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50 Cents 'Fractional Currency' - 4th issue
| Issuer | United States Treasury |
|---|---|
| Year | 1869-1875 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Cents (0.50 USD) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Left side carries an intaglio portrait vignette of Samuel Dexter, Secretary of the Treasury in 1801, rendered in fine engine-turned line engraving against a lathework background. To the right, a large green Treasury seal with scalloped border serves as the central underprint, flanked by the denomination numeral '50' in each lower corner. The title 'UNITED STATES FRACTIONAL CURRENCY' arches across the upper portion in bold letterpress, with 'FIFTY CENTS' set in large display type below the seal, and facsimile signatures of the Register and Treasurer appear along the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| 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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| 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.