6 People You Didn’t Know Were on U.S. Currency

U.S. coins and bills

The history of U.S. currency is a fascinating journey that reflects the country’s growth, changing economic needs, and evolving cultural values. Before the United States was formed, each of the colonies issued its own currency. In 1690, the Massachusetts Bay Colony became the first to issue colonial notes in the form of paper currency. Later, during the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress issued paper currency to finance the war effort. These notes were called Continental currency, and some designs featured illustrations that reflected the values of the 13 colonies, such as an American soldier carrying a sword and a scroll with the words “MAGNA CHARTA.”

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In the years following the Revolution, the dollar sign was adopted, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton established the Bank of the United States to create a credit system for the new government, and Congress passed the Mint Act establishing the coinage system. Early treasury notes were redeemable for gold, but it wasn’t until 1861 that the government began issuing paper money for the first time since the war. Known as “demand notes” and nicknamed “greenbacks” because of the green ink used to print them, they were used to pay salaries and government expenses, but they weren’t backed by gold and lost value. Following the Legal Tender Act of 1862, the government began issuing paper notes that replaced demand notes and became the official currency of the United States. Of the 53 people whose portraits have appeared on U.S. banknotes, here are six of the most surprising.

Photo credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/ AFP via Getty Images

Salmon P. Chase

In 1862, during the Civil War, the first $1 legal tender banknotes were issued, featuring the Treasury seal and a portrait of Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase (possibly as a way to advance his own political career). While serving in the role during Abraham Lincoln’s administration, Chase was the architect of the national banking system, and he helped design the new paper money authorized under the National Bank Acts, which called for a system of nationally chartered banks and a uniform national currency. The same portrait of Chase that appeared on the $1 banknote was later used on the $10,000 banknote, the largest denomination ever in public circulation. Though currencies above $100 are no longer circulated, Chase National Bank, founded in 1877, was named in the former treasury secretary’s honor.

Photo credit: Joe Raedle/ Getty Images News via Getty Images

Martha Washington

First Lady Martha Washington holds the distinction of being the only woman to be prominently featured on U.S. paper currency to date. Her portrait appears on the $1 silver certificate, which was first introduced in 1886, 17 years after the legal tender dollar bill featuring George Washington. She appeared again on a slightly modified certificate in 1891. The $1 certificates weren’t phased out until 1957, making them the second-longest-issued paper currency in the nation’s history, after the $2 bill. As the name implies, the certificates were backed by the federal government’s silver reserves and were exchangeable for silver from the U.S. Treasury.

Running Antelope

Tȟatȟóka Íŋyaŋke, known in English as Running Antelope, was chief of the Oncpapa (or Hunkpapa) Lakota Sioux and an adviser to Sitting Bull during the Plains Indian Wars. In 1899, his image was used on the $5 silver certificate, making him the only Indigenous leader to be featured on U.S. paper currency. Some accounts say that his Lakota Sioux headdress was too tall for the engraving and so he was depicted wearing a Pawnee headdress instead, an unfortunate error on the part of the engravers as the Lakota Sioux and Pawnee were enemies.

Photo credit: GL Archive/ Alamy Stock Photo

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

On the $10 legal tender note issued in 1901, the central figure is an American bison, and explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are depicted on either side of the animal. The banknote commemorated the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806, the primary goal of which was to explore and map the newly acquired western territory of the United States. Similar to the Running Antelope silver certificate, the Lewis and Clark banknote served as a historical representation that romanticized the American West. It’s worth noting, however, that the bison depicted on the bill is actually believed to be modeled on a bison from either the Central Park Zoo in New York or the Washington Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Photo credit: Stock Montage/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

DeWitt Clinton

DeWitt Clinton was the mayor of New York City, the governor of New York, a New York senator, and a presidential candidate who challenged incumbent James Madison in 1812. Clinton’s focus during his time as governor was pushing for the development of a canal bridging the commercial markets between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. His critics referred to his project as “DeWitt’s Ditch” and “Clinton’s Folly,” but the Erie Canal proved so profitable that Clinton was commemorated on the $1,000 legal tender note issued in 1880. His portrait is centered on the note, with a vignette of Christopher Columbus, representing the New World and westward expansion, to his left.

Photo credit: Historical/ Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Harriet Tubman

Though U.S. currency has almost exclusively featured prominent political figures such as the Founding Fathers and U.S Presidents, there has been a push in recent years for greater diversity to reflect the nation’s history and values. An initiative during Barack Obama’s administration supported putting the image of Black abolitionist Harriet Tubman — who helped dozens of enslaved people escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad — on the front of the $20 bill, moving an image of President Andrew Jackson to the back. The redesign was intended to go into circulation in 2020 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote, but was delayed. The U.S. Treasury has since announced the new currency will debut in 2030.