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Before the Civil Ware there was no such thing as United States government paper money.  During the Revolutionary War the states and the Continental Congress printed so much paper money to finance their expenses that its value evaporated.  As a result, when the Constitution was written, it contained the words, "No stat shall...make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts."  Because of this the government avoided issuing paper money until the Civil War, and even then it was issued under limited circumstances.  The first type of paper money, Demand Notes, even bore interest.

Most of the paper money issued by the United States over the next century was, in fact, redeemable for gold or silver.  There are many different kinds of American paper money.  Their names, usually found at the top of the note as a heading, and often the colors of their seals indicate the law that authorized their issue and the nature of their backing. 

Almost all United States paper currency bears a date, but this is not necessarily the year it was actually printed.  It was the year of the act authorizing the series or the year the series went into production.  The signature combinations on banknotes can often be use to date them. 

Originally, paper money was larger than today.  Until 1928, the bills were about 7 1/2" by 3 1/8".  Beginning with the series of 1928 (release 1929) they have been 6 1/8" by 2 5/8".  The fractional notes of the Civil War were smaller than current notes, but varied in size.