Sawbuck and the Roman numeral X (10), which formerly appeared on $10 bills. A "double sawbuck" is a twenty dollar bill. Sawbuck A sawbuck is a device for holding wood so that it may be cut into pieces. Easily made in the field from rough material, it consists of an "X" form at each end which are joined by cross bars below the intersections of the X's. The stock to be cut is placed in the V's formed above the intersections of the X's. A sawbuck is very simple to build. The five "V" sawbuck was designed with 10 vertical 2×4s,
Banknote establish banknotes as a formal currency in France, after the wars waged by Louis XIV left the country with a shortage of precious metals for coinage. In the United States there were early attempts at establishing a central bank in 1791 and 1816, but it was only in 1862 that the federal government of the United States began to print banknotes. Originally, the banknote was simply a promise to the bearer that they could redeem it for its value in specie, but in 1833 the second in a series of Bank Charter Acts established that banknotes would be considered as