20 Dollars Large-Size Federal Reserve Note

The Federal Reserve Act was signed in December 1913, and these notes entered circulation the following year as the new system's first paper currency — replacing the National Bank notes that had defined American paper money for half a century. The blue seal distinguishes this as a Federal Reserve Note rather than a Federal Reserve Bank Note, a distinction that confused even contemporary bank tellers during the transition period.

Signature combinations track four Secretaries of the Treasury across a decade of issue: McAdoo, Glass, Houston, and Mellon. The Kansas City district (J) is notable for producing a confirmed star replacement note under the Burke-Houston pairing, one of the few replacement varieties documented for this series. Several district-signature combinations — particularly from smaller Federal Reserve Banks like Minneapolis and Richmond — were printed in comparatively low quantities, and the White-Mellon pairing is absent entirely from New York, Philadelphia, and several other high-volume districts.