In 1863, at the height of the Civil War, the National Currency
Act was signed into law by President Lincoln. One of the results
of this legislation were National Bank Notes, which were issued
by more than 14,000 banks, large and small, until 1935. The
system was relatively straightforward: For every $90 worth of
U.S. Bonds that a bank would buy, the government would give them
$100 worth of National Bank Notes to issue, each printed with
the name of the bank on its front. There were three 20-year
"charters" in a variety of denominations, each of which had a
different design. Among the most popular bills from the first
charter, 1863 to 1882, during... The bills of the second
charter, 1882 to 1902, are a little bit smaller than those of
the first. Instead of acquiring these bills for their vignettes
and engravings, collectors differentiate second-charter notes
based on the type of back a bill has. The Brown Backs were, as
the name suggests, brown, with the bank’s charter number printed
in the center. Other bills