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Vintage Portal Main >> Articles >> Ephemera
Vintage Silver Certificates
During the late 1800's, Americans were faced with a different form of paper
currency - silver certificates. Although silver certificates are no longer
in use, they are of some value in today's market. The once infamous silver
certificates from years ago are now seen as great collectors' items.
Silver Certificates were created and used in the United States. These came
along as a response to what Americans at the time called the "Crime of
1837." The "Crime of 1837" placed Americans on a gold standard, which means
that the silver certificates, which were actually U.S. paper dollars, were
equivalent to the amount of silver coinage. The silver certificates that
were created before 1899 had red and brown ink on the seal and serial
numbers. After 1899, the colors of the ink had officially changed to blue
ink.
In the 1940s and 50s, the silver dollar certificates began to dissipate.
The US mints were no longer creating the silver dollars, and people were
soon redeeming their silver certificates for actual silver bullion. The
silver certificates were shredded by the bank, because the money could not
be reissued as there was only a certain amount of silver to hand out. As
people were redeeming their silver certificates, the price of silver was
steadily rising. More and more people were redeeming their silver
certificates, until banks and the government declared that they could no
longer be redeemed. At that point in history, the silver certificates were
no longer valid.
Since many people, as well as banks, destroyed their silver certificates,
there is a very limited amount of silver certificates still available. Due
to the limited availability of the silver certificates, they are now worth
some money - some more than others. Collectors who have vintage silver
certificates have a rare piece of American history that is worth a pretty
penny.
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