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50 Cents 'Fractional Currency' - 4th issue
| Issuer | United States Treasury |
|---|---|
| Year | 1869-1875 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | UNITED STATES FRACTIONAL CURRENCY FIFTY CENTS SAML. DEXTER, SECY TREASY 1801. ENGRAVED AND PRINTED AT THE BUREAU, ENGRAVING & PRINTING |
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| Protection description | Silk fibers embedded in the paper substrate, visible as random colored threads throughout the note |
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| Comments |
Fractional Currency was a direct consequence of coinage disappearing from circulation during the Civil War — hoarded first by a public anticipating economic collapse, then by speculators arbitraging the metal content against inflated greenback values. The Fourth Issue ran longer than any other, spanning six years, and by the time it wound down, Congress had already passed the Resumption Act of 1875 signaling the return to specie payments.
The light violet tint in the paper was an anti-counterfeiting measure introduced specifically for the Fourth Issue, combined with the embedded silk fibers — an early iteration of what would become standard security paper practice for U.S. currency.