EDUCATIONAL MEETING (March 26, 2024):
Our club was fortunate to have Jeff Tryka speak about U.S. currency. We had to cancel our January meeting due to inclement weather. So, it was great to have him reschedule with our club. Jeff took us on a tour of bank notes from 1776 shillings to modern day Federal Reserve notes.
His knowledge was impressive. The artwork and imagery on early banknotes make them very collectible today. Jeff brought examples of these notes. The 1896 series $1, $2, and $5 Silver Certificates had neoclassical designs and are referred to as “Educational Notes.” Jeff shared that as people handled the notes, they were seeing historical American events.
One example he gave was on the 1918 $500 note of De Soto discovering the Mississippi River.
Did you know? The new bills circulated by the U.S. government starting in the 1860s came to be known as greenbacks because their back sides were printed in green ink. This ink was an anti-counterfeiting measure used to prevent photographic knockoffs. Cameras of the time could only photograph in black and white.
Thank you, Jeff
The 4th Tuesday of every month is our educational night. Don’t miss out!