Treasury or Coin Notes 1890-1893

Also known as Coin Notes, these were used to pay for silver bullion purchased by the Treasury Department. First authorized in 1890, the notes stated that the bearer was to be paid on demand the note's face value in coin (silver or gold). The decision of whether it was to be silver or gold was left to the Secretary of the Treasury.
After the Treasury paid for its silver bullion purchases with these notes, the bearer of the note could redeem it for gold coin. The redemption of these notes for gold almost bankrupted the Treasury in 1893!

Treasury Coin notes were issued in 1890 and 1891 with the passage of The Legal Tender Act of 1890. This special-interest legislation--passed by Congress through the influence of the silver mining lobby--authorized the issuance of coin notes in denominations ranging from $1 to $1,000 to purchase silver bullion at inflated prices. Their issuance virtually bankrupted the U.S. Treasury. In 1893, to avert a panic, President Cleveland repealed the Silver Purchasing Act.

The obligation on the notes is "The United States of America will pay the bearer ___ Dollars in coin... This note is legal tender at its face value in payment of all debts public and private except when otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract"