To finance the war effort the Union approved an income tax, borrowed heavily, and also issued "greenbacks", a fiat currency that had no backing in gold or silver They held their value better than Confederate fiat currency because of slowly growing confidence in the Union war effort
Officially, United States Notes, first issued by the U S Treasury in 1862 as legal tender fiduciary paper money to help finance the Civil War (1861-1865) Their value in gold at one time (1864) was below 40 cents In 1879, they became redeemable in gold However, when the United States went off the gold standard in 1933, the greenbacks again became irredeemable The highest amount outstanding was $450,000,000 There are still $347,000,000 outstanding, an almost insignificant part of the nation's legal tender today (1974)
Bank notes issued by the Government of the United States in 1862, during the Civil War; so called because the back is printed in green In March, 1878, the amount of greenbacks for permanent circulation was fixed at 346,681,016 dollars; in rough numbers, about 70 millions sterling
To help fund the military forces used against the Confederacy during the Civil War, the federal Congress issued a paper currency known as greenbacks Even though greenbacks had no backing in specie (hard currency), this currency held its value fairly well because of mounting confidence the Union would prevail in the war See also specie
American paper currency first printed during the Civil War Identified by the green ink used for printing one side of the bill Popular term for the US dollar
Another name for United States Note(s), first issued in 1662, and a prevailing nickname for all modern notes of USA [Any Small Size Note you'd find that did not have a green back would have to be an error note ]
One of the legal tender notes of the United States; first issued in 1862, and having the devices on the back printed with green ink, to prevent alterations and counterfeits