How does one even date a note? Often confusion and questions abound, as the answer is not as straightforward as dating a coin. Collectors will often jump to the conclusion that just because a note says Series of 1880, it was printed in 1880.
Such a finding couldn’t be further from the truth. Prior to the Series of 1974, the series date only changed with a major (or sometimes minor) design variation, as opposed to political appointments which often precede a series change in the present.
Take the Rosecrans – Jordan signature combination for example. Both Rosecrans (Register of the Treasury) and Jordan (Treasurer) served concurrently in their respective positions from 1885 to 1887. In the latter year, Jordan resigned and became president of the Western National Bank of New York (Charter# 3700), after the death of ex-Treasury Secretary Daniel Manning who had previously served as president of the bank.
The same logic can be applied to just about every other signature combination; exceptions are found with National Bank Notes, some Legal Tender Notes, and mules that used old no longer current face plates.
A $2 Legal Tender Note issued under the Series of 1928G can be roughly dated to a period between 1949 to 1953, knowing who had served as Treasurer and Treasury Secretary during the second Truman Administration. This method can also be applied to a Series of 1914 $10 Federal Reserve Note with the Glass – Burke signature combination, which can be dated to the short concurrent tenure of Carter Glass and John Burke from December 1918 to February 1920.
A caveat should be noted as printing plates were often used until new plates with the current signature combination were delivered. In any case, knowing such information will eliminate much in the way of guesswork and will allow assignment of rough, albeit accurate, dates to a collector’s notes.
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