United States · United States Note
$5 note, 1907
$5 · United States Note · Series 1907
Large-size face with Jackson, the pioneer family, and a red seal; green back with a rosette. Fr. 91, serial M12980830, Speelman–White.
Catalog facts
- Pick reference
- P#186(9) · Fr. 91
- Serial number
- M12980830
- Signatures
- Harley V. Speelman (Register of the Treasury) and Frank White (Treasurer of the United States)
- Condition
- Circulated, unslabbed; horizontal center crease on the back; no numerical grade from the photographs (private collection)
- Printage
- Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Washington, D.C. Printed Series 1907. Plate letter B on the face, left of United and at lower right; no face-plate number and no back-plate number are readable. The printed signatures are Speelman–White (Fr. 91; P#186(9)). Serial M12980830 is ordinary: it is not low (1–100), it is not fancy, and it is not a star. This record does not invent a printage, a block range, or a delivery date for this serial. Numista gives the type as 189 × 80 mm. That is not a measurement of this piece.
Face
Back
The note
The Series 1907 $5 (Pick 186(9), Friedberg 91; Numista N#225775) is a large-size United States Note — also a Legal Tender Note, or greenback. The black face with a red seal and serials carries Andrew Jackson’s portrait at left and the pioneer-family vignette at center: a standing man with an axe, a seated woman, and a dog. Collectors call that face the Woodchopper. The upper arc reads UNITED STATES NOTE; below it, SERIES OF 1907 and ENGRAVED & PRINTED AT THE BUREAU OF ENGRAVING & PRINTING. The blackletter title United States introduces Will Pay the Bearer FIVE DOLLARS. The scalloped red Treasury seal sits above WASHINGTON, D.C. The lower border reads LEGAL TENDER FOR FIVE DOLLARS. The signatures are Harley V. Speelman’s (Register of the Treasury) and Frank White’s (Treasurer of the United States). Red serials M12980830 repeat at lower left and upper right, with no suffix letter. Plate letter B sits left of United and at lower right. The green back carries the clause THIS NOTE IS A LEGAL TENDER AT ITS FACE VALUE, SERIES OF 1907, the geometric rosette under UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and an open panel at right, which belongs to this back. Collectors call these large-format notes horse blankets, the size in use before the 1929 reduction. This collection piece, circulated and unslabbed, is shown on both faces. It is not the Series 1917 $1 or the Series 1917 $2.
The Woodchopper $5
The act of 25 February 1862 authorized United States Notes as legal tender for public and private debts. They replaced the Demand Notes of 1861; the nickname “greenback” was born on those green backs and traveled with this class. A red seal and red serials mark the type. The BEP engraved them from Series 1869. The last delivery to the Treasury was in 1971; none have been placed in circulation since 21 January 1971. Outstanding notes remain redeemable at face.
The printed year 1907 is the series, not each sheet’s press date. Speelman was Register of the Treasury from 1922 to 1927 and White was Treasurer from 1921 to 1928, so Fr. 91 was printed in the 1920s. Numista numbers this pairing as Fr. 91 (P#186(9)) within type N#225775 and gives the design as 189 × 80 mm. That measurement belongs to the type, not to this piece. No Fr. 91 printage is invented.
Scarcity and printage
Speelman–White (Fr. 91; P#186(9)) is the signature pairing of this Woodchopper face. Counter 12980830 is an ordinary serial. The photographs do not show a readable face-plate number or back-plate number, so the piece is recorded as Fr. 91 from the signatures and the design. No census and no market premium are invented.
Population
A PMG or PCGS census for serial M12980830 has not been independently verified. The note is shown unslabbed, with no certificate number.
Sources
- Numista — N#225775, $5, Series 1907 (opens in a new tab)
Woodchopper type, Fr. 91 Speelman–White (P#186(9)). The series year is not the press year of this pairing. 189 × 80 mm is the type measurement.
- U.S. Currency Education Program — history (opens in a new tab)
United States Notes remain redeemable at face value. None have been placed in circulation since 21 January 1971.
Related pieces
Other records from the same issuer or era in this case.
