Jack Lew: Hamilton will share space on the $10
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is expected to announce this week that Alexander Hamilton's face will remain on the front of the $10 bill and a woman will replace Andrew Jackson on the face of the $20 bill, a senior government source told CNN on Saturday.
Lew announced last summer that he was considering redesigning the $10 bill to include the portrait of a woman. The decision to make the historic change at the expense of Hamilton drew angry rebukes from fans of the former Treasury Secretary. The pro-Hamilton movement gained steam after the smash success of the hip-hop Broadway musical about his life this year.
Those pressures led Lew to determine that Hamilton should remain on the front of the bill. Instead, a mural-style depiction of the women's suffrage movement -- including images of leaders such as Susan B. Anthony -- will be featured on the back of the bill.
A Treasury spokesman declined to comment on the pending changes. But Lew hinted that a decision could come this week.
"When we started this conversation not quite a year ago, it wasn't clear to me that millions of Americans were going to weigh in with their ideas," he told CNBC. "We're not just talking about one bill. We're talking about the $5, the $10, and the $20. We're not just talking about one picture on one bill. We're talking about using the front and the back of the bill to tell an exciting set of stories."
Related: 'Hamilton' creator lobbies Treasury on the $10 bill redesign
Along those lines, Lew also plans to announce this week that Andrew Jackson -- a less beloved former president whose face graces the front of the $20 bill -- will be removed in favor of a female representing the struggle for racial equality, according to the government source.
That decision would place a female on one of the most widely circulated bills in the world. But the historic change placing a female on the front of the $20 note won't come for more than a decade, the source said, since the process for changing the design of that note is still in the early stages.
"The soonest that a new $20 note will be issued is 2030," the source said, citing a lengthy process convened by the Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence steering committee, which includes representatives from the U.S. Secret Service, the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve.
That process isn't likely to be sped up by the Federal Reserve, which issues the currency, given the work that goes into designing secure technology to thwart counterfeiters.
"The blue security ribbon on the $100 note took over 15 years to develop," the source said. "This level of technology is why our counterfeiting remains at less than .01% of currency in circulation. We should not expedite the issuance of any currency for political purposes."
Future Treasury Secretaries -- of which there will be several -- could reverse or alter the decision regarding the $20, making Lew's announcement far less of a clear-cut victory for the movement pushing to place a woman on American currency.
Related: Where is that $10 bill with a woman on it?
The $5 bill will retain Abraham Lincoln on the front, with plans to change the back to include a mural of prominent activities that have taken place at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
The idea of including women in a mural on the back of a bill has been called into question.
"It will take a microscope to see who those individuals are, and we'll be left with another decade or more of woefully inadequate representation of women and their worth," wrote the group Women on 20s in an open letter to Lew, published by Time.
"Nobody looks at the back of the bill, and that's not likely to change," the group wrote. "A vignette without a woman's portrait on the front of the bill (even if she must share with Hamilton) will be seen as a token gesture and an affront to Americans of all ages who are expecting you to reveal your choice of a singular woman based on their input. As a friend of ours put it, relegating women to the back of the bill is akin to sending them to the back of the bus. The Rosa Parks analogies are inevitable."
CNNMoney (New York) First published April 16, 2016: 6:59 PM ET
FAQs
Founding Father and former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton's face is on the $10 bill. The first $10 bill issued by the Federal Reserve in 1914 had President Andrew Jackson's face. Hamilton's face was swapped in 1929, and Jackson moved to the $20 bill.
Why do you think Alexander Hamilton is the guy on the $10.00 bill? ›
In fact, Hamilton's likeness has adorned our national currency more than any other person, and this, in our view, is an entirely appropriate honor. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton erected the pillars of the U.S. financial infrastructure, pillars that still support us.
Who did they want to put on the $10 dollar bill? ›
Many believed that Hamilton, as the first Secretary of the Treasury, should remain on U.S. Currency in some form, all the while thinking that U.S. Currency was long overdue to feature a female historical figure – names that had been raised included Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, and Susan B. Anthony.
Is Hamilton on the $20 bill? ›
On April 20, 2016, Lew officially announced that Alexander Hamilton would remain on the $10 bill, while Andrew Jackson would be replaced by Tubman on the front of the $20 bill, with Jackson appearing on the reverse.
Who is the woman on the $10 bill? ›
As Viola Desmond is featured on the $10 note, and another iconic Canadian will be featured on the future $5 note, Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and our first francophone Prime Minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, will be featured on our higher value bank notes.
Who is the person on the $20 bill? ›
The $20 note features a portrait of President Jackson on the front of the note and a vignette of the White House on the back of the note.
Is there a 1000 dollar bill? ›
The United States no longer issues bills in larger denominations, such as $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills. But they are still legal tender and may still be in circulation.
Was Alexander Hamilton going to be taken off the 10 dollar bill? ›
The decision to keep him on the $10 bill, however, did not result from an attack of historical awareness. Rather, it was urged by a surge of angry Americans at the original announcement that he would be removed.
Was Hamilton always on the $10 bill? ›
The Series of 1928 notes, all the same size with similar design features, went into circulation in 1929. Since then, the $10 note has featured Hamilton as the sole portrait.
When did Hamilton get put on the $10 dollar bill? ›
The portrait of Hamilton currently used for Federal Reserve notes was introduced in the 1928 series $10 note. This portrait is based on a John Trumbull painting displayed in New York City Hall.
Meet Benjamin Franklin
The face on your $100 bill is none other than Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father of the United States. Celebrated for his contributions to science, politics, and philosophy, Franklin's legacy continues to be revered centuries later.
Who is on $100 dollar bill? ›
The $100 note features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the front of the note and a vignette of Independence Hall on the back of the note. Phrases from the Declaration of Independence and the quill the Founding Fathers used to sign the historic document are found to the right of the portrait.
Is Hamilton on the $50 bill? ›
We have George Washington on the $1 bill, Thomas Jefferson on the $2 bill, Abraham Lincoln on the $5, Andrew Jackson on the $20, and Ulysses S. Grant on the $50. Alexander Hamilton and Ben Franklin were never presidents, but they are featured on the $10 and $100 bill, respectively.
Can you still use old $20 dollar bills? ›
No, you do not have to trade in your old-design notes for new ones. All U.S. currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued.
Who was on the $20 bill before 1928? ›
In 1928, Jackson's portrait first appeared on the $20 bill, replacing Grover Cleveland. It has remained there ever since, with a few minor changes to the design. However, in April 2016, it was announced that famed abolitionist and suffragette Harriet Tubman would replace Jackson on the face of the $20 bill.
Was Thomas Jefferson on the $10 bill? ›
We have George Washington on the $1 bill, Thomas Jefferson on the $2 bill, Abraham Lincoln on the $5, Andrew Jackson on the $20, and Ulysses S. Grant on the $50. Alexander Hamilton and Ben Franklin were never presidents, but they are featured on the $10 and $100 bill, respectively.
Who was on the $20 dollar bill before Andrew Jackson? ›
In 1928, Jackson's portrait first appeared on the $20 bill, replacing Grover Cleveland. It has remained there ever since, with a few minor changes to the design.
Has Hamilton always been on the $10 bill? ›
The portrait of Hamilton currently used for Federal Reserve notes was introduced in the 1928 series $10 note. This portrait is based on a John Trumbull painting displayed in New York City Hall.
