The first types of national bank notes ever printed are called first charter notes. Five dollar bills were the most popular denomination to issue. Many $5 notes from the first charter period say Series of 1875 on them. However, other earlier and later issues can also have a date between 1862 and 1883. The design of such notes is rather plain. There is not a lot of white space and these five dollar bills tend to look old and worn before their time. These issues are quite old now and not many new examples are being found.
