Small Size Notes-1928 to Present

After 68 years of prosperity, our large size currency felt the impact of modern times. So the large size US curency note came to an end due to the economics of the times. Tons of ink and paper were required to produce our currency to an ever expanding economy. The currency needed to fulfill this new demand was astronomical. The government realized that many millions of dollars could be saved if our currency was reduced in size. This was the direction the US Government took as on July 10, 1929 the first of the new small sized notes were placed into general circulation.

The new small sized notes were reduced in size from 7.42 inches by 3.13 inches to 6.14 inches ,X 2.61 inches. This cost cutting measures saved the government millions of dollars in ink and paper annually.

Small Size-Gold Certificates

All of the 1928 small-size gold certificates are now obsolete due to the Gold Reserve Act of 1933 that required all gold certificates, large and small size to be surrendered to the Treasury Department. This was because of the Gold Clause that stipulated that these gold certificates could be redeemed in gold. This was done to prevent the run of gold on the US Treasury Department. The Gold Act of 1933 was appealed in 1964 which removed all restrictions from owning or holding these notes. However they are no longer redeemable in gold only.

• The $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1,000 gold certificates ,were all ,issues of 1928 and had a gold seal. The $100 and $1,000 gold certificates were also printed in 1934 but never issued or released.
• A 1928 $5,000 and a 1928 and 1934 $10,000 gold certificate was printed and used exclusive for transactions between the Federal Reserve Bank and the Treasury Department. Since the $5,000 and $10,000 gold certificates were never release to the public they are illegal to own.

Unlike the large size gold certificates the small size gold certificates are printed in green on the back or reverse of the note. Small size gold certificates are considered much scarcer than the large size gold certificates.