United States Bank Notes (1861 to the present) depict 53 people [1] central to the history of the United States. This list includes (but is not limited to) Presidents, Cabinet Members, Members of Congress, Founders, Jurists, and Military Leaders. Some faces are seen daily on modern currency, others are familiar from the pages of history but may be surprising on a bank note. There may be one or two who are completely unfamiliar.
The complete list of individuals depicted on U.S. Bank Notes (not including Fractional Currency) is shown below alphabetically. The most commonly associated titles, positions held, or affiliations (with dates) are listed. The Title/Position/Affiliation list is not exhaustive or comprehensive. In cases where an individual occupied multiple elected or cabinet-level positions, the highest ranking position (determined by succession to the Presidency) [2] is listed first. Where available, political and religious affiliation are reported.
Many of the individuals below were depicted on more than one note of a series or denomination. In the description of the bank notes, the date in parentheses indicates the individual’s first appearance on a given note type and denomination. When multiple bank notes are listed, the order, though seeming random, is in accordance with the Friedberg Catalog Number, in ascending Friedberg order. [1]
The engraved portraits below are from a virtual exhibit of bank notes [3] which are part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
President of the United States (1825-1829)
Federalist,
[4]
Democratic-Republican,
Whig;
[4]
Unitarian
Born: 07/11/1767 (Braintree, MA)
Died: 02/23/1848 (Washington, DC)
Bank Note(s): $500 Legal Tender (1869)
United States Senate from Missouri (1821-1851)
Democratic-Republican,
Jacksonian,
Democrat
[5]
Born: 03/14/1782 (Orange County, NC)
Died: 04/10/1858 (Washington, DC)
Bank Note(s): $100 Gold Certificate (1870)
United States Secretary of the Treasury (1861-1864)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1864-1873)
Free Soil,
Republican;
Episcopalian
Born: 01/13/1808 (Cornish, NH)
Died: 05/07/1873 (New York, NY)
Bank Note(s): $1 Legal Tender (1862); $10 Compound Interest Treasury Note (1863); $10 Interest Bearing Note, One-Year (1864); $1,000 Interest Bearing Note, Two-Year (1861); $1,000 Interest Bearing Note, Three-Year (1861); $10,000 Federal Reserve Note (1918); $10,000 Small Size Notes (1928-1934)
Explorer; Governor,
Missouri Territory (1813-1820)
Born: 08/01/1770 (Caroline County, VA)
Died: 09/01/1838 (St. Louis, MO)
Bank Note(s): $10 Legal Tender (1901)
Speaker of the House (1811-1814, 1815-1820, 1823-1825)
United States Secretary of State (1825-1829)
Democratic-Republican,
National Republican,
Whig;
[6]
Baptist
Born: 04/12/1777 (Hanover County, VA)
Died: 06/29/1852 (Washington, DC)
Bank Note(s): $50 Legal Tender (1869)
President of the United States (1885-1889, 1893-1897)
Democrat;
Presbyterian
Born: 03/18/1837 (Caldwell, NJ)
Died: 06/24/1908 (Princeton, NJ)
Bank Note(s): $20 Federal Reserve Bank Note (1915); $20 Federal Reserve Note (1914); $1,000 Small Size Note (1928-1934)
Governor of New York (1817-1823, 1825-1828)
Federalist,
Democratic-Republican
Born: 03/02/1769 (Napanoch, NY)
Died: 02/11/1828 (Albany, NY)
Bank Note(s): $1,000 Legal Tender (1869)
Commodore,
United States Navy
Quasi-War;
First Barbary War; Awarded
Congressional Gold Medal (1813)
Born: 01/05/1779 (Sinepuxent, MD)
Died: 03/22/1820 (Bladensburg, MD)
Bank Note(s): $20 Silver Certificate (1878)
United States Secretary of State (1852-1853)
Whig;
Unitarian
Born: 04/11/1794 (Charlestown, MA)
Died: 01/15/1865 (Boston, MA)
Bank Note(s): $50 Silver Certificate (1878)
Admiral,
United States Navy
War of 1812,
West Indies,
American Civil War
Born: 07/05/1801 (Campbell’s Station, TN)
Died: 08/14/1870 (Portsmouth, NH)
Bank Note(s): $100 Treasury Note (1890)
United States Secretary of the Treasury (1864-1865)
Whig,
Opposition,
Republican;
Episcopalian
Born: 10/16/1806 (Boscawen, NH)
Died: 09/08/1869 (Portland, ME)
Bank Note(s): $20 National Bank Note (Series of 1882, Reverse)
Founder
Signer,
Declaration of Independence (1776)
Federalist;
Deist
Born: 01/17/1706 (Boston, MA)
Died: 04/17/1790 (Philadelphia, PA)
Bank Note(s): $50 Legal Tender (1874); $10 Refunding Certificate (1879); $100 Federal Reserve Note (1914); $100 Small Size Notes (1928-Present)
Engineer; Inventor
Born: 11/14/1765 (Little Britain, PA)
Died: 02/24/1815 (New York, NY)
Bank Note(s): $2 Silver Certificate (1896, Reverse)
United States Secretary of the Treasury (1801-1814)
Democratic-Republican
Born: 01/29/1761 (Geneva, Switzerland)
Died: 08/12/1849 (Astoria (Queens), NY)
Bank Note(s): $500 Legal Tender (1862)
President of the United States (1881)
Major General,
United States Army
American Civil War
Republican;
Disciples of Christ
Born: 11/19/1831 (Orange, OH)
Died: 09/19/1881 (Elberon, NJ; Shot by
Charles J. Guiteau on 07/02/1881)
[7]
Bank Note(s): $5 National Bank Note (Series of 1882); $20 Gold Certificate (1882)
President of the United States (1869-1877)
Commanding General,
United States Army (1864-1869)
Mexican-American War,
American Civil War, Awarded
Congressional Gold Medal (1863)
Republican, Methodist
Born: 04/27/1822 (Point Pleasant, OH)
Died: 07/23/1885 (Mt. McGregor, NY)
Bank Note(s): $1 Silver Certificate (1899); $5 Silver Certificate (1886); $5 Silver Certificate (1896, Reverse); $50 Federal Reserve Bank Note (1918); $50 Federal Reserve Note (1914); $50 Gold Certificate (1913); $50 Small Size Notes (1928-Present)
United States Secretary of the Treasury (1789-1795)
Founder
Senior Officer,
United States Army (
Major General) (1799-1800)
American Revolutionary War,
Quasi-War
Born: 01/11/1757 (Charlestown, Nevis)
Died: 07/12/1804 (New York, NY)
Federalist;
Episcopalian
Bank Note(s): $5 Demand Note (1861); $2 Legal Tender (1862); $5 Legal Tender (1862); $20 Legal Tender (1869); $50 Legal Tender (1862); $50 Compound Interest Treasury Note (1863); $50 Interest Bearing Note (1864); $500 Interest Bearing Note, Three-Year (1864); $1,000 Federal Reserve Note (1918); $1,000 Gold Certificate (1870); $10 Small Size Notes (1928-Present)
Major General,
United States Army
Mexican-American War,
American Civil War
Democrat;
Baptist
Born: 02/14/1824 (Montgomery County, PA)
Died: 02/09/1886 (Governors Island, NY)
Bank Note(s): $2 Silver Certificate (1886)
President of the United States (1889-1893)
Brigadier General,
United States Army
American Civil War
Republican;
Presbyterian
Born: 08/20/1833 (North Bend, OH)
Died: 03/13/1901 (Indianapolis, IN)
Bank Note(s): $5 National Bank Note (Series of 1902)
Vice President of the United States (1885, Died in Office)
Democrat;
Presbyterian,
Episcopalian
Born: 09/07/1819 (Muskingum County, OH)
Died: 11/25/1885 (Indianapolis, IN)
Bank Note(s): $10 Silver Certificate (1886)
First
Treasurer of the United States (1775-1789)
Born: 04/22/1729 (Philadelphia, PA)
Died: 09/29/1804 (Philadelphia, PA)
Bank Note(s): $10 Gold Certificate (1907)
President of the United States (1829-1837)
Major General,
United States Army
American Revolutionary War,
Creek War,
War of 1812,
Awarded
Congressional Gold Medal (1815)
Democratic-Republican,
Democrat;
Presbyterian
Born: 03/15/1767 (The Waxhaws, SC)
Died: 06/08/1845 (Nashville, TN)
Bank Note(s): $5 Legal Tender (1869); $10,000 Legal Tender (1878); $50 Interest Bearing Note, Two-Year (1861); $10 Federal Reserve Bank Note (1915); $10 Federal Reserve Note (1914); $10,000 Gold Certificate (1870); $20 Small Size Notes (1928-Present)
President of the United States (1801-1809)
Founder
Democratic-Republican;
Unitarian
Born: 04/13/1743 (Shadwell, VA)
Died: 07/04/1826 (Albemarle County, VA)
Bank Note(s): $2 Legal Tender (1869); $2 Federal Reserve Bank Note (1918); $2 Small Size Note (1928-Present)
Comptroller of the Currency,
Department of the Treasury (1872-1884)
Born: 03/19/1828 (Augusta, NY)
Died: 02/12/1892 (New York, NY)
Bank Note(s): $100 National Bank Note (Series of 1902)
Explorer; Governor,
Louisiana/Missouri Territory (1807-1809)
Born: 08/18/1774 (Ivy, VA)
Died: 10/11/1809 (Hohenwald, TN)
Bank Note(s): $10 Legal Tender (1901)
President of the United States (1861-1865)
Republican; [Non-denominational]
Born: 02/12/1809 (Hardin County, KY)
Died: 04/15/1865 (Washington, DC; assassinated by
John Wilkes Booth)
[8]
Bank Note(s): $10 Demand Note (1861); $10 Legal Tender (1862); $100 Legal Tender (1869); $20 Compound Interest Treasury Note (1863); $20 Interest Bearing Note (1864); $1 Silver Certificate (1899); $5 Silver Certificate (1923); $5 Federal Reserve Bank Note (1915); $5 Federal Reserve Note (1914); $500 Gold Certificate (1870); $5 Small Size Notes (1928-Present)
President of the United States (1809-1817)
Founder
Democrat;
Episcopalian
Born: 03/16/1751 (Port Conway, VA)
Died: 06/28/1836 (Montpelier, VA)
Bank Note(s): $5,000 Legal Tender (1878); $5,000 Federal Reserve Note (1918); $5,000 Gold Certificate (1870); $5,000 Small Size Notes (1928-1934)
United States Secretary of the Treasury (1885-1887)
Born: 05/16/1831 (Albany, NY)
Died: 12/24/1887 (Albany, NY)
Bank Note(s): $20 Silver Certificate (1886)
Major General,
United States Army
Mexican-American War,
American Civil War
Born: 12/22/1803 (New Haven, CT)
Died: 09/18/1862 (Sharpsburg, MD)
Bank Note(s): $500 Legal Tender (1874)
United States Secretary of State (1853-1857)
Whig,
Democrat
Born: 12/12/1786 (Southbridge, MA)
Died: 07/04/1857 (Ballston Spa, NY)
Bank Note(s): $1,000 Silver Certificate (1878)
United States Secretary of State (1800-1801)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1801-1835)
Federalist;
Episcopalian
Born: 09/24/1755 (Germantown, VA)
Died: 07/06/1835 (Philadelphia, PA)
Bank Note(s): $20 Treasury Note (1890); $500 Federal Reserve Note (1918)
United States Secretary of the Treasury (1865-1869, 1884-1885)
Republican
Born: 12/07/1801 (Kennebunk, ME)
Died: 05/24/1895 (Prince George's County, MD)
Bank Note(s): $20 National Bank Note (Series of 1902)
President of the United States (1897-1901)
Republican;
Methodist
Born: 01/29/1843 (Niles, OH)
Died: 09/14/1901 (Buffalo, NY; Shot by
Leon Czolgosz on 09/06/1901)
[9]
Bank Note(s): $10 National Bank Note (Series of 1902); $500 Small Size Note (1928-1934)
Major General,
United States Army
American Civil War
Born: 11/14/1828 (Clyde, OH)
Died: 07/22/1864 (Atlanta, GA; Killed in action)
[10]
Bank Note(s): $2 Treasury Note (1890)
Major General,
United States Army
Mexican-American War,
American Civil War
Born: 12/31/1815 (Cadiz, Spain)
Died: 11/06/1872 (Philadelphia, PA)
Bank Note(s): $1,000 Treasury Note (1890)
President of the United States (1817-1825)
Democratic-Republican;
Episcopalian
Born: 04/28/1758 (Westmoreland County, VA)
Died: 07/04/1831 (New York, NY)
Bank Note(s): $100 Silver Certificate (1878)
Founder
Signer,
Declaration of Independence (1776)
United States Superintendent of Finance (1781-1784)
Pro-Administration,
Federalist;
Episcopalian
Born: 01/31/1734 (Liverpool, England)
Died: 05/08/1806 (Philadelphia, PA)
Bank Note(s): $1,000 Legal Tender (1862); $10 Silver Certificate (1878)
Inventor,
Morse Telegraph; Co-Inventor,
Morse Code; Painter
Born: 04/27/1791 (Charlestown (Boston), MA)
Died: 04/02/1872 (New York, NY)
Bank Note(s): $2 Silver Certificate (1896, Reverse)
Sioux Chief of the
Hunkpapa
Born: c.1821
Died: c.1896
Bank Note(s): $5 Silver Certificate (1899)
Commanding General,
United States Army (1841-1861)
War of 1812,
Seminole Wars,
Black Hawk War,
Mexican-American War,
American Civil War
Awarded
Congressional Gold Medal (1814 & 1848)
Whig
Born: 06/13/1786 (Dinwiddie County, VA)
Died: 05/29/1866 (West Point, NY)
Bank Note(s): $500 Interest Bearing Note, Two-Year (1861); $100 Interest Bearing Note, Three-Year (1864)
United States Secretary of State (1861-1869)
Whig,
Republican
Born: 05/16/1801 (Florida, NY)
Died: 10/16/1872 (Auburn, NY)
Bank Note(s): $50 Treasury Note (1891)
Commanding General,
United States Army (1883-1888)
American Civil War,
Indian Wars
Born: 03/06/1831 (Albany, NY)
Died: 08/05/1888 (Dartmouth, MA)
Bank Note(s): $5 Silver Certificate (1896, Reverse); $10 Treasury Note (1890)
United States Secretary of State (1897-1898)
Republican;
Methodist
Born: 05/10/1823 (Lancaster, OH)
Died: 10/22/1900 (Washington, DC)
Bank Note(s): $50 National Bank Note (Series of 1902)
Commanding General,
United States Army (1869-1883)
American Civil War,
Indian Wars
Born: 02/08/1820 (Lancaster, OH)
Died: 02/14/1891 (New York, NY)
Bank Note(s): $500 Treasury Note (1891)
United States Secretary of War (1862-1868)
Democratic-Republican;
Quaker
Born: 12/19/1814 (Stubenville, OH)
Died: 12/24/1869 (Washington, DC)
Bank Note(s): $1 Treasury Note (1890)
United States Senate from Massachusetts (1851-1874)
Free Soil,
Republican;
[11]
Episcopalian
Born: 01/06/1811 (Charlestown (Boston), MA)
Died: 03/11/1874 (Washington, DC)
Bank Note(s): $500 Silver Certificate (1878)
Major General,
United States Army
Mexican-American War,
American Civil War
Born: 07/31/1816 (Newsom's Depot, VA)
Died: 03/28/1870 (San Francisco, CA)
Bank Note(s): $5 Treasury Note (1890)
President of the United States (1789-1797)
Founder
Commander-in-Chief, Continental Army
Born: 02/22/1732 (Westmoreland County, VA)
Died: 12/14/1799 (Mt.Vernon, VA)
Bank Note(s): $1 Legal Tender (1869); $100 Compound Interest Treasury Note (1863); $100 Interest Bearing Note (1864); $1,000 Interest Bearing Note, Two-Year (1861); $500 Interest Bearing Note, Three-Year (1861); $1 Silver Certificate (1896, Reverse); $1 Silver Certificate (1923); $2 Silver Certificate (1899); $1 Federal Reserve Bank Note (1918); $20 Gold Certificate (1905); $1 Small Size Notes (1928-Present)
First Lady of the United States
Born: 06/02/1731 (Chestnut Grove, VA)
Died: 05/22/1802 (Mt.Vernon, VA)
Bank Note(s): $1 Silver Certificate (1886); $1 Silver Certificate (1896, Reverse)
United States Secretary of State (1841-43, 1850-52)
Whig,
Democrat,
Federalist;
Presbyterian
Born: 01/18/1782 (Salisbury, NH)
Died: 10/24/1852 (Marshfield, MA)
Bank Note(s): $10 Legal Tender (1869)
President of the United States (1913-1921)
Democrat;
Presbyterian
Awarded
Nobel Peace Prize (1919)
Born: 12/28/1856 (Staunton, VA)
Died: 02/03/1924 (Washington, DC)
Bank Note(s): $100,000 Small Size Gold Certificate (1934)
United States Secretary of the Treasury (1881, 1889-91)
Republican;
Quaker
Born: 05/10/1827 (Belmont County, OH)
Died: 01/29/1891 (New York, NY)
Bank Note(s): $2 Silver Certificate (1891)
United States House (1827-1830) and
United States Senate (1833-1844) from New York
Jacksonian,
Democrat
[12]
Born: 05/24/1795 (Amherst, MA)
Died: 08/27/1847 (Canton, NY)
Bank Note(s): $50 Gold Certificate (1882)
Alexander Hamilton (1861)
Abraham Lincoln (1861)
Liberty (1861)
Samuel Portland Chase (1862)
George Washington (1869)
Alexander Hamilton (1862)
Thomas Jefferson (1869)
Alexander Hamilton (1862)
Andrew Jackson (1869)
Abraham Lincoln (1862)
Daniel Webster (1869)
Meriwether Lewis & William Clark (1901)
Bison (1901)
Liberty (1862)
Alexander Hamilton (1869)
Alexander Hamilton (1862)
Henry Clay (1869)
Benjamin Franklin (1874)
Eagle (1862)
Abraham Lincoln (1869)
Albert Gallatin (1862)
John Quincy Adams (1869)
Joseph King Fenno Mansfield (1874)
Robert Morris (1862)
DeWitt Clinton (1869)
James Madison (1878)
Andrew Jackson (1878)
Salmon P. Chase (1863)
Abraham Lincoln (1863)
Alexander Hamilton (1864)
George Washington [standing figure] (1863)
New Ironsides (Ship) & The Standard Bearer
Liberty & Justice
Salmon P. Chase (1863)
Abraham Lincoln (1863)
Alexander Hamilton (1864)
Andrew Jackson & Salmon P. Chase (1861, 2-year note)
Eagle (1861, 3-year note)
George Washington [standing figure] (1863)
Winfield Scott (1864, 3-year note)
Winfield Scott (1861, 2-year note)
George Washington (1861, 3-year note)
Alexander Hamilton (1864, 3-year note)
George Washington (1861, 2-year note)
Salmon P. Chase (1861, 3-year note)
Justice (1865, 3-year note)
Justice & Native American female (1861, 3-year note)
Benjamin Franklin (1879)
Martha Washington (1886)
History Instructing Youth (1896)
George & Martha Washington (1896, reverse)
Eagle and Abraham Lincoln & Ulysses S. Grant (1899)
George Washington (1923)
Winfield Scott Hancock (1886)
William Windom (1891)
Science Presenting Steam and Electricity to Commerce and Manufacture (1896)
Robert Fulton & Samuel Morse (1896, reverse)
George Washington (1899)
Ulysses S. Grant (1886)
Electricity (1896)
Ulysses S. Grant & Philip Sheridan (1896, reverse)
Running Antelope (1899)
Abraham Lincoln (1923)
Robert Morris (1878)
Thomas A. Hendricks (1886)
Stephen Decatur (1878)
Daniel Manning (1886)
Edward Everett (1878)
James Monroe (1878)
Charles Sumner (1878)
William L. Marcy (1878)
Edwin M. Stanton (1890)
James B. McPherson (1890)
George H. Thomas (1890)
Philip H. Sheridan (1890)
John Marshall (1890)
William H. Seward (1891)
David G. Farragut (1890)
William Tecumseh Sherman (1891)
George G. Meade (1890)
George Washington (1918)
Thomas Jefferson (1918)
Abraham Lincoln (1915)
Andrew Jackson (1915)
Grover Cleveland (1915)
Ulysses S. Grant (1918)
Abraham Lincoln (1914)
Andrew Jackson (1914)
Grover Cleveland (1914)
Ulysses S. Grant (1914)
Benjamin Franklin (1914)
John Marshall (1918)
Alexander Hamilton (1918)
James Madison (1918)
Salmon P. Chase (1918)
Michael Hillegas (1907)
James A. Garfield (1882)
George Washington (1905)
Silas Wright, Jr. (1882)
Ulysses S. Grant (1913)
Thomas Hart Benton (1870)
Abraham Lincoln (1870)
Alexander Hamilton (1870)
James Madison (1870)
Andrew Jackson (1870)
James A. Garfield (Series of 1882)
Benjamin Harrison (Series of 1902)
Benjamin Franklin [standing] (Series of 1882)
William McKinley, Jr. (Series of 1902)
Hugh McCulloch (Series of 1902)
John Sherman (Series of 1902)
John Jay Knox (Series of 1902)
George Washington (1928)
Thomas Jefferson (1928)
Abraham Lincoln (1928)
Alexander Hamilton (1928)
Andrew Jackson (1928)
Ulysses S. Grant (1928)
Benjamin Franklin (1928)
William McKinley, Jr. (1928)
Grover Cleveland (1928)
James Madison (1928)
Salmon P. Chase (1928)
Woodrow Wilson (1934)
Category:Banknotes Category:Banknotes of the United States Category:Currency Category:Numismatics Category:Paper money of the United States Category:Smithsonian Institution