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United States Legal Tender

This flavor of currency was around for longer than any other type of currency issued by the US government. They were first authorized in 1862, and issued continuously through 1969. These notes were purely fiat currency, being backed solely by the assurances of the federal government and little else. This made them fairly popular in times when money (gold) was tight, as it created a form of currency that wasn't backed by precious gold or controversial silver.

In 1878, Congress passed an act requiring the federal government to keep $346,681,016 in Legal Tender in circulation. I doubt that any plausible explanation exists for that particular number. In their final years, the government kept these in "circulation" by periodically moving stacks of them from one vault to another.

In large size, Legal Tender Notes were issued in $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1,000 denominations. In small size, they were issued only in $1, $2, $5, and $100 notes, although samples of $10 and $20 sheets were printed, but never issued.

Of all of these, the most interesting is the Series 1928 $1 United States Note. The signatures suggest that they were printed in a narrow timeframe in the spring of 1933. Folklore has it that they weren't circulated until 1948-49, and then only as a stopgap to address a currency shortage in Puerto Rico. This single issue of small size $1 US Notes has been very popular with collectors.

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