Characteristics of United States Paper Currency

Three types or classes of U.S. paper currency are in use today. The most numerous--accounting for 99 percent of the total value in circulation--are Federal Reserve notes. Most of the remainder are United States notes and silver certificates, which are occasionally seen but are no longer produced.

The designation of the class to which the note belongs appears on the upper center of its face. Each type is identified by the distinctive color of its Treasury seal and serial numbers. On Federal Reserve notes these are green, on United States notes they are red, and on silver certificates they are blue.

Each denomination, regardless of class, has a prescribed portrait and back design selected by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Notes of the $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 denominations have not been printed for many years and are being withdrawn from circulation. The portraits appearing on these notes are: McKinley on the $500, Cleveland on the $1,000, Madison on the $5,000 and Chase on the $10,000.