Like modern $1 bills, the $1 Silver Certificate features the familiar portrait of George Washington by artist Gilbert Stuart. As a result, very few exist in any condition. If redeemed at a bank today, Silver Certificates are destroyed by the government. Most of these historic $1 Silver Certificates were worn out or destroyed in circulation half a century ago or more.
Silver Certificates were last redeemable for silver in 1968, but they remain legal tender. Unlike todays Federal Reserve Notes that have green Treasury seals and serial numbers, Silver Certificates have distinctive blue Treasury seals and blue serial numbers. The last Silver Certificate ever issued was the Series of 1957 $1 Silver Certificate. Each Silver Certificate was backed by its face value in Silver Dollars or silver bullion in the United States Treasury, and holders of the notes could actually exchange them for the silver.
Silver Certificate bank notes once circulated alongside other types of currency such as Federal Reserve Notes.
