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I have seen one site saying it was because of a devastating hurricane, but most sites say this: They were then issued in Puerto Rico to reduce "sorting" problems in the mainland Federal Reserve Banks.
What does that mean exactly?
I have seen one site saying it was because of a devastating hurricane, but most sites say this: They were then issued in Puerto Rico to reduce "sorting" problems in the mainland Federal Reserve Banks.
What does that mean exactly?
Wow, internet sites....ugh. Both stories are taken greatly out of context.
This all has just as much to do with the Gold Standard abandonment in 1933 and the 1878 law restricting the amount of circulating United States Notes to $346 million as it does with a hurricane or the Federal Reserve System.
Consider this: the 1928 $1 USN exists with 32 different face check numbers with indicates that sufficient plates were produced to print at least 60 million notes. Only 1.872 million were printed however. This small quantity can be compared to the 4.296 billion silver certificates printed from 1928-1934.
Now consider this: Although series 1928 is annotated on the note, the plates were not actually made until the spring of 1933. Similar to the 1929 FRBN, this USN was intended to help replace the gold certificates that were now being recalled. In addition to the $1 USN plates produced, there were also produced plates for the 1928 $10 and $20 USNs. The $1 plates were the only plates that were actually used though.
These plates were made under direction of one governmental administration, and were scrapped by the next when the 1878 law limiting the number of USNs was considered. The amount of circulating USNs already exceeded the amount allowed by law, so the $1 notes already printed were placed into storage for the next 15 years (except for the first 5000 which were prematurely released in Washington DC in 1933). The hurricane in the Caribbean was the catalyst for their riddance from the FRS to Puerto Rico in 1948 and 1949. Out of site, out of mind.





















