# The Great Dollar Bill debate **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 21, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131 "2004-07-21T03:41:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/41 "2004-07-21T17:45:22Z")
What is the point of a $2 bill? ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/42 "2004-07-21T18:10:19Z")
> [@spectrum](#): > > Swap Reagan and Hamilton, and get rid of Grant in favor of, say, Truman. If FDR doesn’t “deserve” a bill, neither does Reagan. And it’s just not appropriate to knock Hamilton, the political great-grandfather of the Republican party, off the list to make room for a man who though Hamilton was the best of the best. Not bad, I think I like the Reagan-Hamilton swap. But I can’t see the necessity of Truman being honored. IMHO, Grant’s Civil War heroics trump Truman’s WWII role. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/43 "2004-07-21T18:12:43Z")
Addendum: if $500 are to be re-introduced, I would bump Washington up to $500 and put Madison on the $100 ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/44 "2004-07-21T18:19:41Z")
I’ve always liked the idea of putting presidents from the last century on the money. Say, three Republicans, three Democrats. Randomize the bill order. Put Reagan, Eisenhower, T. Roosevelt and Truman, FDR and JFK on the money. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/45 "2004-07-21T18:25:04Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Not bad, I think I like the Reagan-Hamilton swap. > > But I can’t see the necessity of > Truman being honored. IMHO, Grant’s Civil War heroics trump Truman’s WWII role. Except that Grant is one of the worst presidents in United States history – rampantly corrupt, totally ineffective, utterly unsuited to the job. He was a fan of spoils and let his pals run around with their hand in the national till. He should have been impeached. The man was a disgrace on his office. He’s one of the few presidents that teachers should be forced to spit on the ground when they say his name. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/46 "2004-07-21T18:36:27Z")
> [@spectrum](#): > > Except that Grant is one of the worst presidents in United States history – rampantly corrupt, totally ineffective, utterly unsuited to the job. He was a fan of spoils and let his pals run around with their hand in the national till. He should have been impeached. The man was a disgrace on his office. He’s one of the few presidents that teachers should be forced to spit on the ground when they say his name. Come on, tell me how you really feel 🙂 Just think of the Civil War hero as being honored, not the president. Unless of course you’re from the south… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/47 "2004-07-21T18:49:38Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > If Reagan has to be honored on our currency, let’s create a one-cent bill and put his face on it. So we can afford to use it for toilet paper. Of course, it would have to printed on softer stock than all the others . . . 100 sheets for a dollar! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/48 "2004-07-21T19:03:19Z")
I’d like to see outstanding Americans representing the various historical and cultural areas. We focus too much on the Founding Fathers, I think the list needs updating. 1 cent piece: Lincoln. He and Washington alone deserve the honor of TWO spots. 5 cent piece: Mark Twain. Jefferson bumped due to his presence on the $2 bill 10 cent piece: Martin Luther King. 25 cent piece: Washington. 50 cent piece: Albert Einstein dollar coin: Sacajawea $1 bill: Washington $2 bill: Jefferson $5 bill: Lincoln $10 bill: FDR $20 bill: Thomas Edison $50 bill: Teddy Roosevelt $100 bill: Babe Ruth ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/49 "2004-07-21T19:08:22Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > “Colored person” is offensive, btw. National Association for the Advancement of “pejorative deleted” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/50 "2004-07-21T19:19:27Z")
> [@Zagadka](#): > > What is the point of a $2 bill? It would get widespread use once the $1 bill stops being printed. Personally, I’d love to have more dollar coins and two-dollar bills in use. I agree that Grant and Jackson shouldn’t be on money. What was the rationale for putting them there in the first place? Must have been some annoying political compromise. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/51 "2004-07-21T19:26:39Z")
> [@Zagadka](#): > > What is the point of a $2 bill? Not much. I’d advocate dropping it along with the $1 bill, if they still even make them, and having $1 and $2 coins. What about the backs of the bills? They were bad before 1996, but now they are unbelievably sterile. The diagonal view of the Treasury Building on the old $10 possessed a certain amount of artistic vigor, but now we have just another frontal view; in fact it rather resembles the White House on the 20. Anyway, all the backs are pretty god-awful. Instead of historic buildings, we should have something really creative and attractive, for instance: [ul] [li]Depictions of space flights/moon landings/planetary flybys[/li][li]Depictions of national parks[/li][li]Historic events, e.g. Washington crossing the Delaware (they did do something similar with the 1976 issue of $2s.[/li] [/ul] The possibilities would be endless. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/52 "2004-07-21T19:35:06Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > 5 cent piece: Mark Twain. Jefferson bumped due to his presence on the $2 bill I would agree except that the $2 isn’t a particulary big honor due to the fact they are so rare. Until they come back, I would perfer Jefferson stay on the nickle. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/53 "2004-07-21T19:36:56Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > … and two hard boiled eggs on the $50? And one duck egg. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/54 "2004-07-21T19:37:41Z")
I don’t really know who I’d like on money. Perhaps John Glenn because he was the first American to really go to space and cross what was left as a frontier for this country. Maybe Alexander Graham Bell for his invention of the telephone. I can’t see putting MLK on the money because although he no doubt did some really good things, he is also surrounded in controversy regarding plagiarism and intellectualy honesty. I could see putting Rosa Parks or Harriet Tubman on money, or perhaps Alice Paul. Just whatever they do, I sincerely hope they don’t ditch the dollar bill for a coin. I hate coins, I don’t carry coins, I use vending machines for water and/or soda often, and I don’t want to have to deal with either carrying $1 coins for the machine, or getting them back in change if I use a $5 bill. I hate coin money. Only thing I ever use it for is taking it to the bank and exchanging it for paper. ---
**Author:** ![Andros\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Andros\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andros_X)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/55 "2004-07-21T20:17:10Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Isn’t JFK on the half-dollar? I know he was – I’m pretty sure he still is, but I haven’t seen a half-dollar in years. > > FDR is on the dime. Yeah, I meant paper money. Anyway, my revised money chart: .01 – Reagan (so when you have almost no cash due to trickle-down economic policies, you still have someone to thank) .05 – Grace Hopper (smart, black, and female) .10 – Tecumseh (a better choice for token indian, I think, than Sacajawea) .25 – César Chavez (I have yet to see any ideas for Hispanic representation) .50 – Not sure if we need or want it, but if we do…Eisenhower. $1 coin – Washington $2 – Jefferson $5 – Lincoln $10 – Hamilton $20 – JFK $50 – FDR $100 – Franklin ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/56 "2004-07-21T20:36:58Z")
> [@Andros\_X](#): > > .05 – Grace Hopper (smart, black, and female) Who? ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/57 "2004-07-21T20:40:35Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Not much. I’d advocate dropping it along with the $1 bill, if they still even make them, and having $1 and $2 coins. … OK… so, um, why a $2 coin? I just don’t see the value in having a unit of currency of $2. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/58 "2004-07-21T21:04:15Z")
> [@Andros\_X](#): > > .10 – Tecumseh (a better choice for token indian, I think, than Sacajawea) You’ll never sell that. Tecumseh was an **enemy** of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/59 "2004-07-21T21:07:28Z")
> [@Zagadka](#): > > … > > OK… so, um, why a $2 coin? > > I just don’t see the value in having a unit of currency of $2. They have $2 coins in Canada – the “double-looney,” I think it’s called. The $1 coin is called a “looney” because it has a picture of a loon on the reverse; the obverse, of course, bears a portrait of the queen, just like every other coin and bill, which simplifies things, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131/60 "2004-07-21T21:08:36Z")
Wait a minute – I’m not sure that’s right – all the bills have the queen on them but I’m not sure about the coins – I’ve got some Canadian money but I can’t seem to find it right now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-dollar-bill-debate/256131.md?page=4)