Who should be on currency - my two ¢

[alonso_quijano]

Since it's pretty much a done deal that Reagan will get some sort of memorialization, I'd like to see a set of nonpartisan, nonpolitical guidelines for that sort of thing (partly so RR doesn't end up on everything, but mostly so what should be a dignified commemoration doesn't end up as a football).

What I'd like to see...

Coins should be reserved for former Presidents, with our most important Presidents eligible for permanent representation 50 years after their death (yes, I don't like the idea of either JFK or Ike on coins relatively soon after their deaths). All Presidents would be eligible for commemorative representation for one year, in the next mint year available after their death.

1¢: Lincoln
5¢: Jefferson
10¢: FDR
25¢: Washington
50¢: T. Roosevelt
$1: Most mint years, a bald eagle; in the next mint year available after the death of a President, that President.

Currency should depict, after their deaths, great Americans who did not serve as President. These could be rotated with greater frequency, especially in the lower denominations. Some suggestions:

$1: Mark Twain
$2: Edgar Allen Poe
$5: Thomas Edison
$10: Elvis. Or Hamilton, whatever.
$20: Susan B. Anthony
$50: Martin Luther King, Jr.
$100: Benjamin Franklin

Lots of potential honorees...

[mark414]

1. i like that

we don't give enough credit to mark twain in this country

[Oddman]

2. If Reagan ends up on American currency

I hope to god we become a cashless society . . .

[Kazak]

3. Not bad...one complaint.

Under your guidelines, not a single bill bares the image of an American President.

[alonso_quijano]

7. yeah, keep the POTUSes off the bills!

Since there are so many Americans deserving commemoration, put the non-Presidents on the bills - which have to be replaced more often anyway! Coins last far longer, and there's something a little more impressive about being on a coin - so reserve those for the Presidents (especially the good ones).

And this way, your avatar could end up on a bill someday! Though I hope not for a long time.

[Kazak]

11. Well, that's true.

Maybe one bill could be reserved for Presidents or something...

[Kazak]

12. I'm having a hard time with Elvis on a bill though.

:shrug:

[Village Idiot]

4. Shouldn't GWB

be on the $1,000,000,000 bill?

[NinetySix]

13. Wasn't Bush's picture...

...on that Trillion Dollar Bill that was stolen from the Government by Mongomery Burns? I think maybe Castro has it now.

[displacedtexan]

5. Let them swap one Repuke for another.

Hhhhhhmmm... Who would get the axe? Something to ponder.

[GreenArrow]

I'd like to see Sitting Bull or Chief Joseph

or another Indian on one of the bills. I'd prefer the 20.

Also like to see things like Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon, El Capitan, the American Bison, Grizzly Bear, etc.

[alonso_quijano]

8. Great idea! n/t

[LTR]

6. One thing I've always wondered about

Why is Grant on the $50 bill? His presidency was nothing to crow about.

[elperromagico]

9. One of life's great mysteries, my friend.

Washington on the $1 bill? Highly appropriate; he was the first President.

Jefferson on the $2? That works too.

Lincoln on the $5? Of course!

Hamilton on the $10? Well... he was the first Treasury Secretary.

Jackson on the $20? That's fine.

Franklin on the $100? I like seeing him there.

But Grant on the $50? That's a damn mystery to me.

[NinetySix]

14. A repost of mine from another thread...

Here are the faces on of all our paper currency (and my opinion of each):

1 - Washington. A man of pure integrity. Aces in my book.
2 - Jefferson. Both an idealist and a pragmatist. The brains behind the Republic.
5 - Lincoln. Divisive, had his faults, but did preserve the Union.
10 - Hamilton. A Federalist with an aristocratic streak. Would have prospered in the Bush Admin.
20 - Jackson. Ignored the Supreme Court and forced the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, etc. on the Trail of Tears. Racist. Fucker.
50 - Grant. Drunk. Corrupt. Did I mention drunk?
100 - Franklin. Not a president, but an important Founder. Odd bird, but good.
500 - McKinley. Corporatist. Like Bush. Say no more.
1000 - Grover Cleveland?!? Oh well, at least he made a comeback against Harrison, who stole the election.
5000 - Madison. A stand-up kind of guy who defended our nation sensibly. Like John F. Kennedy. Or John F. Kerry.
10,000 - Chase. Supreme Court Justice who presided over Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial. Pretty obscure, eh?
100,000 - Wilson. An idealist, deeply flawed, but a good man.

Maybe let Reagan adorn the 10,000. That way, only the people who loved him best ever have to look at him.

[LTR]

15. Any bill over $500

Hasn't been printed in decades.

[NinetySix]

16. I hadn't thought of that.

But really, how much could it possibly cost to print a few thousand $10,000 bills? WELL worth the cost to shut the Reagan lovers up.

[klook]

10. New ideas

The U.S. has a tradition of boring money with pictures of dead white guys (exceptions being the Buffalo nickel, the Indian-head penny, and the Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea dollars). Why not spice it up a little? Here are some examples of what's possible:











<edited to remove images from banknote.com that weren't showing up>