# Whose portrait would you put on your banknotes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381 "2013-07-24T15:08:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/21 "2013-07-24T21:41:05Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Since U.S. currency runs in $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 denominations, I would put the current seven U.S. Congressmen receiving the highest amount of corporate campaign contributions from lowest to highest. Just to serve as a reminder to public of what’s needed to get anything done in Washington. Oh good, we can make it a competition. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/22 "2013-07-24T22:24:27Z")
Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the $100. Neil Armstrong on the $50. ---
**Author:** ![Schism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@Schism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schism)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/23 "2013-07-24T23:15:42Z")
Cosmo Kramer on the hundo ---
**Author:** ![jsquire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jsquire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsquire)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/24 "2013-07-24T23:30:08Z")
My nominees would include John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/25 "2013-07-24T23:39:46Z")
Cayman Islands here. Our currency now features Queen Elizabeth II on all denominations. Coming up with candidates who are already dead is a bit hard. My proposals would be: $1 - Gladwyn K. Bush aka ‘Miss Lassie’, Caymanian folk artist $5 - Capt. Rayal Bodden, Caymanian shipwright and architect $10 - William Warren Conolly, Caymanian politician $25 - Sybil Joyce Hylton, Caymanian social development pioneer $50 - Capt. Charles Gerald Kirkconnell, Caymanian sea captain and entrepreneur $100 - Jim Manoah Bodden, Caymanian politician ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/26 "2013-07-24T23:46:32Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Cayman Islands here. Our currency now features Queen Elizabeth II on all denominations. > > Coming up with candidates who are already dead is a bit hard. My proposals would be: > $1 - Gladwyn K. Bush aka ‘Miss Lassie’, Caymanian folk artist > $5 - Capt. Rayal Bodden, Caymanian shipwright and architect > $10 - William Warren Conolly, Caymanian politician > $25 - Sybil Joyce Hylton, Caymanian social development pioneer > $50 - Capt. Charles Gerald Kirkconnell, Caymanian sea captain and entrepreneur > $100 - Jim Manoah Bodden, Caymanian politician No Mitt Romney? (sorry…carry on…) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/27 "2013-07-24T23:48:22Z")
I agree with the wait-until-they’re-dead-ten-years rule for putting famous people on stamps and currency, so it’s a bit too soon for Neil Armstrong yet, and Obama is, of course, still in the White House. I think I’d drop Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill and U.S. Grant from the $50 for Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt, respectively. That honors two better Presidents, and maintains partisan balance, too. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/28 "2013-07-24T23:51:21Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > -Obama, not just because he’s a president, but because he’s the first black president and represents such a huge milestone for this country that was kind of founded on slavery > > -Tesla Obama has a cool face for money, I want him on the $5 coin. Tesla for the twenty, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/29 "2013-07-25T00:18:00Z")
Susan B. Anthony. MLK. And Teddy Roosevelt for sure. He’s the most badass president in history – put him on the $20. ---
**Author:** ![Schism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@Schism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schism)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/30 "2013-07-25T00:41:41Z")
They have to be dead for 10 years? I didn’t catch that. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/31 "2013-07-25T00:44:02Z")
Derek Zoolander on every note. Ferrari on the $1 bill, Tigra on the $5 bill, Blue Steel on the $10 and Magnum on the $100. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/32 "2013-07-25T00:48:50Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Jane Austen is to be feature on the £10 note over here, replacing Charles Darwin. Sir Winston Churchill is also to replace Elizabeth Fry on the £5 note. A few people have moaned about it, but I can dig those choices, as well as the choices they’re replacing. Her Majesty the Queen is naturally on the other side. > > However, if you were given carte blanche over your nation’s banknote design, whose portrait would you feature? Would you even put a portrait at all? Love the idea of Jane Austen on the notes. Kiwi here. I’m pretty happy with all the people on our notes except for the $20. I don’t see why we have to have the Queen when she appears as a watermark on all our notes. My choice would be historian & author Michael King. [Michael King - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_King) He will have been dead for 10 years next year, but it’s worth noting that Sir Edmund Hilary started appearing our notes when he was still alive. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/33 "2013-07-25T01:04:17Z")
Whoops, I meant _Michael King_ will have been dead for 10 years next year. But yes, the late Sir Edmund Hilary started appearing on our $5 note when he was still alive. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/34 "2013-07-25T01:36:42Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > How about something practical? I know people won’t appreciate a periodic table or scientific constants, but maybe unit conversions, the times tables? I wonder why money can’t be useful, besides for currency. The whole periodic table of elements on an American paper currency?! It would have to be printed so small that nobody could read a particular entry without a microscope! On the other hand, I kind of like the basic idea. That’s why I’d put the First Amendment of the US Constitution on the $1 bill. That would make it a bill of Bill of Rights and remind people that we are supposed to be free to worship, express, or congregate – OR NOT – as we wish. I think I’d re-emphasize that by listing all 10 of the Rights in the Bill of Rights (or just their ‘titles’) on the $10 bill. For the $2, I think I’d put a little piece of mylar in that oval, partly just to say, “Hey, you may be no less important than anyone else.” and partly to be able to joke, “Hey! There’s $2 of you!” 😃 For the $5 I’d put Henry Ford, proponent of mass production, consumerism, and Fordism. For the $20 I’d put Alfred Nobel. Yeah, I know he wasn’t American and he invented Dynamite as a safer (than nitroglycerin) form of industrial explosive, but he also founded the Nobel prizes. For the $50 I’d put Albert Einstein, to remind holders that one’s financial status is relative For the $100 I’d put Siddhartha Gautama, to emphasize to people that wealth is an ephemeral illusion which, in the end, we all must release from our grasp. –G! And you can’t take it with you No matter what you do No you can’t take it with you Not the place you’re going to …–Alan Parsons (Alan Parson’s Project) …_Can’t Take it With You_ …Pyramid ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/35 "2013-07-25T01:46:19Z")
Al Capone ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/36 "2013-07-25T02:20:17Z")
Redesign the currency, eh? We just did ours in Canada, but if we were doing it again, I’d boot all the politicians and replace them with artists and writers and sports people and scientists. How about… Terry Fox on the $5. Alex Colville on the $10. (The Queen remains on the $20, unless we decide to abolish the Canadian monarchy, which would imply new money anyway, in which case she’s replaced by Geddy Lee.) Stephen Leacock on the $50. Maurice Richard on the $100. Banting and Best on the new $200. And Pat and Chuck Potter on the revived $500. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/37 "2013-07-25T05:31:47Z")
Topless woman riding a shark. [No, I’m not crazy.](http://www.therichest.org/wp-content/uploads/Dollar-of-Cook-Islands.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/38 "2013-07-25T16:55:22Z")
Janis Joplin Jimi Hendrix Jim Morrison James Dean Marilyn Monroe Putting those people on money would make US currency quite the collectors’ item, pretty much world-wide. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/39 "2013-07-25T17:04:18Z")
Chief Joseph Sitting Bull Black Kettle [Chief Si’ahl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Seattle) John Brown Meriwether Lewis William Clark William Bradford William Brewster ---
**Author:** ![Iamnotivan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Iamnotivan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iamnotivan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381/40 "2013-07-25T19:46:35Z")
Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd - one of the bravest, most intelligent, responsible, least self-interested men in history, (If the sea dies, we die) and Rachel Carson who made such a sea change in the environmental paradigm and is so little recognized for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whose-portrait-would-you-put-on-your-banknotes/664381.md?page=3)