What is on the money in United States?
US notes are not paper. They are 75 per cent cotton and 25 per cent linen, which is why they survive a wash and why they tear rather than dissolve. Every denomination is the same size and, until the 2003 redesigns added faint colour, effectively the same colour — which a federal court ruled in 2008 discriminated against blind Americans, in a case the Treasury lost and appealed and lost again. Two decades on, no tactile feature or size variation has been introduced. Hamilton and Franklin are the only two on current notes who were never president.
Who and what is on each note
| Note | Who or what is on it |
|---|---|
| $1 | George Washington |
| $2 | Thomas Jefferson |
| $5 | Abraham Lincoln |
| $10 | Alexander Hamilton |
| $20 | Andrew Jackson |
| $50 | Ulysses S. Grant |
| $100 | Benjamin Franklin |
The unusual part
The only major currency where every denomination is identical in size. Replacing Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the $20 has been announced by two administrations and has still not happened.
Notes that were withdrawn
| Note | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 | 1969 | Withdrawn from circulation on the grounds that their main remaining use was moving money anonymously. They remain legal tender and are worth far more than face value to collectors. |
| $100,000 | 1934 | A gold certificate never issued to the public — it was only ever used for transfers between Federal Reserve banks. |
The practical facts
- Currency
- US dollar — ISO code USD, symbol $
- Printed on
- Cotton and linen, not wood pulp
- Survives a wash?
- Usually. Cotton and linen notes tear rather than dissolve, and generally survive a wash.
- Can a blind person tell them apart?
- Not by size. Every denomination is the same size, so it depends on whatever tactile feature the issuer has added.
- Highest note in issue
- $100 — Benjamin Franklin
This page describes the notes rather than showing them. Reproducing a banknote image is restricted in most jurisdictions, and the restrictions differ between them.
Common questions
- Who is on the money in United States?
- $1: George Washington. $2: Thomas Jefferson. $5: Abraham Lincoln. $10: Alexander Hamilton. $20: Andrew Jackson. $50: Ulysses S. Grant. $100: Benjamin Franklin.
- Are United States's banknotes polymer or paper?
- Cotton and linen, not wood pulp.
- Why was the $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 withdrawn?
- Withdrawn from circulation on the grounds that their main remaining use was moving money anonymously. They remain legal tender and are worth far more than face value to collectors. (1969.)
Related pages
- United States Capital, area, population and currency
- The flag of United States Colours, symbols and lookalikes
- The money in Eurozone Euro
- The money in United Kingdom Pound sterling
- The money in India Indian rupee
- The money in Japan Japanese yen
- The money in Zimbabwe Zimbabwean dollar
- The money in Australia Australian dollar
- The money in Canada Canadian dollar
- The money in China Renminbi
- The money in Switzerland Swiss franc
- The money in South Africa South African rand
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place