5: Do the following:
- Identify the persons depicted on the following denominations of current U.S. paper money: $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.
- Explain 'Legal Tender.'
- Describe the role the Federal Reserve System plays in the distribution of currency.
Paper Currency is readily available; it is good to know who is on the notes. Knowing how the currency is distributed in the banking system is a good way to re-enforce the use of the branch codes on the currency. With the redesign of the currency, perhaps this area of collecting will see an increase in popularity.
You all know that George Washington is depicted on the U.S. one-dollar notes and that Abraham Lincoln is on the five-dollar notes, but who is on the $2, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes? Are they all United States Presidents? Why do you think they were honored in this way?
George Washington, the father of our country, was the first President of the United States. He served from 1789-97.
Abraham Lincoln was our sixteenth President (1861-1865) He was born February 12, 1809, in Hodgenville, Hardin County, Kentucky and died April 15, 1865, the morning after being shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. by John Wilkes Booth, an actor. He was married to Mary Todd Lincoln.
Thomas Jefferson appears on the U.S. two-dollar bill. He was the third President of the U.S. serving from 1801-1809. He was born April 13, 1743 in Albermarle County, Virginia and died July 4, 1826 in Monticello (his home) in Virginia.
Alexander Hamilton was born in 1757 on the island of Nevis, in the Leeward group, British West Indies. He was the Secretary of the Treasury from 1789-95. He is pictured on the face of the 10-dollar note and the U.S. Treasury building is pictured on the back.
Andrew Jackson, the 7th U.S. President graces the face of the U.S. 20-dollar note. Andrew Jackson was elected by popular vote, and as President he sought to act as the direct representative of the common man.
Ulysses S. Grant was the eighteenth U.S. President serving from 1869-1877. His portrait is on the 50-dollar bill. The U.S. Capital Building is on the back.
Benjamin Franklin was famous as a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer, a philosopher, a musician, and an economist. Today, we honor Ben Franklin on the 100-dollar note as one of our Founding Fathers and as one of America's greatest citizens. Although he was born in Boston, the city of Philadelphia is remembered as the home of Ben Franklin. In Philadelphia, you can find both Ben's gravesite and the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. You'll also find The Franklin Institute Science Museum.
Legal Tender Notes are intended for "all debts public and private." Also known as "United States notes," they were introduced in 1862 and still circulate today. Unlike earlier demand notes, they are not redeemable in gold or silver of equivalent face value.
On December 23, 1913, an Act of Congress created the Federal Reserve System, which serves as the nation's central bank. The System consists twelve Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the United States: New York, Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Richmond, St Louis, and Philadelphia. An important job of the Federal Reserve is to function as the "banks' bank," ensuring that institutions have enough currency and coin on hand to meet current demand, which varies with the seasons of the year. Currency and coin put into circulation to meet seasonal demand is eventually returned to the institutions by merchants and other business owners. So to reduce the excess currency and coin held in their vaults, banks typically return cash to the Reserve Bank, where it is credited to their accounts. The process is reversed when the institutions need to replenish or increase their supply of currency and coin.
