There are so many treasury notes in circulation that the Government, vast though its bullion and coin reserves are, could not redeem them if presented at once.
The treasury note is a legal tender for any amount of indebtedness.
The Government prints the following guarantee on every treasury note:
"This note is, by law, to be considered as good as coin. Any one to whom you pay it must reckon it as equivalent to a dollar (or face value in dollars) in value."
TREASURY CERTIFICATES
The treasury certificate is, in form, very much like the treasury note, and it bears the signatures of the same officers.
Treasury certificates are of two kinds, gold and silver.
The gold certificates are printed in yellow.
The silver certificates are light black and white.
These certificates are issued against the great reserves of gold and silver that are kept to redeem them.