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ALLIED MILITARY CURRENCY (AMC) - notes used in WWII by Allied military forces. These were issued for use in such places as France, Germany, Italy and Japan. 

ALTERED NOTE - this is a piece of paper money which has had one or more of its prominent features changed in order to make it worth more.  This could also apply to a previously devalued note which has had a fake overprint applied in an effort to make it acceptable in a country where the old notes have been officially overprinted. 

BACK - The reverse side of a note, opposite the front.

BANK NOTE - Paper currency issued by a bank, both governmental or private. However, commonly used synonymously for paper money, regardless of issued by a bank or not.

BACK - the side opposite the face of a note, basically the paper money equivalent of the reverse of a coin. 

BEP - Bureau of Printing and Engraving

BILL - Derived from the American Bill of Exchange, bill is a colloquialism used for money.

BLOCK - A "Block" is the Letters before and after the serial number on any federal reserve note. These letters indicate what Federal Reserve Bank they were issued for. For example, look at any $1 bill ... if the serial number reads " A 23234587 C " then the block is "AC".

BOGUS NOTE - A Fantasy Note that was never issued as real money.

BORDER - The edge or margin of a note.

BROKEN BANK NOTES - A broken or obsolete bank note is one issued from a defunct or broken bank that is no longer capable of fulfilling its obligations. Banking failure was especially noticeable in small town, ill-managed institutions throughout the 19th century and again during The Great Depression of the late 1920's and early thirties.

BULLION - Gold or silver historically used as a guarantee or back the value of paper money.

BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING - The locations of where our currency is made, Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth, Texas.

CENTER - The middle of a note.

CENTRAL BANK - A National Government bank as opposed to a private or commercial bank.

CHOICE - Noted as CH, Choice refers to a standard slightly better than the grade assigned.

CIRCULATED - Paper money once used in commerce by the public

COLONIAL CURRENCY - Pre-Revolutionary War American paper currency.

COMMERCIAL BANK - A private bank as opposed to a central or government bank.

CONDITION - Refers to the state of preservation or grade of a note.

CONVERTIBILITY - The ability of a note to be converted into something else, e.g., gold, silver coinage or bullion.

COPY - A facsimile or replica of money that is so obvious that it is not meant to be construed as counterfeit.

CORNER - A reference to one of the four areas of angulation or corners of a note.

COUNTERFEIT - Bogus currency that is meant to be passed as real.

CREASE - A permanent line or fold on currency.

CRISP UNCIRCULATED - A new note with no creases, wear or other defacement.

CURRENCY - Paper money.

CUT CANCEL - A slit in a note made for the purposes of cancellation.

DATE - The year on a note. This often refers to the series and not the actual date of minting.

DENOMINATION - The face value of a note.

DESIGN - A term meaning the printed part of a note.

DIE - The metal engraved plate upon which a note is created.

EDUCATIONAL NOTES - The design themes on Silver Certificate Notes issued in 1896.

EXTRA FINE (XF) - Paper is clean and bright with original sheen. Light handling is apparent, with several light folds or one strong crease visible. Tears and stains are not present.

ENGRAVING - Engraving of currency dies is a reverse process where grooves are scraped into metal plates by the use of sharp instruments. Ink was then smeared over the traditional copper plates. With the excess being removed, only the ink in the groves remained. Pressed against a sheet of moistened paper, the ink in the groves transferred across giving a clear impression of the image being sought.

ERROR AND FREAK NOTES - This refers to currency that was made in error or made imperfect by accident.

EXTREMELY FINE - Noted at either EF or XF, Extremely Fine relates to the condition of a note usually having either one major crease or three minor folds.

FACE - The front or obverse of a note.

FACE VALUE - The amount of value printed on a note.

FADING - A note that has lost a degree of color.

FAIR - Very worn

FANTASY NOTE - A bogus bill that was never intended for circulation, e.g., Monopoly money.

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK - A district or branch bank of the U.S. Federal Reserve System

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK NOTE - A note issued by a District Bank of the Federal Reserve System. Federal Reserve Bank Notes, like National Bank Notes, were offset by securities and bonds held by the individual Federal Reserve Banks. As obligations of the Federal Government, these notes were only briefly issued in 1915 and again in 1918.

FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES - Authorized by the Federal reserve Act of December 23, 1913, Federal Reserve Notes were disseminated through all twelve Federal Reserve Banks. Easier to carry than bullion, each note represented gold on deposit with our government and was originally redeemable in gold at the U.S. Treasury or lawful money (coinage) at the Federal Reserve Bank. This ceased in 1934 when the owning of gold bullion was made illegal.

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM - Created in 1913, the Federal Reserve System is a monetary organization that regulates the creation of U.S. currency.

FIAT MONEY - Money that has no gold or silver backing.

FINE (F) - Considerable circulation is apparent, with creases, folds and wrinkles visible, and most, if not all, of the crispness is gone. Edges show evidence of circulation, and there may be slight tears. Some fading of color noticeable, with some staining possible.

FOLD - A light bend in a note. Not to be confused with a crease.

FORGERY - A fraudulently altered genuine document. Often confused with counterfeit.

FOXING - Foxing is a reference to tiny brownish, red dots caused by infestation of lice that attacked the paper fibers of pre-1890 notes.

FRACTIONAL CURRENCY (1862-1876) - Fractional Currency developed during the Civil War as an answer to the shortage of currency caused by public hoarding. Values ranged from 3 to 50 cents and were printed until 1876.

FRAME - The outside border of a note's design.

FRIEDBERG NUMBER (FR#) - The standard reference of currency used throughout the industry when referring to a specific note.

FRONT - The obverse of a note.

FRN - Abbreviation of Federal Reserve Note

GOLD CERTIFICATES - With the increase of gold in America partially brought on by the rush of the mid 1800's, this metal became a prevalent asset for exchange. Due to its weight and difficulty of storage, the government decided to store equal amounts of gold balanced with like values issued in Gold Certificates for public circulation. The first were made available in 1882 and lasted until 1928. With the recall of all gold bullion (not coinage) by the government, in 1933 all certificates were mandated to be returned to the Treasury Department. This included even those notes held in the possession of collectors. This law was reversed in 1964 where Gold Certificates can now be held by collectors but unfortunately cannot be redeemed for the metal it represents.

GOOD - An extremely worn note.

GRADE - The state of preservation or condition.

GREENBACK - A slang term for a U.S. Demand Note since 1861 so called because of the green ink used.

INTAGLIO PRINTING - The Bureau prints currency on high-speed, sheet-fed rotary presses which are capable of printing over 8,000 sheets per hour. Printing plates are covered with ink and then the surface of each plate is wiped clean which allows the ink to remain in the design and letter grooves of the plates. Each sheet is then forced, under extremely heavy pressure (estimated at 20 tons), into the finely recessed lines of the printing plate to pick up the ink. The printing impression is three dimensional in effect and requires the combined handiwork of highly skilled artists, steel engravers, and plate printers. The surface of the note feels slightly raised, while the reverse side feels slightly indented. This process is called intaglio printing.

LARGE-SIZE CURRENCY - Generally speaking, large-size currency was the primary tender issued up until 1928. Collectors and investors alike cannot but be overwhelmed by the grand beauty and intricacy these original notes represent. The reduction in size was required both due to the difficulty of carrying larger bills as well as for lessened printing considerations.

LEGAL TENDER - Section 102 of the Coinage Act of 1965 (Title 31 United States Code, Section 392) provides in part: " All coins and currencies of the United States, regardless of when coined or issued, shall be legal tender for all debts, public and private, public charges, taxes, duties and dues." This statute means that you have made a valid and legal offer of payment of your debt when you tender United States currency to your creditor. However, there is no Federal statute which mandates that private businesses must accept cash as a form of payment. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise.

MILITARY PAYMENT CERTIFICATE (MPC) - These certificates comprise several series of U. S. military notes issued solely for use by its military and only in establishments of the U. S. armed forces. The idea behind these was to prevent or limit activities by military forces with respect to the black market. 

NATIONAL BANK NOTES - With the National Banking Act of 1863 during the Civil War, over 14,000 banks were permitted to issue and circulate their own currency. Likewise, printing was also done at the U.S. Government Printing Office. All designs were similar with only the names of the banks, state seals, bank signatures and the bank's charter number creating difference. Every charter bank was given the right to issue currency up to 90 percent of the value of bonds that it held on deposit with the government. With a bond deposit equaling the printed currency, the National Bank Note gradually became accepted by the general public. This era lasted until the stock market crash of 1929 which ruined a vast number of banks and ended the public's confidence in this form of note.

NATIONAL GOLD NOTES - There were two factors that held heavily in the creation of National Gold Notes which originated exclusively from banks in California. As the gold rush of the 1840's bought massive amounts of this metal out of the ground and into barter, it rapidly found its way into coinage. California banks being so inundated with both raw gold and gold coins, it petitioned the government for the authority to issue Gold Notes that could be substituted for the actual coinage. It was on July 12, 1870 that Congress voted giving the right to issue such notes to nine banks in California and Kidder National Gold Bank in Boston. However, while Californians rushed to print this yellowtoned paper, no such effort was ever undertaken by the Boston counterpart.

NON-WEB - A "non-web" is a production of notes using stock from regular intaglio printing. Apparently, the BEP, either due to an error, or just because they didn't have enough web-fed notes to make a complete "stack" of 200,000 sheets used this stock of paper for the overprinting. This is a rare occurrence and only show up in Series 1988-a block BL notes, F Star notes, and again in series 1995 Block BH. These notes are collectible due to their significance to the Web Press and strange mix up of the two processes.

NOTGELD - this term means 'emergency money' and is applied to some early 20th century local German issues as well as a number of other countries.  A lot of the later so-called notgeld were actually issued as souvenirs and collectibles and have much less rarity and value, though they are still enthusiastically collected by a number of people today. 

NEX-GEN NOTES - Short for "Next Generation Notes", new paper money printed by the US Government starting in 2004 using colors in the printing.

OVERPRINT- This is an extra printing which has been added to a note sometime after the note's original issue and it's been added by the authorized issuer or successor. These overprints may serve as cancellations or as a means of changing the value of a note. 

PAPER MONEY - This is a generalized term that represents all money produced in the form of a paper note.  It also is applied, however, to certain items produced from bark, plastic, cardboard and other materials. 

PLATE NUMBER - A small number that sometimes appears on currency showing the number of the plate used to print it. These numbers are especially in use on U. S. paper money.  If you've heard of the term "web note," you use the location and style of plate number to determine whether or not you have a web note, that is, a U. S. Federal Reserve note that has been printed within the last several years on an experimental press known as a "web press." 

PORTRAIT - This is a person's picture appearing on a piece of currency.

RADAR NOTE - One whose serial number reads the same, forward or backward.  Some collectors, particularly those of U. S. currency, collect paper money with radar serial numbers. 

RAG- A very well-worn piece of paper money, generally in an uncollectible state except for rarer issues. 

RAGPICKER - A slang term for a paper money collector, i. e. one who sorts through rags, seeking out the collectible items. 

RED SEAL - Refers to US Notes authorized in the 1960's printed with red ink.

REFUNDING CERTIFICATES - The Refunding Certificate is a cross-variation between a bond and a security. Issued by Congressional Act in 1879, these ten dollar notes could be spent or traded as normal currency while drawing interest at 4 percent per annum. While continuing until 1907, the Refunding Certificate served three important functions. First, the percentage given encouraged saving and thereby lessened the threat of national inflation. Second, since previous bank failures still created mistrust of that system, the Refunding Certificate was a method of saving that was private and did not rely on the solvency of a local financial institution. And third, due to uneven distribution of banks throughout the U.S., Refunding Certificates served as a savings instrument for the populace who lived in remote areas.

RIPPLE EFFECT - This is the gentle, wavy appearance that appears due to moisture absorption or unstable chemicals used in the note's manufacture.

RUN - A "Run" is a unit of production consisting of 200,000 sheets or 6,400,000 notes. There are 15 Runs to a block.

SCRIP - this is a type of substitute paper money that can be used to purchase goods or services or may be redeemable for cash in some instances. 

SECURITY STRIP - this is a special strip of material inserted into a note during manufacture that may be magnetic or can glow under ultraviolet light or utilize some other property that helps to make counterfeiting that note a little more difficult. The more recent U. S. Federal Reserve notes from denominations of $10 up have a security strip in them.  The newly redesigned notes have a strip that glows under uv light.  To the casual observer, the strip can sometimes look like a fold in the note. 

SERIAL NUMBER - This is a system used in the majority of currency issued to keep track of the number of notes in circulation and to make counterfeiting more difficult because each note has a unique number. These numbers can be important to the collector, who often has a passion for low or special numbers. A bill with a serial number consisting of all the same numerals, for example, is highly sought after. 

SIGNATURES - Beginning in 1861, the signature was originally placed on bills as a deterrent to counterfeiting and as a symbol of authorization. The assumption was made that a hand signature was more difficult to copy than an engraving and could be easily detected. From 1862 to 1923, two signers were required, the Treasurer and the Register or those who signed in their stead.

SILVER CERTIFICATES - As America's economy expanded in the late 1870's trade demand outpaced the supply of silver coinage. In 1878 the government authorized Silver Certificates as relief for silver coinage. Redeemable in silver until June 24, 1968, redemption in all forms was ended. The notes, while still legal tender are now worth only their face value.

SMALL SIZE CURRENCY - this generally refers to U. S. paper money issued on and after July 10, 1929.  It is quite a bit smaller in size than the older so-called large size note shown here. 

SPECIMEN- a sample currency note, often but not necessarily with serial numbers of all zeroes. The original purpose of such notes was to provide banks and other agencies with examples of newly-issued money.  A number of such specimens have been created expressly to satisfy collector demand.  Some of these were regular-issue notes simply overstamped "SPECIMEN" in the official language of the issuing nation.  In most examples of specimens, they are over- stamped in this way. 

STAR NOTES - Star Notes refers to those United States Notes, Gold Certificates and Silver Certificates that have a star or asterisk in front of the serial number. Federal Reserve Notes and Federal Reserve Bank Notes have it at the end of the serial number. The purpose of Star Notes refers to those United States Notes, Gold Certificates and Silver Certificates that have a star or asterisk in front of the serial number. Federal Reserve Notes and Federal Reserve Bank Notes have it at the end of the serial number. The purpose of a Star Note is as a replacement for a mutilated or unfit issue which must be replaced. To substitute the damaged note with another of the same serial identification number would border on the impossible. Star Note substitution represents the most practical method where each displaced bill is replaced with a working counterpart. However, large stars after the serial number on the 1869, 1890 and 1891 series of Treasury Notes do not signify replacement currency, yet are still referred to as Star Notes.

TREASURY OR COIN NOTES - Begun in 1890 and ended in 1891, Treasury Notes were authorized by Washington as redeemable paper for silver or gold coinage. Never attaining popularity, its life was short lived.

UNCIRCULATED (UNC) or (CU) - A note that has not been released into circulation and is in the same condition as it was first produced. The paper must be firm and crisp, without any creases, folds or tears, and the corners must be sharp and square.

UNCUT SHEET - this refers to a sheet of paper money which was how it was printed prior to being cut up.  Obviously there are different numbers of notes to a sheet for different countries or different historical times.  Many obsolete "broken" banknotes were printed four to a sheet.  Modern U. S. currency is printed with 32 notes to a sheet and is said to be a 32-subject sheet.  Partial sheets, where the complete sheet has been cut up into smaller sections, also exist for some notes.  U. S. currency sheets are available at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, in $1, $2, & $5 denominations.  They are also available by mail order from the Bureau and also sometimes from dealers and at certain coin shows where the Treasury sets up an exhibit. 

UNITED STATES NOTES - Begun on March 10, 1862, United States Notes also referred to as Legal Tender Notes were the second major variety of U.S. paper currency. Up until 1923, these five varieties of notes represented a vast, artistic display of motifs and themes. Denominations were in the form of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000. Not only were the likenesses of presidents represented, but other government officials as well such as Lewis and Clark, Salmon P. Chase (Lincoln's Secretary of Treasury), Daniel Webster, etc.

VERY FINE (VF) - Still an attractive note, but with more pronounced wear from handling, though some crispness remains. May have several vertical and horizontal folds as well as slight dirt or smudging visible. No tears on the edges, though the corners aren’t as sharp as Uncirculated.

VIGNETTE - This is any picture or scene on a note other than a portrait. 

WATERMARK - During the production of some paper, a special mark or design is implanted into the paper which is usually only visible or fully visible when the paper is held up to a light source.  Watermarks have been used by many countries as a security device for their notes for quite a long time.  The United States finally adopted a watermark for use in the newly-redesigned Federal Reserve notes.

WEB NOTE - A collectible type $1 federal reserve note printed for series 1988-a, 1993 and 1995 on an experimental Intaglio "Web-Fed Press". Also referred to as Web Press Notes, Web-Fed Notes, or Webs.

WORTH - Market value of a note in terms of dollars