PlayInfoBox

Home /Education /US Currency Explained: Bills, Coins, and Who Is on Them

US Currency Explained: Bills, Coins, and Who Is on Them

US bills all look similar at a glance, which surprises a lot of visitors. Here is a quick reference for the denominations and coins in everyday circulation.

$1 bill: George Washington

The most commonly circulated bill and the only widely used denomination that has kept essentially the same design for decades, partly because redesigning it would be costly for vending machines and other cash-handling equipment.

$5 and $10 bills: Lincoln and Hamilton

The $5 bill features Abraham Lincoln. The $10 features Alexander Hamilton, one of the few non-presidents (alongside Benjamin Franklin on the $100) to appear on regularly circulated US currency.

$20 bill: Andrew Jackson

The $20 currently in circulation carries Andrew Jackson's portrait. Redesigns featuring other historical figures have been proposed at various points, but the bill actually issued and used day to day still features Jackson.

$50 and $100 bills: Grant and Franklin

The $50 bill features Ulysses S. Grant. The $100 features Benjamin Franklin and is the highest denomination still printed and issued today.

Larger bills exist but are no longer issued

Denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 were printed for large interbank transactions in the past; the Federal Reserve stopped requesting new printings in the 1940s and began actively withdrawing them from circulation in 1969. They remain legal tender but are now rare collector items rather than everyday cash.

Coins: penny, nickel, dime, and quarter

The penny (1 cent) has featured Abraham Lincoln since 1909; the nickel (5 cents) features Thomas Jefferson; the dime (10 cents) features Franklin D. Roosevelt; and the quarter (25 cents) features George Washington on the front, with its reverse design rotating through several commemorative series over the years.

Dollar coins exist but rarely circulate

The US has issued various one-dollar coins over time, including versions featuring Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea, but paper $1 bills remain far more common in everyday use, so dollar coins can feel unfamiliar even to Americans.

Every US bill is the same size and mostly green

Unlike many countries' currencies, which vary bill size or color by denomination to make them easy to tell apart by feel or sight, all US paper currency is the same size and a similar green-toned design, which is why the portrait and printed number matter more than color for identifying a bill at a glance.

Why a $20 redesign keeps getting delayed

US currency redesigns go through years of security-feature development, production retooling, and government review, and past proposed redesigns have been repeatedly pushed back across different administrations for a mix of practical and political reasons. Because of that, it is safest to treat any specific announced redesign as "proposed" rather than assume it has actually happened until it is confirmed in circulation.

Why all US bills look so similar

The uniform size and green coloring trace back to historical printing and security decisions made generations ago; changing it now would require redesigning enormous amounts of cash-handling infrastructure, from vending machines to bank counting equipment, which is a major reason the look has stayed fairly consistent even as security features like watermarks and color-shifting ink have been added.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are $500 or $1,000 bills still legal to use?

They remain legal tender in theory, but they were withdrawn from circulation decades ago and are now almost never seen outside of collections, so in practice they are not usable currency.

Why is there no $3 bill or other odd denomination?

US currency denominations were standardized long ago around a set of values that divide evenly for everyday transactions and change-making; odd denominations were historically tried in some eras but never became part of the standard modern lineup.

What is the difference between a "note" and a "bill"?

They refer to the same thing β€” US paper currency is officially called a Federal Reserve Note, while "bill" is simply the everyday word Americans use for the same piece of currency.

Will the $20 bill definitely change to a new design soon?

Not on any confirmed timeline. Redesigns have been proposed and delayed multiple times, so the bill actually in circulation and accepted everywhere today is still the current Andrew Jackson design.