Legal tender notes

Have you ever heard of a legal tender note? Have you ever seen a legal tender note? They were first minted in 1861 and are still being printed today! You probably wouldn't use them though. We use Federal Reserve notes now. If you have seen a legal tender note, you might have noticed that it says, "legal tender for all debts public and private."

If you had a legal tender note, you couldn't just give it to a teller and say "give me this much money for the legal tender note." You had to trust the government to give you the money later. Even though it took time, bankers and merchants had to accept them. It was part of the law! There are still a few of them in circulation. Usually they are "high denomination" bills--worth $100 or more.