1 Dollar United States Note - 'Saw-horse'

The "Saw-horse" nickname comes from the distinctive ornamental lathe-work pattern on the reverse — a detail that caught the public's attention far more than the Treasury apparently intended. These Legal Tender Notes were a continuation of the Civil War-era United States Note program, kept alive well past military necessity by political resistance to retiring government-issued currency in favor of National Bank Notes backed by bonds.

Ourdan's engraving work for the BEP was among the most technically demanding of the period. The series ran across several decades with signature combinations changing to reflect successive Register and Treasurer pairings — those combinations are the primary dating tool for collectors, since the printed date range spans over forty years.