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Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the United States dollar were in use between 1862 and 1876, and issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25, and 50 cents across five issuing periods.
This fifty-cent fourth-issue banknote depicts Secretary of the Treasury Samuel Dexter on the obverse. The fourth issue had additional anti-counterfeiting measures in the form of watermarked paper, the embedding of large silk fibers, and blue-tinted end paper. This banknote is in the Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatic Collection.
Other denominations: Banknote design credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; scanned by Andrew Shiva