You’ve probably stared at George Washington’s face a thousand times while waiting for a coffee. He looks stern, maybe a little tired. Most of us just see a dollar bill as a means to an end, but the faces on United States currency are actually part of a very deliberate, very political, and sometimes controversial gallery of American history. It’s not just a collection of "greatest hits" from the Oval Office. Honestly, one of the biggest misconceptions people have is that you have to be a President to get your face on a bill. That’s just flat-out wrong.
Take Alexander Hamilton or Benjamin Franklin. They never sat in the big chair at the White House, yet they’re arguably the most iconic faces we carry around. There’s a specific set of rules—some written in law, some just long-standing tradition—that dictates who gets the honor of being printed on greenbacks. And since 1866, there’s been one very strict, very morbid rule: you have to be dead. Federal law specifically prohibits the portrait of any living person from appearing on U.S. government securities. This was largely to avoid the "monarch-style" worship that the Founding Fathers hated. They didn't want the U.S. to look like a kingdom where the current ruler’s face was minted on every coin.
The Current Lineup of Faces on United States Currency
If you pull out your wallet right now, you’re likely looking at the 1928 standard. That was the year the Treasury Department really standardized these portraits. Before that, things were a bit of a wild west. We had high-denomination bills, different sizes, and a rotating cast of characters. But today, the lineup is fixed.
George Washington is the anchor on the $1 bill. It’s the most common note in circulation. His portrait is based on Gilbert Stuart’s unfinished 1796 painting. It’s iconic. Thomas Jefferson holds down the $2 bill. Most people think the $2 bill is rare or out of print, but the Federal Reserve actually orders new ones quite often; they just don't circulate well because people hoard them thinking they’re lucky.
Then you have Abraham Lincoln on the $5. This was a no-brainer for the Treasury. Lincoln saved the Union, and his face has been a staple of the five-spot since the early 20th century. Alexander Hamilton is the face of the $10. He’s the first non-President on our list. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, he basically built the American financial system from scratch. Without him, we might not even have a standardized currency to put faces on.
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Andrew Jackson on the $20 is where things get complicated. Jackson is a polarizing figure, to put it mildly. He actually hated the idea of paper money and preferred "hard" currency like gold and silver. There’s a bit of historical irony in putting a man who tried to destroy the National Bank on the most widely used bill in the country. Ulysses S. Grant is on the $50, and of course, Benjamin Franklin—the ultimate polymath—graces the $100. Franklin, like Hamilton, wasn't a President, but his diplomatic and scientific contributions made him an essential pick for the highest value bill currently in general circulation.
Why Some People Get Left Out
Selection isn't just about being famous. It’s about longevity and "national stability." The Secretary of the Treasury has the final say on who appears on paper notes. They usually stick to people who have a "permanent" place in the American consciousness. This is why you don't see modern figures or pop culture icons.
The Treasury Department actually has a Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) that handles the design. They look for portraits that are hard to counterfeit. That’s a huge part of the "why." Detailed engravings of human faces are incredibly difficult to replicate perfectly. If you look closely at Franklin on the $100, the lines in his skin and the texture of his hair are meant to be a nightmare for scammers. It’s security disguised as art.
The $500, $1,000, and $10,000 Bills
Most people have never seen these, and honestly, you probably never will unless you go to a museum or a high-end coin show. We used to have much larger denominations. William McKinley was on the $500, Grover Cleveland on the $1,000, James Madison on the $5,000, and Salmon P. Chase on the $10,000.
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Wait, who is Salmon P. Chase?
He was the Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln. He was also the guy who basically decided to put his own face on the $1 bill back in 1862. Talk about an ego move. Later, he was moved to the $10,000 bill as a way to honor his role in creating the national banking system. These high-value notes were mostly used for transactions between banks before the digital age made moving millions of dollars as easy as clicking a mouse. The Fed stopped printing them in 1945 and officially retired them in 1969 because they were mostly being used by organized crime for money laundering. It's a lot easier to hide a briefcase of $10,000 bills than a truckload of $20s.
The Harriet Tubman and the $20 Debate
You can’t talk about faces on United States currency without mentioning the Harriet Tubman $20 bill. This has been a massive point of discussion for years. In 2016, the Treasury announced that Tubman, the heroic abolitionist who led slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad, would replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20.
The plan was to move Jackson to the back of the bill. However, the process has been slow. Very slow. Redesigning a bill isn't just about swapping a picture; it involves complex anti-counterfeiting measures like 3D security ribbons and color-shifting ink. As of now, the Tubman $20 is still in the works, with current projections suggesting a reveal around 2030. It represents a significant shift in how the U.S. views its "currency heroes," moving toward a more inclusive representation of the American story.
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How to Spot a Fake Using the Portrait
Engraving a face is the ultimate "tell" for a counterfeit. Real U.S. currency uses "intaglio" printing. This means the ink is thick and raised. If you run your fingernail over the jacket of Benjamin Franklin or the shirt of Abraham Lincoln, you should feel a distinct texture.
Counterfeiters often struggle with the eyes. On a real bill, the eyes of the faces on United States currency are sharp, clear, and look lifelike. On a fake, they often look muddy, flat, or "dead." The background fine-line work—the little swirls and patterns behind the head—should also be crisp. If it looks blurred or the lines run together, you’re likely holding a "supernote" or a cheap knockoff.
Practical Insights for Currency Enthusiasts
If you’re interested in the history or the value of these notes, there are a few things you can actually do to engage with this more deeply than just spending the money.
- Check your $2 bills: Look for "Red Seal" or "Blue Seal" notes. Most modern ones have a green seal. If you find a red one (Legal Tender Note) or a blue one (Silver Certificate), it might be worth more than its face value to a collector.
- Examine the "Series" year: The year on the bill doesn't mean the year it was printed. It means the year the design was adopted or a new Secretary of the Treasury took office. A "Series 2017" bill could have been printed in 2019.
- Look for Star Notes: If there is a little star (*) at the end of the serial number, that bill is a replacement for a sheet that was damaged during printing. These are rarer and often collected by people who study the faces on United States currency.
- Visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing: If you’re ever in Washington D.C. or Fort Worth, Texas, you can take a tour. You’ll see millions of dollars being printed and get a much closer look at the engraving process that brings these portraits to life.
Understanding the people on our money is a quick way to understand what the country valued at the time those bills were designed. We see a mix of military generals, philosophers, and architects of the law. Whether the faces change in the next decade or stay the same for another century, they remain the most widely distributed art gallery in human history.
Start by looking at the next $5 bill you get back as change. Look at the tiny details in Lincoln's beard. Notice the "Hickey" marks or the microprinting around the borders. Our money is more than just paper; it's a technical marvel of 19th-century engraving meeting 21st-century security.