Silver Certificates

Many years ago, the United States of America first introduced paper money. People weren't so sure about paper money, so the Mint made "silver certificates" which were dollar bills that you could trade for real silver. This gave people more confidence that paper money really had value. These early dollars are called "silver certificates."

After several years, people started to really like paper money -- even more than coins. At that point, the mint stopped making "silver certificates" and started making the paper dollars we use today.