and the Trea sury nearly $8 million during the next five years. • The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to determine design and denomination o f currency by the Federal Reserve Act passed by Congress in 1913. • Previous production o f the two-dollar bill was an estimated 6 million pieces o f currency annually. • The last issue of the bill was the 1963A series U.S. note, featuring Jefferson on the face and Monticello on the back plate. Printing o f this bill en d ed in May 1965 and it was officially discontinued in August the following year. • The front to the 1963 a rendering d ependence o f the new bill will be similar in design version, but the reverse plate will depict o f the signing o f the Declaration of In b y John Trumbull. • During initial production, it is estimated 11 mil lion bills will be printed each day. • Total preparation time for any new denomination of currency is 17 weeks. • There are approxim ately $135,288,000 bills of earlier printings still in the hands o f the public. • The two-dollar bill is being issued in conjunction with the Bicentennial. However, it will continue to be issued in subsequent years. • There will not be a " collector's" or special numis matic issue of the new note. • The two-dollar denomination dates back to 1776. Since 1862, it has been issued as official U.S. cur rency in the form of Treasury notes, silver certifi cates, national bank currency, U.S. notes and Federal Reserves notes with various portraits. • January 1976 A F ederal Reserve Publication 1776: > t FAMILY TREE A s indigenous to our country as the wild turkey, the two-dollar bill has a rich tradition in Ameri can history. Originating on June 25, 1776, the de nomination was first issued by the Continental Con gress as "bills of credit for the defense of America." Under this authority, 49,000 pieces were circulated. D uring the Civil War, an Act of Congress recog nized the two-dollar denomination as a form of U.S. currency, and it reappeared in subsequent years as over-size U.S. notes, silver certificates. Trea sury notes, national bank currency and Federal Re serve notes with various portraits, including Alexander Hamilton, James B. McPherson, Winfield S. Hancock, William Windom and George Washington. In 1928, the more familiar size, with the portrait of Thomas Jefferson, was introduced. The tw o -dollar bill has a long history as official U.S. currency: • 1862 — U.S. note authorized by an Act of Con gress, bearing the portrait of A lexander Ham ilton. Amount issued not recorded. • 1869 — U.S. note with Congressional authorization, bearing the portrait of Thomas Jefferson. Total of 1963-1963A series in May 1965. It was a U.S. note and bore the signatures of then Secretary of the Treasury Henry Fowler and Treasurer of the U.S. Kathryn O. Granahan. Lack of public demand across the nation resulted in their discontinuance. N umerous and varied reasons for the unpopularity of the bill were given at the time. Erroneously, it was claimed that some people were handing out twos instead of ones. Some alleged they were mis takenly accepting the bills as 20s. Two was even said to be an unlucky number. However, the limited circulation of the note has been attributed to the low level of production of the bills. Total volume of two-dollar bills in 1966 was $139,321,994 or onethird of one percent of all outstanding currency. This scarcity gave the public the impression two-dollar bills were unavailable or an "oddity." n recent months, increased interest in a two-dollar note has been expressed by Congress, the Amer ican Revolution Bicentennial Administration, the pub lic, the Federal Reserve System and collectors. Based upon this, the Secretary of the Treasury authorized revival of the bill stating it will be in the best in terest of the American public and the economy. • T h e two-dollar bill being issued during the bicen■ tennial year is produced from a steel intaglio engraving similar to all other denominations of U.S. currency. The single color design used in the printing of all American currency now in circulation has been extended to include the new note, since expert judg ment deems the technique to be an optimal deter rent to counterfeiting. 14.408.000 issued. • 1074 — U.S. note authorized by Congress Jefferson's portrait. 11,632,000 circulated. with • with 1875 — U.S. note authorized Jefferson's portrait. 11,518,0 00 by Congress circulated. • 1875 — N ational bank currency in itiated by an Act of Congress, bearing a symbolic vignette. Amount T h e face plate re-introduces a portrait of Thomas ■ Jefferson, painted in the early 1800s by Gilbert Stuart, and incorporates the features of the last twodollar U.S. note with a change in designation to Federal Reserve note. Jefferson's portrait was re tained, since he is universally recognized as the author of the Declaration of Independence. totaled 1,381,205. • 1878 — U.S. note authorized by Congress with Jefferson's portrait. Issued 4,676,000. T he last printing of the two-dollar bill was the 1976: • 1 8 8 0 — U.S. note bearing Jefferson's portrait ini tiated by Congress. Circulated 28,212,0 00. • 1886 — Silver certificate authorized by Congress, bearing portrait o f Winfield S. Hancock, American general and politician. 2 1,0 00 ,0 0 0 issued. • 1891 — Treasury note initiated by Congress, bear ing portrait o f James B. McPherson, Civil W a r gen eral. Circulation was 24,904,000. • 1891 — Stiver certificate bearing portrait o f W il liam Windom, Secretary of the Treasury under Pres idents Garfield and Harrison. 2 0,988,000 issued. • 1896 — Silver certificate w ith symbolic vignette, authorized by Congress in the amount o f 20,652,000. • 1899 — Silver certificate w ith portrait of George Washington. Circulation of 538,734,0 00. • 1918 — Federal Reserve bank note authorized by the Federal Reserve Act, bearing Jefferson's portrait. Circulation 68,116,000. “P h e design of the reverse plate of the bill is com1 pletely new. The vignette is based upon John Trumbull's painting, "The Signing of the Declaration of Independence." However, aesthetic considerations required that six figures appearing on the extreme left and right hand borders of the original art be dropped in the rendition. The work was done by Trumbull during the post-Revolutionary War period and he later was commissioned to reproduce the painting in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. The original today hangs in the Trumbull Gallery at Yale University. “p h e new bills will be issued by the Federal Reserve 1 System to banking institutions throughout the country by April 13, 1976 in sufficient amounts to meet public demand. Of course, the public is the key factor to successful revival of the two-dollar bill and to making it a permanent component of the nation's currency. 1928 — U.S. note authorized by Secretary o f the A dditionally, substantial savings to the Federal Treasury for introduction o f small size currency. Bear government, totaling an estimated $35 million during the next five years, serve as a further incen tive for circulation and use of the new bill. An aver age of 1.7 billion one-dollar notes are required each year, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total volume of currency printed. The Treasury hopes the two-dollar bill will replace about half of the "ones" in circulation. • • ing Jefferson's portrait, circulation was 430,760,000. • 1953 — U.S. note with Jefferson's portrait. Total of 79.920.000 issued. • 1963 — U.S. note with Jefferson's portrait. Total of 18.560.000 issued. k ______________________________________ d
@FedFRASER