The portraits on current U.S. currency reflect choices made decades ago, in some cases more than a century. Understanding who appears on existing bills — and why — gives useful context for the question of who could appear on a new $250 note.
Current circulating denominations
- $1 — George Washington. First president. The portrait has appeared on the $1 in essentially its current form since 1869.
- $2 — Thomas Jefferson. Third president and principal author of the Declaration of Independence. Notable for low circulation; the bill is in continuous production but rarely used.
- $5 — Abraham Lincoln. Sixteenth president. Appears on the $5 since 1914.
- $10 — Alexander Hamilton. First Treasury Secretary, not a president. On the $10 since 1929.
- $20 — Andrew Jackson. Seventh president. On the $20 since 1928. (A proposed redesign to feature Harriet Tubman has been delayed multiple times.)
- $50 — Ulysses S. Grant. Eighteenth president and Civil War general. On the $50 since 1913.
- $100 — Benjamin Franklin. Founding father, not a president. On the $100 since 1914.
Discontinued denominations
Higher-denomination notes featured: William McKinley ($500), Grover Cleveland ($1,000), James Madison ($5,000), Salmon P. Chase ($10,000), and Woodrow Wilson ($100,000 gold certificate, used only for interbank transfers). All were discontinued in 1969.
The selection rule
Federal law (31 U.S.C. §5114) requires that only deceased individuals appear on U.S. currency. Beyond that, the choice has historically rested with the Treasury Secretary, often guided by the Federal Reserve and informed by historical and political considerations.
How a Trump $250 bill would differ
Every current portrait subject is deceased. Most are presidents, with notable exceptions for Hamilton (a Founding Father and first Treasury Secretary) and Franklin (a Founding Father). None has appeared on currency during their lifetime. Trump on the $250 would be unprecedented on both counts in living memory.
The Tubman question
The most recent serious proposal to redesign U.S. currency — replacing Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the $20 — was announced under the Obama administration in 2016, delayed under the first Trump administration, revived under the Biden administration, and remains incomplete. The Tubman redesign is a useful comparison case: even for a deceased subject, designing and approving a new portrait can take a decade.