Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/726123
39 THE CAPITOL DOME of the note features several national and patriotic symbols. In the foreground, positioned on a rock, is an eagle holding five arrows and a branch, possibly olive or laurel. (The eagle, of course, is a well-known symbol of America; the branch and arrows most likely represent peace and war, as they do on the Great Seal. 22 ) The eagle is standing on a shield deco- rated with the stars and stripes of the American flag. In the background, the Capitol is on the left, and a sailing ship is on the right. This vignette was engraved in 1872 by William Chorlton. 23 High-denomination notes were issued from the Civil War era until the mid-twentieth century. Notes of various classes worth $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, and even $100,000 were printed. Although some of these notes appeared in cir- culation, they were mostly used in transfers between banks and for other high-value transactions. As technology advanced through the twentieth century and banking trans- actions were increasingly made over the telephone and wire, demand for high-denomination notes decreased. 24 However, the notes were still used by organized crime syndicates and drug cartels to circulate large amounts of currency. Due to the dropping popularity of the notes and in an effort to fight crime, President Richard Nixon discontinued all notes above $100 in 1969. 25 Although the $5,000 United States Note of 1878 is no longer in production, the back vignette of the eagle is still in active use. Most recently, it appeared on a Presidential Appointment Commission Certificate from President Barack Obama. The commission appoints the recipient to a specific office until the end of the next Senate session. eduCatioNal series The Capitol was also incorporated into allegorical female vignettes, another common design motif employed by BEP engravers. These allegories are typically women in white robes, accessorized and positioned to represent such grand concepts as "Justice," "Victory," "Diplomacy," and "Peace." For example, in "Liberty," engraved by G.F.C. Smillie in 1919, a robed woman holds up an American flag in her right hand and a miniature Statue of Liberty in her left (fig. 17). She is emerging from clouds above the Capitol Dome. The engraving was used for the coupon backs of the Second Lib- erty Loan in 1927. 26 For an image such as this, representing "Liberty," the Capitol is a logical choice for integration into the symbolic design. Perhaps the most well-known allegorical image featur- ing the Capitol is the face of the $5 Silver Certificate, Series 1896 (fig. 18). Now known as the Educational Series, the three denominations of notes printed in 1896 were intended to be more artistic than previous currency. Prominent artists NATIONAL NUMISMATIC COLLECTION, NMAH, SI Fig. 16. $5,000 United States Note, Series 1878, back BEP HISTORICAL RESOURCE CENTER Fig. 17. "Liberty," 1919