From long history, everybody knows who is on the $1 (George Washington), $5 (Abe Lincoln), and even $10 bill (Alexander Hamilton). But, quick, who is on the $50, the $100, the $100,000? In all, Tom Jefferson is on the $2, Andy Jackson the $20, Ulysses Grant the $50, Ben Franklin the $100, William McKinley the $500, Grover Cleveland the $1,000, James Madison the $5,000, Salmon Chase (?) the $10,000, and Woodrow Wilson the $100,000. Hamilton, Franklin and Chase are the only chaps who were not presidents. Chase was an Ohio governor, U.S. Senator, treasury secretary (under Lincoln), and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Only U.S. bills from $1 to $100 are still being printed. The original idea for making the larger bills was to make it easier for banks, etc. to transfer money. As wire and other transfers became common, the government stopped printing them (in 1945, formally in 1969). There are said to be a few thousand $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills around, and, if you find one they are still legal tender, but much more valuable as collector’s items. The $2 bill, in use since 1862 (it had a profile picture of Hamilton then), is also seldom seen anymore, but it’s still being printed, and, with some exceptions, has little collector value; there are $1.5 million of them in circulation.
TOM TIEDE
Only U.S. bills from $1 to $100 are still being printed. The original idea for making the larger bills was to make it easier for banks, etc. to transfer money. As wire and other transfers became common, the government stopped printing them (in 1945, formally in 1969). There are said to be a few thousand $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills around, and, if you find one they are still legal tender, but much more valuable as collector’s items. The $2 bill, in use since 1862 (it had a profile picture of Hamilton then), is also seldom seen anymore, but it’s still being printed, and, with some exceptions, has little collector value; there are $1.5 million of them in circulation.
TOM TIEDE