A Better Look At The 1886 Series Of $2 Silver Certificates

PCGS - While Silver Certificates began in 1878, the Series of 1886 would be the first issuance of denominations smaller than $10. These lower denominations would see a lot of circulation given their smaller face values and their replacing the heavy silver dollars that people didn't like using in commerce.


Obverse of Series of 1886 $2 Silver Certificate. Superb Gem UNC 67 PPQ

Along the left border of the face is printed "ACT OF AUGUST 4, 1886," referring to an appropriations act that allowed Silver Certificates to be printed in denominations of $1, $2, and $5.

Also at the left is a portrait of General Winfield Scott Hancock. With a military career that spanned the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War, the General was considered a war hero worthy of being featured on U.S. banknotes.

In 1865 Hancock was tasked with supervising the execution of the Abraham Lincoln assassination conspirators, and in 1880 he ran for president as the Democratic nominee.

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