From 1775 to 1779, the Continental Congress issued Continental currency banknotes. Then there was a period when the United States just used gold and silver, rather than paper currency. In 1812, the US began issuing Treasury Notes, although the motivation behind their issuance was funding federal expenditures rather than the provision of a circulating medium. In 1861, the US began issuing Demand Notes, which were the first paper money issued by the United States whose main purpose was to circulate. And since 1914, the US has issued Federal Reserve Notes.
Since 1971, Federal Reserves Notes have been the only banknotes of the United States dollar that have been issued. But at some points in the past, the United States had multiple different types of banknotes, such as United States Notes (1862–1971), Interest bearing notes (1863-1865), and Gold certificates (1865–1934).
