What is the difference between Federal Reserve Notes and a US Note and a Silver Certificate?

Answer 1

US Notes were among the first forms of currency issued by the Treasury Department. They first appeared in 1862 during the Civil War, and were printed up till 1968, although the last ones were actually dated 1966. US Notes were issued directly by the Treasury and were distinguished by their red seals and serial numbers.

When the Federal Reserve System was established in the early 20th centiry, it was given the authority to issue paper money as well. Even though the Fed is connected to Treasury Department, it's a quasi-independent part of the government. Federal Reserve Notes are printed for and distributed by each Federal Reserve district, so they're actually only indirectly from the Treasury.

By the mid-1960s the vast majority of bills in circulation were FRNs. Silver certificates were no longer redeemable in metal, so it made no sense to incur the production costs of multiple parallel types of currency. Both silver certificates and US Notes were discontinued and from that point on all bills were issued only as green-seal FRNs.

Answer 2

Silver certificates were bills backed by silver on deposit with the Treasury. They could be issued only in quantities that didn't exceed the total value of that silver. At one time, when the price of silver was fixed by the government, it was possible to exchange these bills for silver bullion as well as coins. When the price of silver was deregulated in the mid-1960s silver certificates were discontinued and the practice of exchanging for metal was ended. Most silver certificates are recognizable by their blue seals.

US Notes were currency issued by the Federal Government but not backed by gold or silver on deposit. Most of these had red seals and serial numbers. They were issued from 1862 to 1966, and were discontinued only as a money-saving move to consolidate all currency production and administration under the Federal Reserve.

Federal Reserve Notes (green seals) are the only kind of currency now printed in the US. They're produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing* for each of the 12 districts administered by the Federal Reserve system, the nation's central bank. Like US Notes, they're not backed by any gold or silver but instead rely on the stability of the government to validate their acceptance in the marketplace.

(*) Regardless of common myths and misunderstandings, only the BEP makes bills. The US Mint is responsible for coins and is totally separate from the BEP.