On the brink of bankruptcy and pressed to finance the Civil War, Congress authorized the United States Treasury to issue paper money for the first time in the form of non-interest bearing Treasury Notes called Demand Notes.
They were the first issue of paper money by the United States that achieved wide circulation.
Demand Notes were nicknamed "greenbacks" because of the distinctive green ink on their reverse.
Series of 1861
1861 Vignette of Statue of Freedom and portrait of Alexander Hamilton
1861 Portrait of Abraham Lincoln and Vignette of Art