Across history, civilizations have honored the notable men and women of their eras by placing them on currency that rare coin dealers value. In the United States, 53 people have appeared on banknotes. At the time this article was originally published, even many collectors of rare coins and banknotes did not recognize several people portrayed on the earliest U.S. notes circulated as legal tender.
1. Salmon Portland Chase
Salmon Portland Chase was portrayed on the 1862 $1 legal-tender note and on $10,000 bills printed through 1945. An outspoken abolitionist, Chase served Abraham Lincoln as Secretary of the Treasury before later becoming Chief Justice of the United States. He introduced paper money in the United States and placed his own image on numerous bills—including the first $1 bill—in an effort to build his popularity.
2. Albert Gallatin
Albert Gallatin appears on the 1862 $500 bill. In his 20s, Gallatin relocated from Geneva to the United States. Following many years of government service, Thomas Jefferson appointed him Secretary of the Treasury. He remained in that office longer than any other person in American history. He later served as ambassador to France as well as Great Britain. Before he died, Gallatin also helped establish New York University.
3. Robert Morris
Along with Albert Gallatin, Robert Morris is regarded as one of the founders of America’s financial system. He oversaw the economy of the early United States, and his writings about the subject provided a foundation for Alexander Hamilton’s later work as Secretary of the Treasury. That financial skill placed Morris on the first $1,000 bill in 1862. Ironically, a poor land investment led him to spend much of his later life in debtors’ prison.
4. Woodrow Wilson
As the nation’s 28th president, Woodrow Wilson was widely recognized for leading the country through World War I, securing women’s equal voting rights, and advancing progressive measures including the Federal Reserve Act. Perhaps because of that final measure, his portrait appeared on the $100,000 bill, printed in 1934-35 but never released into public circulation. The note served as a gold certificate for transactions among Federal Reserve Banks. At the time this article was originally published, the government owned the few specimens known to exist.
Many rare coin dealers value these banknotes for their rarity and their distinctive role within American history.
