Due to widespread hoarding of coins during the Civil War era, Congress authorized the printing of fractional currency notes (with values less than a dollar) from 1862-1876. This 50¢ note is from the 1869-1875 Fourth Issue of fractional currency, the first fractional notes to carry the Treasury Seal. The note depicts Abraham Lincoln, and is printed on watermarked paper with pink silk fibers. As the only fractional currency with Lincoln's portrait, this 50¢ note is a highly prized Civil War-era collectible!