1934-dated $5 Silver Certificate

After 68 years of large-size paper money, the U.S. switched to less expensive, smaller-sized currency. In 1934, these first small-size $5 Silver Certificates rolled off the presses. These 1934-dated notes feature the first small-size design.

Silver Certificates were once redeemable for silver dollars or silver bullion on demand! In the early 1960s, when the value of silver in $1 coins rose above face value, it became profitable to redeem Silver Certificates for silver coins. These notes were abolished in 1963, and a year later, the Treasury stopped redeeming them for silver dollars. Millions of Silver Certificates with their distinctive blue seals and serial numbers were redeemed and destroyed, and they all but vanished from circulation within a decade. Fortunately, a limited number were tucked away by farseeing collectors. Now decades later, you can own an attractive and affordable example of the first $5 Silver Certificate design.