***Auction Highlight*** 1866 $2 Silver Certificate '1st $2 Silver Certificate Issued' General 'Hancock the Superb' FR-242 Grades f+. All Series of 1886 Silver Certificates are highly desired for their beautifully ornate designs. This 1886 Series included the country's first two dollar denomination for the type.. A large portrait vignette of General Winfield Scott Hancock is seen at the left, Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican–American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War. Known to his Army colleagues as "Hancock the Superb," he was noted in particular for his personal leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. His military service continued after the Civil War, as Hancock participated in the military Reconstruction of the South and the Army's presence at the Western frontierSilver Certificates were first issued in 1886 under the title of Silver Certificates of Deposit, such notes being authorized under the Bland-Allison Act of February 28 of that year, best remembered for launching the production of hundreds of millions of Morgan silver dollars. The idea was to have each Silver Certificate backed by an equivalent number of silver dollars held in Treasury vaults.Silver Certificates proved to be an enduring series and continued well into the 20th century in the form of small size notes. The designs differed from those used on Legal Tender and other currency and were often notable and attractive from a numismatic viewpoint. The 1886 Series notes were the first issued in fairly large quantities.