US Banknotes

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution says that "The Congress shall have Power...To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin," and Section 10 says that "No State shall...coin Money". It is illegal for private citizens to coin money.

The Supreme Court has ruled that Congress's power to coin money includes the power to print paper money and make it legal tender.

The Federal Reserve decides how much money will be produced. Paper money is printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and coins are produced by the United States Mint.

There is no black man on the 2 dollar bill. John Hanson, The first President of The Continental Congress of America, was not black. He was WHITE and had English ancestry. The black John Hanson was the Liberian Senator almost 100 years later. The claim the first president was black is simply false. The picture depicted on the back of the 2 dollar bill has no black men on it. The gentleman seated often mistaken for a black man is John Morris, a key signer of the Declaration of Independence.

An urban legend has grown up about a black person being depicted on the back of the US $2 bill. One of the signers was John Hanson, who according to some reports was of mixed ancestry but was of European descent.

The legend is abetted by the fact that part of the original painting is shaded. As a result the engraving has heavier ink in that section which gives one of the signers a slightly African-American appearance.

It actually has to do with arcane symbolism that dates back to the ancient times. The official name is 'The Great Seal of the United States'. First and foremost, you should look up what the eye enclosed in a triangle means. That holds the real importance

check it out at youtube 'illuminiati'

There is no such thing as a 10000000 bill. I thought I saw one, but it was just a fake.

No single person created the US money system, but the two most influential individuals were Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. The Constitution gives the government the authority to coin money and establish its value, but most of the details of denominations and metals were worked out by Jefferson while the economic and administrative system was developed by Hamilton. Of course neither of these men worked alone.

Jefferson had spent considerable time in France which had taken the lead in creating coins and measurements based on multiples of 10. The US was unfortunately firmly wedded to the British measurement system but Jefferson was mostly successful in persuading Congress to adopt decimal coinage. Initially the units were to be mills, cents, dimes, dollars, eagles, and unions. Each was to be worth 10 of its next-smallest predecessor. Except for the smallest coin, the mill, there would also be half-unit denominations: half cents, half dimes, etc.

The mill proved to be too small a unit to be practical; no mill-denominated coins were put into general circulation. The denomination survives today as part of tax calculations requiring amounts less than one cent. Common usage soon simplified calculations to just cents and dollars, although the dime remains as the name of our familiar 10-cent coin. The $100 union represented a significant amount of money at the time so like the mill it was never issued as a coin.

Spanish coins also circulated widely during the colonial period and were effectively interchangeable with British and other currencies. Spanish coins were based on multiples of 8 instead of 10, so two exceptions were made in Jefferson's decimal system to avoid problems with change-making: the quarter-dollar and quarter-eagle were added. Spanish coins remained legal tender until 1857, by which point the two non-decimal denominations were deeply entrenched. Quarter-eagles were abolished in 1933, but the 25¢ coin remains an anomaly in American coinage compared to other countries' systems that use 20¢ coins.

US Notes were among the first forms of currency issued by the Treasury Department. They first appeared in 1862 during the Civil War, and were printed up till 1968, although the last ones were actually dated 1966. US Notes were issued directly by the Treasury and were distinguished by their red seals and serial numbers.

When the Federal Reserve System was established in the early 20th centiry, it was given the authority to issue paper money as well. Even though the Fed is connected to Treasury Department, it's a quasi-independent part of the government. Federal Reserve Notes are printed for and distributed by each Federal Reserve district, so they're actually only indirectly from the Treasury.

By the mid-1960s the vast majority of bills in circulation were FRNs. Silver certificates were no longer redeemable in metal, so it made no sense to incur the production costs of multiple parallel types of currency. Both silver certificates and US Notes were discontinued and from that point on all bills were issued only as green-seal FRNs.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the most extraordinary of the American Founding Fathers. In addition to helping create the US Constitution, he was a diplomat, scientist, philosopher, inventor, author, civic leader and (belatedly) an early abolitionist.

The first federally-issued US $5 bill was a Demand Note printed in 1861. Demand Notes were only printed for a short period of time. The first commonly-used series of $5 bills were United States Notes starting the next year.

The U.S. dollar is made of 75% cotton and 25% linen

The 100 dollar bill has Ben Franklin on it and he wasn't a president, and the 10 dollar bill shows the first USA Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who was NOT a president.

*also, the 1918 $500 dollar bill featured Chief Justice John Marshall, who never became the President

The $10,000 bill, while no longer available after 1969, is still U.S. Legal Tender and features the visage of Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. Chase was Lincoln's Treasury Secretary during the American Civil War. Though he made several bids for President, he was never successful.

Half dollars intended for circulation prior to 1948 depicted a personification of Liberty. Half dollars dated 1948-1963 have Ben Franklin on the obverse, half dollars dated 1964-present have the late president Kennedy on them.

Because he is widely considered to be one of the greatest American presidents. He led the country through the Civil War, freed the slaves, and preserved the Union. Further all of his political enemies have long since died.

If you got it in change, it's just 50 cents. Only a Proof or high grade Mint State coin is worth more than face value.

According to Wikipedia the Free Online Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._fifty_dollar_bill) 1913: A new $50 Gold Certificate with a portrait of Ulysses Grant was issued. The style of the area below Grant's portrait was later used on small-sized notes. 1929: Under series of 1928, all U.S. currency was changed to its current size. All variations of the $50 bill would carry the same portrait of Ulysses S. Grant, same border design on the obverse, and the same reverse with a vignette of the U.S. Capitol. The $50 bill was issued as a Federal Reserve Note with a green seal and serial numbers and as a Gold Certificate with a golden seal and serial numbers.

Without details like the series and condition, the best possible answer is that it's still worth $2.

on the 50 dollar bill there is Ulysses S. Grant. The 18th president of united states.

In 1862, the Secretary of the Treasury was assigned the task to assign the faces to go on the bills, the only requirement was the person had to be dead. No reason was given for Jackson, but it may have been for irony. Jackson distrusted paper money, and even cautioned citizens about it in his farewell speech.

Roosevelt has been on the dime since the year after his death, 1946. The US Mint is doing a "Presidential Dollar" series now, with four new dollar coins released each year, taking the presidents in order, so, Roosevelt will be on one of those in a few years. He is not on any paper money.

First issued in 1862 with Alexander Hamilton on front; in 1869, reissued with Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Thomas Jefferson New issue introduced in 1976, in honor of US bicentennial Last issued in 2003

A portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, has appeared on the front of the US $5 bill since 1914.

Note that all current American bills have captions on them identifying the person pictured on the front and the scene or building on the back.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia. That should be labelled in small letters below the image.