''Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World'' is an 1896 United States five-dollar

silver certificate A silver certificate is a certificate of ownership that silver owners hold instead of storing the actual silver. Several countries have issued silver certificates, including Cuba, the Netherlands, and the United States. Silver certificates have als ...

. It is of the US large-size variety measuring by . The note is one of three notes that are part of the "

Educational Series "Educational Series" refers to a series of three United States silver certificates produced by the U.S. Treasury in 1896, after its Bureau of Engraving and Printing chief Claude M. Johnson ordered a new currency design. The notes depict various ...

". As a result of the nudity portrayed on the obverse and other controversies, the note was replaced in 1899.

Description

The overall design is based on an image from painter Walter Shirlaw's work. The obverse of the note features an allegorical image of people showing the power of electricity. Electricity is represented by the figure of a mature woman. The figure of the woman is meant to represent America and she is holding a lightbulb over her head. There are a total of five women pictured on the obverse. The obverse also features the Roman god

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

, riding in a chariot while wielding a lightning bolt in his hand. Also on the obverse is a woman with a trumpet and a

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

. To the right along with the eagle is a woman representing Peace, holding a dove. The text on the obverse states: "This certifies that there have been deposited in the Treasury of The United States five silver dollars Payable to the Bearer on demand Five (5) Series of 1896 silver certificate. The reverse features an engraving of president

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

and General

Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with General-i ...

. The reverse also features a winged female figure in the center with a large Roman numberal "V" on her chest. The note is of the US large size variety at by . The currency notes in use today in the United States are by .

History

The 1896 "

" included the one-dollar ''

History Instructing Youth ''History Instructing Youth'' is a series 1896 United States one-dollar bill. It was one of three notes in the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing's (BEP) Educational Series. After many complaints about the notes in the series, the BEP replaced ...

'' bill, the two-dollar '' Science presenting steam and electricity to Commerce and Manufacture'' bill, and ''Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World''. American painter Walter Shirlaw accepted a commission from the United States

Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the Federal Government of the United States, United States governm ...

to execute the image ''Electricity Presenting Light to the World''. G.F.C. Smillie executed the engraving for the obverse based on the Walter Shirlaw image. Smillie also did the engraving for the border elements on the reverse. The portraits of Ulysses S. Grant and Philip Sheridan on the reverse were engraved by Lorenzo Hatch. Thomas F. Morris was responsible for the overall design and border elements.

Controversy

The notes came to be called "dirty dollars" because of the portrayal of unclothed women. Because of the controversy engravers reissued the note in 1897 with more clothing on the women. Some complaints also centered on the skin color of the women on the note. Bank tellers also objected to the nudity displayed on the note. The notes also did not have complicated lathework on the obverse so counterfeiters could potentially forge the note more easily. The controversies caused the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to replace the note just three years after issue, in 1899.

References

{{Portal bar, Money, Numismatics, United States Currencies introduced in 1896 Paper money of the United States Silver currency Five-base-unit banknotes *005 Cultural depictions of Ulysses S. Grant Philip Sheridan United States Capitol on currency