The Electricity Silver Certificate art T-shirt brings the dramatic imagery of the 1896 five-dollar note into everyday wear. An adapted archival specimen at the left chest pairs with an original artistic interpretation across the back, printed on a relaxed-fit Comfort Colors 1717 cotton tee.
Why you'll love it
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Currency art with a story: Inspired by the Educational Series, the design reimagines Electricity as a powerful allegorical figure.
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Two distinct prints: A small chest specimen preserves the denomination and engraved character, while the large back artwork explores lightning, radiant arcs, and stars in charcoal, ivory, and restrained gold.
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Substantial everyday comfort: Garment-dyed, 6.1 oz, 100% ring-spun cotton with a relaxed unisex fit.
Choose your shirt: Black, White, Ivory, Pepper, Espresso, or Denim, in sizes S–4XL. Check the size chart for your preferred fit and the selectors for available combinations.
The story behind Electricity
In 1896, the United States put Electricity on a five-dollar bill and gave her the bearing of a force that had only lately agreed to be useful.
The note belongs to the Educational Series of Silver Certificates, whose designs enlisted classical allegory to explain history, science, and the machinery of progress. On the five-dollar note, Electricity appears as a powerful woman. The invisible thing running through wires had acquired a body, a gesture, and a place in the national imagination. These were dollars that could settle a debt and furnish a ceiling fresco with ideas.
The small chest specimen carries the denomination and the old certificate’s engraved character. On the back, our interpretation sends the figure upward through branching lightning, radiant arcs, and scattered stars. Charcoal, ivory, and restrained gold keep something of the original’s grave theatricality. There is nothing modest about discovering how to put the weather to work.
A banknote is often the most frequently handled artwork in a country. This one asks a pleasing question: how many minor masterpieces have we folded in half without looking?
SPECIMEN & ISSUE — A Breach in Taste
Real currencies, encountered twice: an adapted archival specimen at the left chest and an original artistic interpretation across the back.
THE SHIRT
Comfort Colors 1717 garment-dyed unisex tee with a relaxed fit and substantial 6.1 oz, 100% ring-spun cotton fabric. Front chest print and large back print. Available in Black, White, Ivory, Pepper, Espresso, Denim, in sizes S–4XL. Check the size chart for your preferred fit.
CARE
Machine wash cold. Do not bleach. Tumble dry low. Use low heat if ironing; avoid ironing directly over the print. Do not dry clean.
This original artwork was developed by A Breach in Taste using AI-assisted image generation, human creative direction, and human editing.
A Breach in Taste — Ideas, in Shirt Form.
Choose your color and size above and make Electricity part of your everyday wardrobe.
Explore all eight Specimen & Issue designs and their specimen notes →
