Legal Tender Notes:
The First True National Currency

In 1862, Congress retired Demand notes and issued $150 million in Legal Tender notes, also known as United States notes. These new notes--issued in denominations ranging from $1 to $10,000--embodied the first national currency used as legal tender for most public and private debts.

In an effort to save metals during the Civil War, Legal Tender notes were originally backed solely by faith in the government rather than gold or silver. In 1879, the U.S. Treasury began redeeming Legal Tender notes for coin. They continued to be issued up to 1966.