***Auction Highlight*** 1862 $2 Legal Tender Note "Greenback" Alexander Hamilton FR-41 Grades vf++. The ...

***Auction Highlight*** 1862 $2 Legal Tender Note "Greenback" Alexander Hamilton FR-41 Grades vf++. The first $2 bills are Legal Tender Notes, part of the "greenback" issues launched in 1862. The face, back, and tint plates for the $2 Series of 1862 Legal Tender Notes were engraved by the National Bank Note Company. Printing was shared by both the American and National Bank Note companies. Treasury signatures of Chittenden and Spinner were printed on the face by using a separate plate and a special ink. On the face is the portrait of Alexander Hamilton, engraved by Joseph P. Ourdan. Two imprint versions of the American and National Bank Note companies are found. Similar to the $1 notes of this series, at the bottom center is a 1-2-3 design, with the particular denomination to be highlighted with a drop-out white background, in this case a 2 (the $3 was considered, and it was featured, but none were ever printed). All have a small red Treasury Seal with spiked border (applied by the National Currency Bureau in Washington). There are two patent imprints, 1860 at lower left and 1857 at center right, the latter referring to an American Bank Note Company patent for the green color, intended to deter counterfeiting. The back is printed in green and has the denomination and redemption information. The last is the so-called Second Obligation: "This note is a Legal Tender for all debts public and private, except for duties on imports and interest on the public debt, and is receivable in payment of all loans made to the United States."