Government securities are direct obligations of the U.S. Government. They are widely regarded as safe and profitable investments if held to maturity. These securities are brought to the market on a schedule established by the U.S. Treasury, and the proceeds are used to finance the U.S. Government's operations. They are separated into three different maturity groups: Treasury bills, Treasury notes, and Treasury bonds.
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Because of their short maturities, Treasury bills do not pay interest, but instead are sold at a discount to their face value and pay the full face value (also called "par value") upon maturity. For example, a 3-month Treasury bill might sell for $800 and pay $1,000 at maturity.
Treasury notes and Treasury bonds both make semi-annual interest payments. Treasury issues are often used as benchmarks for other comparably maturing securities, because of their liquidity and safety features.