You’ve seen him a thousand times. That intense, windswept hair and those piercing eyes staring back at you from the front of the $20 bill. It’s Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, and honestly, his presence on our most frequently used paper currency is one of the weirdest ironies in American history.
Why? Because the man absolutely loathed paper money. He didn't just dislike it; he fought a literal "Bank War" to destroy the very system that eventually put his face on a Federal Reserve note.
What bill is Andrew Jackson on?
The short answer: Andrew Jackson is on the $20 bill. He’s been the face of the twenty since 1928, when he replaced Grover Cleveland. It’s a bit of a funny story how he ended up there. Before he landed on the twenty, he actually spent some time on the $10 bill starting in 1914.
When the Treasury Department decided to standardize and shrink the size of our bills in the late 1920s, they did a bit of a musical chairs routine with the presidents. Jackson got bumped up to the $20, and Alexander Hamilton—the guy who actually liked banks—got moved to the $10.
Why him?
You’d think there’d be a deep, philosophical reason why the Treasury picked Jackson for the twenty. Kinda surprisingly, there isn't one recorded in the official archives. Back in 1929, the New York Times reported that the Treasury basically said they chose people whose faces were "most familiar to the majority of people."
Jackson was a massive celebrity in his day. A war hero from the Battle of New Orleans. A "man of the people" who came from a log cabin. People loved him, or they hated him, but everyone knew exactly who he was.
The irony of Jackson and paper money
If Jackson were alive today and you handed him a crisp twenty with his own face on it, he’d probably throw a fit. Jackson was a "hard money" guy through and through. He believed that the only "real" money was specie—which is just a fancy word for gold and silver coins.
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He saw paper bills as "worthless rags" used by wealthy bankers to cheat the common worker.
In 1832, he famously vetoed the recharter of the Second Bank of the United States. He called the bankers a "den of vipers and thieves." He believed a national bank was unconstitutional and dangerous to the liberties of the people. By killing the bank, he effectively ended the national paper currency of his era, leading to a chaotic period where hundreds of local banks printed their own (often worthless) notes.
The fact that he is now the face of the Federal Reserve Note—the modern version of exactly what he tried to destroy—is a level of historical trolling that’s hard to beat.
The Harriet Tubman controversy
You’ve probably heard rumors that Jackson is leaving the $20 bill. This isn't just internet gossip; it’s been a massive, decade-long political saga.
Back in 2016, the Treasury Department under the Obama administration announced that Harriet Tubman, the legendary abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor, would replace Jackson on the front of the twenty. Jackson wasn't going to vanish entirely; the plan was to move him to the back of the bill.
Then things got complicated.
- The Trump administration delayed the redesign, with then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin citing "security features" and anti-counterfeiting measures as the priority.
- There was also some political pushback, with Trump calling the move "pure political correctness."
- Fast forward to 2026, and the "Harriet Tubman Tribute Act" is still a hot topic in Congress.
As of right now, if you go to an ATM, you’re still getting Jackson. The most recent updates suggest that a new $20 bill featuring Tubman might not enter circulation until 2030 or later. It takes a surprisingly long time to design a bill that can’t be easily faked by someone with a high-end printer.
A legacy that isn't all sunshine
Jackson’s spot on the $20 bill is also controversial because of his actual record as president. While he was seen as a champion for the "common man" (specifically white men who didn't own land), his policies toward Native Americans were devastating.
He signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This led directly to the Trail of Tears, where thousands of Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw people were forced off their ancestral lands and moved west. Thousands died from disease, cold, and starvation.
For many people, having a man who engineered what many historians call a genocide on our most common bill is a slap in the face. This is why the push to replace him with Tubman—a woman who fought for freedom and human rights—carries so much weight for so many people.
Security features to look for on your Jacksons
Since you’re likely to have a few of these in your wallet for the next few years, it’s worth knowing how to tell if they’re real. The $20 is the most counterfeited bill in the U.S., so the Treasury has packed it with some cool tech.
- The Watermark: Hold your bill up to the light. You should see a faint image of Jackson in the blank space to the right of the portrait. It's visible from both sides.
- The Security Thread: There’s a vertical plastic strip embedded in the paper to the left of the portrait. It says "USA TWENTY" and has a tiny flag. If you hit it with a UV light, it glows green.
- Color-Shifting Ink: Look at the number "20" in the bottom right corner. Tilt the bill back and forth. The color should shift from copper to green. If it stays one color, you might have a problem.
What happens next?
If you're a collector or just someone who hates change, don't worry—the Jackson twenties won't become worthless overnight when the new bills eventually arrive. U.S. currency stays legal tender forever. You could technically still spend a twenty from 1928 today, though it’s probably worth more to a collector than its face value.
For now, Jackson remains the king of the twenty. Whether he stays there for another five years or another twenty depends on the shifting winds of Washington and the technical speed of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
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Check your wallet. Take a look at the $20 bills you have. Look for the "Series" year printed near the Secretary of the Treasury's signature. Most of what you'll find today are Series 2017 or 2013, but older ones still pop up. If you find one from before 1996, you'll notice Jackson's head is much smaller and centered in an oval—the "big head" design we use now was a security upgrade to make the portrait harder to fake.