The 1860s is the first decade in which the United States issued money that is still good today at its face value. However, if you have a five dollar bill from the 1860s, the last thing we would advise is spending it.
Some of the rarest bills are five dollar demand notes.
The 1860s also saw the issuance of the first legal tender five dollar bills, which look a lot like demand notes.
The extremely popular wood chopper series began in 1869 as a “rainbow” note.
The notes that can potentially be the most valuable are national bank notes. Five dollar national bank notes from the 1860s were most often issued by large banks in New England cities and by some of the more developed parts of the Midwest. They can have the years 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, or 1869 printed on them. They are technically known as original series first charter bank notes. A picture of one is below. You can use the links above to learn more about each year. Don’t forget that we are also aggressive buyers of any old five dollar bill. Send us an email with pictures of your note to receive an offer. Sales@AntiqueMoney.com
