You’ve probably held one recently. That pinkish, purple-hued note with the stoic, bearded man staring back at you. If you’ve ever wondered who is on the 50 dollar bill, the answer is Ulysses S. Grant. He was the 18th President of the United States and the commanding general who basically saved the Union during the Civil War. But honestly? Most people just call it a "Grant."
It’s a weirdly controversial piece of paper. For decades, there have been whispers and actual legislative attempts to swap him out for someone else—usually Ronald Reagan. Yet, Grant remains. He’s been the face of the $50 since 1913, and despite the rise of digital payments, the physical bill carries a lot of weight in American history and currency design.
The Man Behind the Beard
Ulysses S. Grant wasn't always a "hero." In fact, before the Civil War, he was kinda struggling. He’d resigned from the Army under a cloud of rumors about his drinking and was failing at farming in Missouri. Then the war happened. He rose through the ranks because he was one of the few generals who actually understood that to win, you had to keep moving forward.
President Lincoln famously said of him, "I can't spare this man; he fights." That grit is exactly why the Treasury Department chose him for the $50 bill. When the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 kicked in, they needed faces that represented stability and national triumph. Grant fit the bill—literally. He presided over Reconstruction and tried, albeit with mixed results, to protect the rights of newly freed slaves.
Why the 50?
There’s no magical reason why Grant is specifically on the fifty and not the twenty or the hundred. The Department of the Treasury has a fair amount of leeway here. According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), the Secretary of the Treasury usually makes the final call on whose portrait appears. The only real law is that the person has to be dead. No living person can be on U.S. currency. This rule was born out of a bizarre 1866 scandal where a guy named Spencer Clark, who worked for the Treasury, actually put his own face on a 5-cent note. Congress was so annoyed they banned living faces forever.
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Spotting a Fake: The Modern 50
If you look closely at a modern $50 bill, it’s not just a portrait. It’s a high-tech fortress. Since the 2004 redesign, the bill has featured subtle shades of blue and red. It’s colorful.
You’ve got the watermark. Hold a fifty up to the light. You should see a faint image of Grant to the right of the large portrait. If it's not there, you're holding a piece of junk. Then there’s the security thread. This is a vertical strip that glows yellow under ultraviolet light. It’s embedded in the paper, not printed on it.
The coolest part is the color-shifting ink. Look at the number "50" in the bottom right corner of the front. Tilt the bill. It shifts from copper to green. This isn't just for aesthetics; it’s incredibly hard for counterfeiters to replicate with standard printers. The paper itself isn’t even "paper"—it’s a blend of 75% cotton and 25% linen with tiny red and blue security fibers scattered throughout.
The Capitol on the Back
Flip the bill over. You’re looking at the U.S. Capitol Building. Specifically, the west front. It’s a massive, detailed engraving that has remained largely unchanged for years. Interestingly, the $50 is one of the less frequently circulated bills. You see way more fives, tens, and twenties. Because of this, fifties tend to stay in better condition for longer.
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The average lifespan of a $50 bill is about 12.2 years. Compare that to a $1 bill, which gets shredded after about 6 years because it’s used so much.
Controversy and the "Reagan" Push
Back in the mid-2000s and again around 2010, there was a real push by some Republican lawmakers to replace Grant with Ronald Reagan. The argument was basically that Grant’s presidency was marred by corruption scandals (which is true, though Grant himself was usually seen as honest but surrounded by bad actors).
The effort failed. Critics of the change argued that Grant’s role in winning the Civil War and his work during Reconstruction made him untouchable. Plus, the Treasury generally dislikes changing portraits because it creates confusion and gives counterfeiters a window to operate while the public gets used to a new look.
How to Handle a "Grant" Today
If you find yourself holding a $50, you should know that many small businesses actually hate taking them. It’s a "high-denomination" bill, meaning it’s a prime target for counterfeiters, and it wipes out a cashier's change drawer.
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Actionable Steps for the Curious Collector:
- Check the Year: Look at the "Series" date. Fifties from before 1990 don't have the security thread or the microprinting. They are still legal tender, but they look very different.
- Feel the Texture: Run your fingernail along Grant’s shoulder. You should feel "raised printing." It’s a tactile feature that’s very hard to fake.
- The "Star" Note: Look at the serial number. If there is a small star at the end instead of a letter, that’s a replacement note. Collectors love these, and they can sometimes be worth more than $50.
- Look for the "Big Head": The older bills had smaller portraits in a circle. The "Series 1996" and later versions moved to the larger, off-center portrait we see now.
Knowing who is on the 50 dollar bill is more than just trivia; it’s a window into the era when the U.S. was trying to figure out how to be a single country again. Ulysses S. Grant might not be as famous as Lincoln or Washington, but his presence on our money is a permanent nod to the man who kept the map from splitting in two. Whether you’re spending it or saving it, that bearded face represents a massive turning point in history.
Next Steps for You:
If you have an old $50 bill and aren't sure if it's real, don't take it to a bank first—they are legally required to confiscate it if it's fake. Instead, use a basic counterfeit detector pen or compare it side-by-side with a known genuine bill from a later series. To learn more about the specific engravings, you can visit the official U.S. Currency Education Program website.