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50 Cents 'Fractional Currency' - 3rd issue
| Issuer | United States Treasury |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black and green intaglio on white paper, centred on an engraved portrait bust of Francis Spinner, Treasurer of the United States, set within an oval vignette. Ornate guilloche panels flank the central portrait on both sides, with the large numeral '50' appearing at the upper left and upper right corners. The legends 'UNITED STATES FRACTIONAL CURRENCY' arc across the top, while 'FIFTY CENTS' is printed in large letters to either side of the portrait, and facsimile signatures of the Register and Treasurer appear at the lower left and right respectively. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed entirely in green, dominated by a large central rosette of intricate guilloche lathe-work enclosing the denomination '50' in bold numerals, with the words 'FIFTY CENTS' arching above and below within the rosette. Dense ornamental scrollwork fills the surrounding field, and the redemption and legal tender clauses are set in letterpress along the top and bottom margins. Small five-pointed stars punctuate the guilloche design at regular intervals around the central numeral. |
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| Comments |
Third Issue Fractional Currency was the first American paper money printed entirely by the newly established Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which had only wrested production away from private contractors — chiefly the National Bank Note Company — in 1862 after concerns about security and cost. This 50-cent denomination was the highest value in the fractional series, introduced specifically because the near-total disappearance of coins from circulation, driven by hoarding following the suspension of specie payments in December 1861, had paralyzed small commercial transactions across the Union.
Third Issue notes are distinguished from their predecessors by the addition of a red fiber embedded in the paper — an early anti-counterfeiting measure that proved easier to describe than to replicate.