# Obama on currency **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 27, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807 "2008-12-27T03:13:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/21 "2008-12-28T00:07:28Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Fair point, but I was more thinking of the idea that he would be on currency. Perhaps he already has a start on other possible candidates because of his race. The last dead president on a US banknote is Abraham Lincoln. So, Obama will get a note 140 years after he dies. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/22 "2008-12-28T01:13:22Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > … > By the time he’s been dead enough to show up on a coin, it’ll be too late, and the Franklin Mint or the government of some micro-nation will be the ones offering the Obama Dollar on whatever we have that replaced the late-night infomercial back after the Purges of 2027. Well, for what it’s worth, the Franklin Mint already has an [Obama coin](http://www.franklinmint.com/). They and others have been putting Obama [on existing](http://www.americanflags.com/baob08prusmi.html) [Presidential Dollar coins](http://www.hsn.com/collectibles/barack-obama-change-collection_m-10040946_xp.aspx?web_id=4721691&sf=co&dept=co0007&attr=6371&ocm=sekw&prev=hp!sf!6371&ccm=co%7Cco0007%7C6371) (and Illinois and Hawaii state Quarters). ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/23 "2008-12-28T01:59:52Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > The last dead president on a US banknote is Abraham Lincoln. So, Obama will get a note 140 years after he dies. Unless I misunderstand you, surely Grant is more recently dead. And Lincoln was on the $5 note as early as 1914 (assuming that Wikipedia is correct), merely 50 years after his death. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/24 "2008-12-28T02:17:44Z")
> [@waterj2](#): > > Unless I misunderstand you, surely Grant is more recently dead. > > And Lincoln was on the $5 note as early as 1914 (assuming that Wikipedia is correct), merely 50 years after his death. Wow. I screwed up there. You’re right about Grant. But I screwed up even more. I tend to think of the laws of the 20th Century regarding presidents and their appearance on coins. Lincoln appeared on the $10 demand note in 1861. He was still alive at the time. He appeared on notes later in the next 20 years. I guess People have to be dead to be on coins. But not paper money. At least, in the last century ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/25 "2008-12-28T03:38:56Z")
I voted for Obama, and I have high hopes. But they’re just that … hopes. The OP is waay waay ahead of history here. I wonder how old he is? A lot of people who voted for Carter in '76 believed he would be a transformational figure. He pledged to get rid of all that Washington inbred sleaze & replace it with a management based on merit & moral rectitude (which is very different from bible-thumping jingoism). In the event, Washington sleaze won & Carter is not today viewed as transformational, nor even very effective. Obama could easily end up in the same pit. Remember that the Democrats complained & fought back bitterly the last 8 years while Bush tried to operate as if 100% of America had voted for him when the reality was a lot closer to 50/50 among people who voted while a hell of a lot of the electorate had abstained. Obama (& Mccain) did a lot better than Bush (& Gore & Kerry) did in generating total turnout, but the overall popular result was that barely 53% of voters voted for Obama.([United States presidential election - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election)) IOW he does not have a universal mandate to remake the country into an image that 47% of America does not like. He will face significant political obstacles to achieving anything. To say nothing of the practical obstacles of doing Great Deeds in very difficult times. Ask me again in 4 or 8 years which currency he’s likely to be featured on. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/26 "2008-12-28T05:33:26Z")
{conspiracy hat on} Obama will no appear on the dollar. Once the New World Order establishes the North American Union, Obama will be on the Amero. (conspiracy hat off)😛 ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/27 "2008-12-28T06:43:51Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I’m all for replacing Jackson on the $20. He was a disgusting genocidal racist. I’d even settle for Reagan on it instead. But only so I could draw little Hitler moustaches on each one that passed through my hands. Oooo, that would be illegal! But I’d do it! It’s my understanding that it’s only illegal to deface currency if you’re doing it for fraudulent purposes. Drawing Hitler 'staches would be no more illegal than putting a penny into a machine that will press it into a souvenir trinket. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/28 "2008-12-28T06:51:30Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Assuming he lives a normal lifespan, I wonder if we will even use currency by then. Hey, you know Capital One has customized credit cards - so maybe you could have him put on one of those! Don’t even have to wait for him to START his term! ---
**Author:** ![vintageloveletter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@vintageloveletter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vintageloveletter)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/29 "2008-12-28T08:38:28Z")
Someone recruited Montel Williams to hawk Barack Obama coins. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/30 "2008-12-29T05:16:16Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > No, because his race doesn’t mean one whit to me. It’s what he does as POTUS that will make the case. And he isn’t POTUS yet. I suppose. Margaret Thatcher’s gender didn’t matter to me, either, but she was significant as the first woman to be PM. I don’t really care who is on US currency - three years there and I still couldn’t tell you who was on any particular bill - so I was simply suggesting that Obama does have some slight advantage over, say, Gerald Ford, because of his race. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/31 "2008-12-29T05:18:06Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > {conspiracy hat on} Obama will no appear on the dollar. Once the New World Order establishes the North American Union, Obama will be on the Amero. (conspiracy hat off)😛 Oh, come on! Don’t think so small! Obama’s image will be imprinted on the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/32 "2008-12-29T05:25:50Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Obama (& Mccain) did a lot better than Bush (& Gore & Kerry) did in generating total turnout, but the overall popular result was that barely 53% of voters voted for Obama.([United States presidential election - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election)) In many places, McCain did not do significantly better than Bush four years earlier, and in a few, IIRC, he got fewer votes. Also, Obama’s 53% was better than anyone had done in 20 years; Bush barely won the popular vote in 2004, lost it in 2000, and Clinton got pluralities in '96 and '92. Bush in '88 got 55%, and had a distinctly more lopsided EC total to boot. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > IOW he does not have a universal mandate to remake the country into an image that 47% of America does not like. No? Obama has incredibly high approval ratings, and many polls have shown that while people think of themselves as moderates, liberals, or conservatives, a fair few liberal positions have solid mainstream support by a clear majority of respondents. With increased Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, a 7% lead in the popular vote and 191 vote margin in the Electoral College, one wonders what else you require for a mandate. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/33 "2008-12-29T16:55:27Z")
Since none of us are taking this supposition too seriously at all, I suggest that if we could take the noble bumblebee off of a nickel and replace it with Jefferson, then I’d be willing to embrace the Obama dime when the time comes. Besides, Eisenhower’s already on the dollar coin. I’m also in favor of bringing back the wearing of onions on your belt. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/34 "2008-12-29T18:04:37Z")
Whoa, whoa…it’s far too early to talk about this. Especially since we haven’t yet decided where to put him on Mount Rushmore yet. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/35 "2008-12-29T19:48:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Exactly. At least wait until he signs the “Everyone gets a free hooker” act before proclaiming him a great president. So we can put him on a twenty, a fifty, or a hundred - it’ll just depend on what you want. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/36 "2008-12-29T23:45:13Z")
Free hookers. _Free_. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/37 "2008-12-30T00:00:02Z")
You don’t have to be a president to get on the money, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/38 "2008-12-30T00:08:12Z")
Yep. Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin, Susan B. Anthony, Sacajawea… ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/39 "2008-12-30T00:09:17Z")
Ike and JFK got on coins pretty quickly after they died. The OP did talk about coins too. ---
**Author:** ![EpiGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8c91f0/32.png) [@EpiGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpiGirl)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807/40 "2008-12-30T02:18:16Z")
I thought this thread would be about those wacky colored coins being hustled on those annoying commercials with Montel Williams. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-on-currency/478807.md?page=3)