The Significance of the 1 Dollar Bill Series of 1963
The 1963 series of Federal Reserve $1 bills is significant for two reasons. It was the first time that the Federal Reserve issued $1 notes, though the central bank had been issuing other denominations for many years before that. Also, the 1963B series note, also called the Joseph Barr Note, is well known among collectors of banknotes, and some examples sell at a premium over face value.
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One-Dollar Notes Before 1963
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Between 1928 and 1963, the small-sized (6.14 --- 2.61 inches) dollar bills that circulated in the United States were either Treasury Department-issued U.S. Notes, which featured red seals, or Silver Certificates, which usually featured blue seals and could be exchanged for silver dollar coins. The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States established in 1913, issued larger denominations -- $5 to $10,000 -- but not singles. The rising price of silver in the early 1960's spurred the government to discontinue exchanging silver certificates for coins, so a new $1 note was needed.
Series 1963
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The first Federal Reserve Series 1963 $1 note was issued in January 1963 and bore the signatures of U.S. Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon and Treasurer of the United States Kathryn O'Hay Granahan. Though minor design changes came in later decades, current $1 notes still resemble this original Series 1963 note in most ways, including a green Federal Reserve seal, green lettering for the serial number, and the small portrait of George Washington.
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Series 1963A and 1963B
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Before the 1970's, a letter was added after the series year when either of the signatures on a piece of U.S. paper currency changed. In April 1965, Henry H. Fowler became Treasury Secretary, and so all of the Federal Reserve notes, including the new $1 one, became Series 1963A. In December 1968, Joseph W. Barr became Treasury Secretary, thus beginning Series 1963B, at least for $1 notes (higher denominations didn't make the switch).
Barr Notes
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Joseph Barr was only in office 28 days, so it was believed that notes that he signed would have extra collectible value. About 458.8 million Series 1963B $1 notes were produced, however, so they are not rare. Uncirculated and less-common varieties of 1963Bs, such as star notes, do sell for over face value, though none are exceptionally valuable. Star notes, which are replacements for notes with printing errors, represent about 2.65 percent of the total 1963B run.
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References
- Photo Credit dollar bill image by Photoeyes from Fotolia.com
