On June 4, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order No. 11110, instructing the Treasury to print $4 billion in $2 and $5 bills.

These notes, backed by silver reserves in the Treasury’s vaults, were issued without incurring debt or interest.

The profit from their production went directly to the U.S. government, bypassing the privately-owned Federal Reserve.

This move was part of Kennedy's larger effort to reduce the power of the Federal Reserve.

Just months later, on November 22, 1963, he was tragically assassinated in Dallas, Texas.