On the Money

Who’s who on American money? Here are the faces and names you may not have noticed on coins and currency.

[2016 note: For news on the addition of Harriet Tubman to the $20, and of figures like Lucretia Mott and Marian Anderson to the $10 and $5 bills, see the U.S. Treasury’s announcement.]

Coins

One cent (penny): ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Five cents (nickel): THOMAS JEFFERSON

Ten cents (dime): FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT

Twenty-five cents (quarter): GEORGE WASHINGTON

Fifty cents (half-dollar): JOHN F. KENNEDY

$1 coin (gold): SACAGAWEA

$1 coin (old): SUSAN B. ANTHONY

$1 coin (even older): DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

Bills

 $5 bill: ABRAHAM LINCOLN

$10 bill: ALEXANDER HAMILTON

$20 bill: ANDREW JACKSON

$50 bill: U.S. GRANT

$100 bill: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

$500 bill: WILLIAM MCKINLEY

$1000 bill: GROVER CLEVELAND

US $5000 bill: JAMES MADISON

$10,000 bill: SALMON P. CHASE

$100,000 bill: WOODROW WILSON

 

 

The American Women’s Quarter Program

In 2022 the U.S. Mint began a four-year program to honor women who have contributed to American history, issuing “up to” five coins a year. On the obverse side is George Washington, but not the same George Washington you know. The new quarters will feature a right-facing George as sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser, a design from 1932. Coins released in 2022 featured Maya Angelou, Dr. Sally Ride, Wilma Mankiller, Nina Otero-Warren and Anna May Wong.

Quarters under the program slated for 2023 include Bessie Coleman, Edith Kanaka’ole, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jovita Itar and Maria Tallchief.

State Quarters

And don’t forget the famous people on the U.S. Mint’s state quarters:

CAESAR RODNEY (Delaware)

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS (North Carolina)

ABRAHAM LINCOLN (yet again, Illinois)

HELEN KELLER (Alabama)

JOHN MUIR (California)

GEORGE WASHINGTON, THOMAS JEFFERSON, TEDDY ROOSEVELT and ABRAHAM LINCOLN (on Mount Rushmore, South Dakota)

And starting in 2007, the U.S. Mint began issuing one-dollar coins featuring every past United States president. The Mint released four new coins every year from 2007 through 2016. Since living presidents can’t be depicted on American coins, the series ended with RICHARD NIXON, GERALD FORD and RONALD REAGAN.

If you love chief executives, see our full list of U.S. Presidents »

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