I saw this site about large denomination bills: http://www.thememoryhole.org/econ/big-bills/ , but I’d like to know more. The images come from the Bureau of Ingraving and Printing, but the link is broken. Since the resolution isn’t high enough, I can’t make out who’s on each bill, except for Woodrow Wilson on the $100,000. Could somebody tell me who’s on the $500 (looks like two guys, or two very different portraits of one guy), the $1000 (two different guys for sure) the $5000 and the $10,000. Any biographical info on the more obscure (non-presidential) portraits subjects (is there a word for this?) would be appreciated.
Also, the site mentions that it is illegal to own a $100,000 bill. Could someone explain it’s history, and if any private collector ever possessed such a bill.
$500: The first one has me stumped, but the second is President William McKinley
$1,000: The first looks like Alexander Hamilton–first Secretary of the Treasury and now on the $10 bill–and the second is President Grover Cleaveland
$5,000: President James Madison
$10,000: Salmon P. Chase–Secretary of the Treasury under Lincoln and Andrew Johnson (IIRC).
$1 Note (Face) - George Washington (1st U.S. President) (Back) - The Great Seal of the United States
$2 Note (Face) - Thomas Jefferson (3rd U.S. President) (Back) - Signing of the Declaration of Independence
$5 Note (Face) - Abraham Lincoln (16th U.S. President) (Back) - Lincoln Memorial
$10 Note (Face) - Alexander Hamilton (1st Secretary of the Treasury) (Back) - U.S. Treasury Building
$20 Note (Face) - Andrew Jackson (7th U.S. President) (Back) - White House
$50 Note (Face) - Ulysses Grant (18th U.S. President) (Back) - U.S. Capitol
$100 Note (Face) - Ben Franklin (Statesman) (Back) - Independence Hall
$500 Note* (Face) - William McKinley (25th U.S. President) (Back) - Numeral 500 and the ornamental phrase “Five Hundred Dollars”
$1000 Note* (Face) - Grover Cleveland (22rd & 24th U.S. President) (Back) - Numeral 1000 and the ornamental phrase “One Thousand Dollars”
$5000 Note* (Face) - James Madison (4th U.S. President) (Back) - Numeral 5000 and the ornamental phrase “Five Thousand Dollars”
$10,000 Note* (Face) - Salmon Chase (U.S. Treasury Secretary under Lincoln) (Back) - Numeral 10,000 and the ornamental phrase “Ten Thousand Dollars”
$100,000 Note* (Face) - Woodrow Wilson (28th U.S. President) (Back) - Numeral 100,000 and the ornamental phrase “One Hundred Thousand Dollars”. This note never appeared in general circulation, and was only used in transactions between Federal Reserve Banks.
The picture on the $10,000 bill is of Salmon P. Chase, secretary of the treasury under Lincoln and creator of the national banking system. You can learn more about him here.
The $500 green seal has William McKinley, 25th president of the U.S.
I don’t know who is on the $500 blue seal.
The $1,000 blue seal has Alexander Hamilton, first secretary of the treasury.
The $1,000 green seal has Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th president of the U.S. (he is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms).
The $5,000 bill has James Madison, 4th president of the U.S.
I found out who that is on the $500 bill, thanks to this website. They have a pretty comprehensive list of who’s been on currency (As a warning, the site appears to be under construction. All the links on that page work, though).
It’s none other than John Marshall, best known as Supreme Court Chief Justice, but he also served in the Revolutionary War (presumably the event shown on the back of the bill).
mcbiggins, I found at least two other Secretaries of the Treasury on a search for the $500 man, Robert J. Walker ($0.25 fractional) and John Sherman ($50).
Possibly the most unexpected figure on U.S. currency is Chief Running Antelope (of the Hunkpapa Sioux) on the $5 silver note - although it’s pointed out he’s wearing the wrong headdress on the note (they changed the portrait).