Demand Notes are a type of United States paper money that were issued between August 1861 and April 1862 in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 U.S. dollars. Released during the American Civil War, these notes were used to pay expenses incurred by the Union during the war. They were popularly known as "greenbacks", a name inherited by their successors, the Legal Tender and Federal Reserve Notes.
Shown here is a $20 note, dated 10 August 1861, which features a feminine allegory representing either Liberty, or perhaps America, in the center. The figure has a sword in her right hand and holds a striped shield, featuring a Bald Eagle at the top, in her left. This bill is scanned from the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History.
Banknote: Bureau of Engraving and Printing (image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)
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