# Who should we put on the $50 bill? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 4, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267 "2010-03-04T13:04:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/81 "2010-03-07T05:48:36Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski? On the quarter? It won’t fit. 😛 ---
**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:** [March 7, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/82 "2010-03-07T06:07:37Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m open to any famous person in American history being on our currency. I prefer that anyone considered for US currency be long dead. I don’t want people that are from our recent history to be considered. If there is to be debate about that persons legacy I want it to be in the realm of historians not bar room conversations. So Bush, Clinton, Martin Luther king, Nixon, Einstein all too recent to me. I think a hundred years for names to get out of current politics is a good cool down. I agree there should be an interval. But King’s been dead 42 years and Einstein’s been 55 years. The United States is a relatively young country - I think we can declare these guys historical figures. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/83 "2010-03-07T16:10:07Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Oh, yeah > > Ritchie Valens > Janis Joplin > Joey Ramone > Elvis > > Would all make outstanding money. It works for stamps. Elvis, at least. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/84 "2010-03-07T19:42:28Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Sure, color would be nice. > > What would be nicer, in the sense of “compliant with federal law,” would be to make the bills in different sizes, so the blind and low-vision community could more easily manage money. This this this. As a fan of archaic architecture, I get more annoyed at the Americans with Disabilities Act than a normal sane person. All those ramps, argh! But changing the money is pretty easy; we print new bills all the time. It’s incredible we’re still using one-size notes. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/85 "2010-03-07T20:03:09Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > John Brown …OK. In fact, this is the one political figure I have to say yes to. Greatest American hero. And Frederick Douglass would please me far more than Abraham Lincoln. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/86 "2010-03-07T20:57:33Z")
John Brown might have had a worthy cause but his methods were those of a violent criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/87 "2010-03-07T21:02:22Z")
Honus Wagner. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/88 "2010-03-07T21:13:42Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > IMO, no one. We should reverse the trend of deifying past Presidents or “glorious leaders”, and currency should have something which reflects more what makes America…America. Pick any wildlife scene, historical scene, national monument, etc. Nature scenes and buildings and such are boring and uninspiring. You should put on Neil Armstrong. The personification of the greatest moment of US history. But perhaps you have a principle against selecting living persons. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/89 "2010-03-07T21:35:15Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > But perhaps you have a principle against selecting living persons. No can do. First question, [U.S. Treasury FAQ](http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/portraits.shtml): > [@U.S. Treasury](#): > > The law prohibits portraits of living persons from appearing on Government Securities. Therefore, the portraits on our currency notes are of deceased persons whose places in history the American people know well. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/90 "2010-03-08T02:21:41Z")
Edison would be an interesting choice. Mark Twain would be another. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/91 "2010-03-08T23:02:12Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > John Brown might have had a worthy cause but his methods were those of a violent criminal. …compared to George Washington & Abraham Lincoln. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/92 "2010-03-09T00:24:31Z")
Since there’s no law or custom requiring every one portrayed on a U.S. currency bill be a POTUS – Ben Franklin never was POTUS – how about [Frederick Douglass?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass) Great African-American, great abolitionist, entirely respectable person, and he just **looks** like he was meant to be portrayed in bill-style, i.e., a 19th-Century-style lithographic engraving. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Falling_Reverend)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/93 "2010-03-09T08:02:15Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Oh, yeah > > Ritchie Valens > Janis Joplin > Joey Ramone > Elvis > > Would all make outstanding money. Lose Joey and go with Iggy Pop. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/94 "2010-03-09T23:45:26Z")
> [@The\_Falling\_Reverend](#): > > Lose Joey and go with Iggy Pop. Les Paul would be better, & he’s actually dead now. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/95 "2010-03-11T15:14:19Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > No can do. First question, [U.S. Treasury FAQ](http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/portraits.shtml): That quote is a lot more restricting, as the “American People” don’t know who a lot of these people are. Heck, if it were retroactive, a lot of current money would have to be redesigned. Theodore Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. are good, as everyone knows who they are. Ronald Reagan would be good, but I agree that he is a bit recent. I’ll go back through and see who else has been mentioned that I think average American might actually know: [ul] [li]Thomas Paine[/li][li][del]John Adams[/del] (Stublues has a point.)[/li][li]Thomas Edison[/li][li]Rosa Parks[/li][li]Elvis Presley[/li][li][del]Mark Twain[/del]Samuel Clemens[/li][/ul] Of those, I’d say Presley and Clemens are the only ones that would be easily recognizable, but that doesn’t seem to be a requirement. And I’m pretty sure one of those was a joke. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/96 "2010-03-11T15:19:45Z")
I mentioned Harry Truman. I’m pretty sure the majority of Americans know who he is. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/97 "2010-03-11T16:11:41Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Why do Washington and Lincoln get two faces? It seems some qualified people are being short changed. Seriously, though, I don’t understand why they would double up on Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Franklin when several others qualify. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@The\_Falling\_Reverend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Falling_Reverend)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/98 "2010-03-11T20:05:02Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Les Paul would be better, & he’s actually dead now. Good call, and then they should put Leo Fender on the twenty. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/99 "2010-03-12T03:08:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I mentioned Harry Truman. I’m pretty sure the majority of Americans know who he is. I’d wager a Leo Fender that most don’t know who he is\*. I think we’d have to discuss what we mean by ‘know who he is’. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267/100 "2010-03-12T03:35:16Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Seriously, though, I don’t understand why they would double up on Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Franklin when several others qualify. 😕 A case could be made that Washington, for example, should be on every form of U.S. currency that exists. As the General who led the War of Independence, as a former general who led the War of Independence and did not become a military dictator, as the President of the Constitutional Convention, as the first President of the United States, and - perhaps the single most important for the system of government here - the first _former_ President of the United States. Perhaps if you can suggest someone who could appropriately take the place of the doubled-up ones, but I’d rather dump Jackson or Cleveland. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-should-we-put-on-the-50-bill/531267.md?page=6)