In the United States, a formerly-
issued savings bond, exempt from state and local taxes, with a
fixed interest rate. These bonds were sold at three-fourths of
face value and
pay par upon
maturity, which was originally 10 years, but later became 30 or 40 years. They began to be issued to help
finance American involvement in World War II; they were known colloquially as war bonds. They were non-transferable and must either have been held or redeemed. In 1980, the government stopped issuing Series E bonds and replaced them with
Series EE bonds. For a time, Series E bonds were exchangeable for Series H or
Series HH bonds, but this is no longer the case.