National Bank Notes:
Currency Backed by Government Securities

Although Legal Tender notes were widely accepted as a medium of exchange, most paper currency circulating between the Civil War and World War I consisted of National Bank notes. These notes were issued between 1863 and 1864 by more than 14,000 federally chartered banks across the country. The National Bank Acts of 1863 and 1864 permitted these banks to issue notes using U.S. government securities as collateral. From 1863 to 1877, National Bank notes were printed by private bank note companies. Since 1877, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, has assumed responsibility for printing all notes.