A proof copy of the first American one dollar bill, framed together with an actual period dollar bill. Framed and matted. Purchased from Christie's New York Banknotes Sale March 22, 1994, page 52. Framed and matted. Proof: Height: 3 x 7 inches; frame: Height: 12 x 12 inches The original dollar was a Civil War issue, made in 1862 in an effort for the Union government to raise money for its war efforts. In that second year, the Union was facing serious opposition from the South, and had many challenges, not least of which were economic. The dollar was the brainchild of then-Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase. It was he who had it created, and it is his portrait it bears. As an ironic side-note, it was Salmon, who was later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and who voted against the legality of the paper tender.