Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
2 Dollars United States Treasury, 'Rainbow Note'
| Issuer | United States Treasury |
|---|---|
| Year | 1869 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Engraved portrait of Thomas Jefferson at left, with a central vignette of the United States Capitol building rendered in fine intaglio. The note carries a vivid multicolor underprint in the characteristic style of the 1869 'Rainbow' Legal Tender series, with ornate lathe-work borders framing the design. Denomination and legal tender obligations are inscribed in bold letterpress across the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is executed entirely in green intaglio on a pale background, dominated by an elaborate guilloche composition centered on a large ornate numeral '2' set within interlocking lathe-work rosettes and floral geometric medallions. A bold Roman numeral 'II' occupies the left panel and the word 'TWO' appears in a corresponding circular medallion at right, all surrounded by densely engraved micro-lettering panels and counter-lathe scrollwork. The imprint 'AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, NEW YORK' appears at lower left and lower right. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The "Rainbow Note" designation comes from the deliberate use of multiple ink colors across the face — a direct response to the counterfeiting epidemic that plagued earlier monochrome Legal Tender issues. The Treasury and ABNCo were experimenting with chromatic printing as a security measure, and the 1869 series was the most visually aggressive result of that effort. It did not last long; the public found the notes garish and difficult to authenticate by feel, and the series was quietly retired in favor of more restrained designs.
Legal Tender status meant these circulated without gold or silver backing — a politically contentious fact in 1869, when the question of hard money versus greenbacks was still driving congressional fights left over from the Civil War financing era.