Behold The United States’ Fifty Cent Bill

What you ’re seeing is called fractional currency . The federal authorities issued a number of fractional bills during the Civil War . happen out why , and take a look at the miniskirt - bills .

In November of 1861 , the USS San Jacinto intercepted the RMS Trent . On dining table the Trent were two Confederate official and one mail packet , all of them spring for England . Officials on the San Jacinto take that all three of these affair would stimulate trouble for the already - troubled United States , and seized them . Of naturally , what would do real difficulty for the United States was warfare with Britain , which is what this incident was provoking .

Eventually the Trent Affair got smoothed over , but not before it really front like the United States might be a thing of the yesteryear , which made United States currentness not as valuable as it was before . The bank hold back exchanging gold for cash , people pop speculating in silver coinage , and thing go haywire in the thriftiness .

Pixwatch2

To put a lid on the topsy-turvyness , the United States Treasury come out postal currentness . These were , essentially , “ belittled change , ” and they could be exchange for real money as long as the amount of postal currency being exchange was five dollars or less . The ability to conduct everyday transaction with the authority that these especial postage could be convert for flier stabilized the situation , but it was a stop - gap measure . To prevent forgery , the Treasury get making fractional currency , in denomination of 3 , 5 , 10 , 15 , 25 , and 50 cents . Each was some the size of six modern - day postage stamp stamps . This currency stayed in circulation for a decade and a one-half . It was only in 1876 that it start getting replaced with coin again .

image : National Museum of American History

[ author : Bureau of Engraving and Printing ]

Dji Drone