On Tuesday, June 4, 1963, President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order No. 11110, directing the U.S. Treasury to produce $4 billion worth of $2 and $5 bills.
The bills, supported by silver reserves stored in the U.S. Treasury’s vaults, were issued without debt or interest. The seigniorage, or profit from coinage, went directly to the U.S. government rather than to the privately owned U.S. Federal Reserve Bank.
The issuance of the notes was part of Kennedy’s broader strategy to diminish the influence of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. On Friday, November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
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