United States ten-dollar bill

Ten-dollar bills are delivered by Federal Reserve Banks bound with yellow straps. The source of Hamilton's portrait on the $10 bill is John Trumbull's 1805 painting that belongs to the portrait collection of New York City Hall. The $10 bill is unique in that it is the only denomination in circulation in which the portrait faces to the left. It also features one of two non-presidents on currently issued U.S. bills, the other being Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill. Hamilton is also the only person not born in the continental United States or British America (he was from the West Indies) currently depicted on U.S. paper currency; three others have been depicted in the past: Albert Gallatin, Switzerland ($500 1862/63 Legal Tender), George Meade, Spain (1890/91 Treasury Note), and Robert Morris, England (1862/63 Legal Tender; $10 1878/80 Silver Certificate).

• Country — United States • Denomination — Ten dollars • Value — $10 • Width Mm — 156 • Height Mm — 66.3 • Weight G — Approx. 1 • Security Features — Security fibers, security thread, watermark, color shifting ink, microprinting, raised printing, EURion constellation • Paper Type — 75% cotton 25% linen • Years Of Printing — 1861–present • Obverse Design — Alexander Hamilton • Obverse Design Date — 2004 • Reverse Design — U.S. Treasury Building • Reverse Design Date — 2004

(approximately 7.4218 × 3.125 in ≅ 189 × 79 mm) • Illustration — 1805 portrait of Hamilton by John Trumbull • Illustration — 1863 $10 Legal Tender note (also known as a "sawbuck") featuring then-current U.S. president Abraham Lincoln • Illustration — 1880 $10 Legal Tender depicting Daniel Webster * • The Roman numeral "X" may represent the origin of the slang term "sawbuck" to mean a $10 bill. • The notes could also be spent for exactly $10. • It is unknown if the note could actually be spent for $10 plus interest. • This note is nicknamed a "jackass note" because the eagle on the front looks like a donkey when the note is turned upside down. • The back of the bill featured a vignette of U.S. gold coins. • Illustration — Series 1880 $10 silver certificate featuring Robert Morris • The blue and green tinting that was present on the obverse was removed and the design on the reverse was completely changed. • The reverse, unlike any other federally issued note, was printed in black ink and featured the word SILVER in large block letters. * * • The note featured a portrait of General Philip Sheridan. The reverse featured an ornate design that took up almost the entire note. * • Illustration — Series 1901 $10 Legal Tender depicting military explorers Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and an American bison • This United States Note was the only one to mention the legal provision that authorized its issuance. The reverse featured an allegorical figure representing Columbia between two Roman-styled pillars. • It had a blue seal, and a woman on the reverse. * * • The note initially had a red treasury seal and serial numbers; however, they were changed to blue. • Illustration — 1914 $10 Federal Reserve Note featuring Andrew Jackson • The obverse was similar to the 1914 Federal Reserve notes except for large wording in the middle of the bill and a portrait with no border on the left side of the bill. Each note was an obligation of the issuing bank and could only be redeemed at the corresponding bank. * • Some of the design aspects of this note, such as the bottom border and numeral 10 overprinted with the word, were transferred over to the series of 1928 $10 bill.

• Illustration — Series 1928 Gold Certificate • Illustration — 1934 A Federal Reserve Note • Illustration — Hawaii overprint note • Illustration — The first 1953 Silver Certificate printed (Smithsonian) (≅) • All variations of the bill would carry the same portrait of Alexander Hamilton, same border design on the obverse, and the same reverse with a vignette of the U.S. Treasury building. The 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. The car parked outside of the Treasury Department building is based on a number of different cars manufactured at the time and was the creation of the Bureau designer who developed the artwork that served as a model for the engraving, because government agencies were prohibited from endorsing any specific manufacturer or product, according to a bureau of engraving and printing pamphlet. The tiny building to the right rear of the treasury building is the American Security and Trust Company Building, which for some years advertised itself as "right on the money". • This was the only small-sized bill that had a different border design on the obverse. The serial numbers and seal on it were brown. • The obverse had a similar design style to the 1928 Silver Certificates; however, phrasing on the bill was different from the bill. This issue, with the series date of 1933, was not widely released into general circulation. Surviving examples of these notes are quite rare and valued at $10,000 to $30,000 in the numismatic community depending on their condition. * • Phrasing on the certificate was changed to reflect the American Silver Purchase Act of 1934. • A Silver Certificate was printed with a yellow instead of blue treasury seal; these notes were given to U.S. troops in North Africa. These notes, too, could be declared worthless if seized by the enemy. • Most noticeably, the treasury seal, gray word, and the Federal Reserve Seal were made smaller, the words WASHINGTON, D.C. were added between them and the serial number; also, the Federal Reserve seal had spikes added around it, like the Treasury seal. * • Also, the obligation was shortened to its current wording, THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. Also during this time, production of Silver Certificates ends. * * • Even though the notes read Series 1990, the first bills were printed in July 1992. * • The major changes were a revised, larger, slightly off-center portrait of Hamilton and a revised vignette of the U.S. Treasury building, now positioned face-on. The plastic security strip reads "USA TEN" and now glows orange under a black light. Like the new, the bills were first printed in December 1999. • The reverse features small yellow EURion 10s and have the fine lines removed from around the vignette of the United States Treasury building. These notes were issued in series 2004A with Cabral-Snow signatures. The first notes were printed in July 2005.

• Type — Series — Register — Treasurer — Seal • National Bank Note Types 1 & 2 — 1929 — Jones — Woods — Brown • Federal Reserve Bank Note — 1928A — Jones — Woods — Brown • Type — Series — Treasurer — Secretary — Seal • Gold Certificate — 1928 — Woods — Mellon — Gold • Silver Certificate — 1933 — Julian — Woodin — Blue • 1934 — Morgenthau • 1934 North Africa — Yellow • 1934A — Blue • 1934A North Africa — Yellow • 1934B — Vinson — Blue • 1934C — Snyder • 1934D — Clark • 1953 — Priest — Humphrey • 1953A — Anderson • 1953B — Smith — Dillon • Federal Reserve Note — 1928 — Tate — Mellon — Green • 1928A — Woods • 1928B • 1928C — Mills • 1934 — Julian — Morgenthau • 1934 Hawaii • 1934A • 1934A Hawaii • 1934B — Vinson • 1934C — Snyder • 1934D — Clark • 1950 • 1950A — Priest — Humphrey • 1950B — Anderson • 1950C — Smith — Dillon • 1950D — Granahan • 1950E — Fowler • 1963 — Dillon • 1963A — Fowler • 1969 — Elston — Kennedy • 1969A — Kabis — Connally • 1969B — Bañuelos • 1969C — Shultz • 1974 — Neff — Simon • 1977 — Morton — Blumenthal • 1977A — Miller • 1981 — Buchanan — Regan • 1981A — Ortega • 1985 — Baker • 1988A — Villalpando — Brady • 1990 • 1993 — Withrow — Bentsen • 1995 — Rubin • 1999 — Summers • 2001 — Marin — O'Neill • 2003 — Snow • 2004A — Cabral • 2006 — Paulson • 2009 — Rios — Geithner • 2013 — Lew • 2017 — Carranza — Mnuchin • 2017A • 2021 — Malerba — Yellen

In 2015, the multi-agency Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence Steering Committee (ACD) developed a schedule for the next generation of US bills, known as Catalyst, which will contain new security and anti-counterfeiting features as well as increased accessibility for the blind and visually impaired. On June 17, 2015, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that a woman's portrait would be featured on a redesigned ten-dollar bill by 2020, although the ACD was not planning for it to be production ready until 2026. The Department of Treasury was seeking the public's input on who should appear on the new bill during the design phase. Removal of Hamilton was controversial. Many believed that Hamilton, as the first Secretary of the Treasury, should remain on U.S. Currency in some form, all the while thinking that U.S. Currency was long overdue to feature a female historical figure – names that had been raised included Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, and Susan B. Anthony. This led to the Treasury Department stating that Hamilton would remain on the bill in some way. The $10 bill was chosen because it was scheduled for a regular security redesign, a years-long process. The redesigned ten-dollar bill was to be the first U.S. note to incorporate tactile features to assist those with visual disabilities. On April 20, 2016, it was announced that Alexander Hamilton would remain the primary face on the $10 bill, due in part to the sudden popularity of the first Treasury Secretary after the success of the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton. It was simultaneously announced that Harriet Tubman's likeness would appear on the $20 bill while Andrew Jackson would now appear on the reverse with the White House. The 2016 design for the reverse of the new $10 bill was set to feature the heroines of the Women's Suffrage Movement in the United States, including Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and the participants of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession who marched in Washington, D.C., in favor of full voting rights for American women. In August 2017, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) began development of the Catalyst $10 and $50 bills. As of October 2022, the plan was to release a new $10 bill in 2026, $50 bill in 2028, $20 bill in 2030 followed later by a new $5 then $100 notes later in the 2030s. The new bills will include "raised tactile features" for the blind and visually impaired which will be applied as part of the intaglio printing process. Due to the development of the bill's security features, the designs of the new bills will likely be released 6 months before each bill is issued.