1953 Legal Tender - Small

The Greysheet Catalog (GSID) of the Legal Tender - Small series of Small Size Notes in the U.S. Currency contains 16 distinct entries with CPG^® values between $5.00 and $1,500.00.

The costs of producing paper currency were only on the rise in the early 20th century, and one cost-cutting move that made sense and was most feasible for the United States government was to reduce the physical dimensions of its paper money. The first reduced-size paper notes were issued on July 10, 1929, and among the types of paper currency affected by this move was the legal tender notes originally issued under the Act of May 3, 1878.

Small-size legal tender notes were principally issued in denominations of $1, $2, and $5. However, a Series 1966 run of $100 bills was also produced. For the most part, small-size legal tender notes are considerably common, especially in circulated condition. All small-size legal tender notes bear red seals.