1861 Abraham Lincoln Demand Note Civil War $10 Banknote on Genuine Modern $10 U.S. Bill

A Demand Note is a type of United States paper money that was issued between August 1861 and April 1862 during the American Civil War in denominations of $5, $10, and $20. Demand Notes were the first issues of paper money by the United States that achieved wide circulation, though they are now very rare. The U.S. government placed the Demand Notes into circulation by using them to pay expenses incurred during the Civil War including the salaries of its workers and military personnel. The Demand Notes of 1861 are the first issue of federal paper currency. The $10 denomination has the distinction of being one of the few issues of United States currency to have the portrait of a contemporary living person, in this case, President Abraham Lincoln. It was not until 1873 that such a portrayal was declared illegal.