But since the demand for these bills was low they were rarely printed. This is when the Federa00l Reserve printing period began. Since most $20 bills were destroyed, Congress authorized the new $20 bill design in 1861. Fun fact, almost all 1775 $20 bills were destroyed after Civil War so they are extremely rare nowadays. It was produced during the Colonial Period, and the first confederate $20 bill appeared in Richmond, Virginia. However, sometime in 1775, the first $20 bill was printed in the Philadelphia mint. These bills were rarely used and printed, not to mention $10 or $20 bills. As you all know we mentioned a lot of times that back in the day people considered $2 and $5 bills as large denominations.