Presidents and Money

Sean came home from school today with a wealth of information. He picked up a one and a five dollar bill from on the table.

Sean- I know these guys! My teachers are rich they had lots of dollars and circle money today.
Me - Really? What did you learn about money?
Sean - There were people with birthdays in February on them.
Me - Yes there are. Who were the people?
Sean - I dunno.
Me - Were they kings or football players or monkeys?
Sean - No, they were presidents.
Me - What were their names?
Sean - I forget.
Me - George Washington and Abraham Lincoln?
Sean - How did you know!
Me - I learned in school and from my mom and dad.
Sean - Can I have these dollars? (He and Brian are saving for a Wii)
Me - No but if you want to do some chores you can earn them.
Sean - No thanks!
(a few minutes later)
Sean - Hey Mom...
Me - Yes Sean.
Sean - It is a good thing we had presidents because if we didn't have presidents then we wouldn't have any money. And we need money to buy toys - and video games!

I love his logic - if Abe and George never existed, then we would not have money. Makes perfect sense! Just when I think he is learning he has to throw a loop in it. Just for fun - can you name all the people on current US currency? I had to look up some of them - sad!

Abraham Lincoln is on the penny, Thomas Jefferson on the nickel, Franklin Roosevelt on the dime, George Washington on the quarter, John F. Kennedy on the half dollar, Sacagawea on the dollar coin. Starting this year until 2016, the mint is making new dollar coins. They will have presidents on them and be released in the order in which they served. In 2009 some quarters will also feature Native Americans and their improtant contributions this will continue until at least 2016.

George Washington is on the $1 bill, Thomas Jefferson on the $2 bill, Abraham Lincoln on the $5 bill, Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill, Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, Ulysses S. Grant on the $50 bill, and Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill.

There are also several denominations of currency notes that are no longer produced. These include the $500 bill with William McKinley, the $1,000 bill with Grover Cleveland, the $5,000 bill with James Madison, the $10,000 bill with Salmon P. Chase, and the $100,000 with Woodrow Wilson.

What you have never heard of Salmon P. Chase? - Me either! Salmon P. Chase is one of only three non-presidents on paper money. The other two are Alexander Hamilton on the ten dollar bill and Ben Franklin on the one hundred dollar bill. I searched on the United States Mint web page and found out about Salmon. He was the 25th Secretary of the Treasury and served under Lincoln. Due to a monetary crisis brought on by the Civil War, he reluctantly implemented the first federal printing of paper money in the United States. He is also responsible for the moto "in God we trust." In fact, Chase's portrait appeared on the original $1 bill, thus earning him the nickname "Old Mr. Greenbacks." The name didn't stick, however, due to the fact that after the war, Chase, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, declared paper currency to be unconstitutional. How funny is that!

Here are some other interesting facts that I took form the US Treasury website. If you want to read for yourself go to http://www.usmint.gov/. It is very interesting and gives a lot of pictures and history on our currency.

1. In 1975 and 1976, the standard eagle design on the reverse was temporarily replaced to honor the Nation’s Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. The reverse of the Bicentennial Quarter shows a colonial drummer and a victory torch circled by 13 stars, representing the original thirteen colonies that were referenced in the Declaration of Independence. Interestingly, it is impossible to tell a quarter minted in 1975 from one minted in 1976 – as only Bicentennial Quarters were made for those two years, and all are marked with the same 200-year date range (1776–1976)
2. Why does the portrait of Abraham Lincoln face to the right when all of the other presidents' portraits face to the left? Lincoln faces right not because of a law, but simply because Lincoln happened to face right in the image Brenner used to design the coin.

3. The Roosevelt dime was released on the late President's birthday which was January 30th of that year.

4. The first quarters, made in 1796, featured a depiction of Lady Liberty on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse. There was no denomination on the coin. In fact, there was no value marked on quarters until 1804, when "25c" was added to the reverse. In 1838, "QUAR. DOL." was used, and then changed to “quarter dollar” in 1892, and the denomination was consistently located on the reverse of the coin. It wasn't until the first of the new quarters was made in 1999 that "quarter dollar" was moved to the front.

5. The design on the back of Kennedy half-dollar is based on the presidential seal. It consists of a heraldic eagle with a shield on its breast, holding a symbolic olive branch and a bundle of 13 arrows. A ring of 50 stars surrounds the design, which gives this coin the distinction of having more stars than any other circulating coin.

I find stuff like this fascinating. I love little know facts. Maybe I have totally bored some people, but I hope there are a few that have learned something - and are happy about it!