1917 $1 Large Size Note
Reference: Fr.#37
Large Size Note
Series: 1902
Red Seal
Signatures: Elliott / Burke
Serial Number: K30422415A
Approximate size: 7-3/8 by 3-1/8 inches - about 50 percent
larger than today's paper currency.
Obverse: features Washington and a vignette of
Columbus sighting America.
Reverse: shows a "sawhorse" design.
About this note
The Series 1917 $1 Legal Tender Note is a classic and
rarely-seen piece of U.S. currency. Issued
in the large size of 7-3/8 by 3-1/8 inches (about 50 percent larger than
today’s paper currency), its beautiful and ornate design reflects a time in
American history when currency was not just money but also a work of art. This
is the last $1 note to feature the famous “sawhorse” design on the reverse.
Like all Legal Tender Notes, this bill also features a red seal and red serial
numbers, as opposed to blue seals and serial numbers on Silver Certificates and
green seals and serial numbers on Federal Reserve Notes.
Legal Tender Notes – also known as United States Notes –
circulated in America along with other types of currency in the early 20th
century. The first Legal Tender Notes were issued during the Civil War as a way
for the U.S. government to pay its debts. Since there was not enough silver and
gold coinage to go around, the government issued paper currency instead. Paper
currency was also safer and less bulky to transport. This type of paper money
was printed with the words “legal tender” to assure the recipients that it was
legitimate and that the U.S. government would fulfill its obligation to pay.
The central image on the front of the Series of 1917 $1
Legal Tender Note is a portrait of George Washington. The portrait was based on
a 1796 painting by Gilbert Stuart, one of America’s most renowned artists of
the late 1700’s. Washington was in his second term as President when he sat for
the portrait. The vignette on the left side of the note depicts details from
the painting “Columbus Discovery of Land” by Charles Schussele. It shows
Columbus and members of his crew aboard the flagship Santa Maria as they approached
the New World for the first time in October 1492.
The back of the Series of 1917 $1 Legal Tender Note gives
the note its nickname, the “sawhorse.” The large cross bearing the words
“United States of America” has the appearance of a sawhorse used by carpenters
and builders. Due to the green ink that was used to print the back, early
currency notes like this were known as “greenbacks.”