Finally! Woman to be on new $10 bill
Move over Alexander Hamilton. You're getting company on the $10 bill and her name is ...
On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said a woman will be featured on a redesigned $10 bill in 2020 -- the 100th anniversary of the Constitution's 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
A decision on who the woman will be won't be made for several months.
The last woman on U.S. paper currency was Martha Washington, who was on the $1 Silver Certificate between 1891 and 1896.
"We have only made changes to the faces on our currency a few times since bills were first put into circulation, and I'm proud that the new 10 will be the first bill in more than a century to feature the portrait of a woman," Lew said.
Lew, who will make the final decision on who will grace the currency, is asking the public for help.
The department will launch a website, and is asking for input over social media with the hashtag #TheNew10.
What's his criteria? Lew wants the next generation of U.S. currency to underscore the theme of American democracy. The portrait must also -- by law -- be of someone who is no longer living.
Hamilton, who was the nation's first treasury secretary, has been on the $10 bill since 1929. He replaced Andrew Jackson, who was the seventh president.
Jackson moved to the $20 bill, where he remains today. (Jackson replaced President Cleveland - the 22nd & 24th prez)
The $20 was at the center of a recent campaign to put a woman on U.S. currency. But Treasury had already pegged the $10 as the next one to be updated.
Related: Lawmakers want a woman on the $20
Bills are flagged for updates mainly for security reasons, Lew said. It was a "happy coincidence" that a push to put a woman on American money happened as the $10 note came under consideration.
Lew said Hamilton will also be a part of the new design. He said it's up for discussion whether Hamilton will appear alongside a woman or be the centerpiece of one version of the new bill.
Either way, the Hamilton $10 isn't going anywhere soon, since there are about 1.9 billion $10s in circulation today.
In Britain, where the Queen graces one side of the currency, the government will add Jane Austen to the opposite side of its £10 notes starting in 2017. She will bump off Charles Darwin.
In another first for American greenbacks, the new $10 bill will include a "tactile feature" to allow blind people to distinguish it from other denominations.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/17/news/economy/woman-on-ten-dollar-bill/
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I personally am not in favor or replacing any of our Founding Fathers (including Grant) on our paper currency, nor am I comfortable with moving "In God We Trust" from being predominantly displayed on the face of presidential $1 coins to the outer edge. I do like the "tactile feature" finally being added to paper currency for the blind. I do find it odd that Grant is displayed on the $50 and no one has called for its change yet (all considering). But let's not forget that Native American Dollar Coins honor and recognize of the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans and feature Sacagawea. In addition the US Mint also released a series of 50 different bronze coins commemorating all the Native American tribes that served during WWII (Windtalkers). The US Mint also produces the First Spouse Gold Coin and Bronze medals in honor of the indelible work and rich history of our Nation’s First Ladies.
Leave our paper currency figures alone. If they're going to change anything, change the penny as Lincoln already appears on the $5.
That's by 2 bits worth. WGAF what the Queen does. Last I remember we broke from the British empire.
