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2 Dollars Silver Certificate, 'Educational Series'
| Issuer | United States Treasury |
|---|---|
| Year | 1896 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | A large central allegorical vignette, engraved in intaglio after Edwin Howland Blashfield's design, presents the figure of Science seated at centre, extending the gifts of steam and electricity to personifications of Commerce and Manufacture flanking her on either side, with decorative palm fronds and classical architectural elements framing the composition. Denomination numerals '2' appear in ornate guilloche panels at each corner, with the legend 'TWO SILVER DOLLARS' and serial number in blue ink to the left, and a red Treasury seal to the lower right. The overall layout is characteristic of the large-format Educational Series, with fine lathe-work underprint throughout. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 2 UNITED STATES 2 THIS CERTIFICATE IS RECEIVABLE FOR CUSTOMS TAXES AND ALL PUBLIC DUES AND WHEN SO RECEIVED MAY BE REISSUED |
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| Comments |
The Educational Series of 1896 was the last genuine attempt by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to produce American currency as high art. Edwin Blashfield was a muralist working in the tradition of the American Renaissance, and the BEP recruited him specifically to design allegorical compositions worthy of intaglio reproduction — an unusually ambitious brief for a government printer. The series was killed almost immediately by public complaint: too elaborate, too allegorical, and the reverse portraits of historical figures were considered by contemporary critics to be rendered unflattering to the point of disrespect.
Charles Schlecht and G.F.C. Smillie engraved the face. Smillie in particular was the BEP's finest portraitist of the period, and his involvement on a non-portrait subject says something about how seriously the bureau took this commission.