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The decision as to which United States President graces the designs on the dollar bill is determined by the United States Congress. United States Presidents have appeared on official banknotes, coins for circulation and commemorative coins in the United States as well as all around the world. Even throughout phases of redesigns, although there were significant changes in fabrication, the presidents which are depicted on the currency remained the same.

Currently, images of presidents that are struck on United States coins are Abraham Lincoln who was the 16th U.S. President for the penny, Thomas Jefferson who was the 3rd U.S. President for the Nickel, Franklin D Roosevelt who was the 32nd U.S. President for the Dime, George Washington who was the 1st U.S. President for the Quarter, John F Kennedy who was the 35th U.S. President for the Half Dollar, and Dwight D Eisenhower for the one dollar coin, although one dollar coins depicting President Eisenhower was ceased in 1978. Susan B Anthony and Sacagawea, both significant historical figures, currently grace United States one dollar coins.

The names of the presidents depicted on the United States paper currency are George Washington who was the 1st U.S. President for the one dollar bill, Thomas Jefferson who was the 3rd U.S. President for the two dollar bill, Abraham Lincoln who was the 16th U.S. President for the five dollar bill, Andrew Jackson who was the 7th U.S. President for the twenty dollar bill, Ulysses S Grant who was the 18th U.S. President for the fifty dollar bill, and Benjamin Franklin on the one hundred dollar bill. Note that Benjamin Franklin was not a President of the United States, although he was a very prominent figure in its history.

Other presidents that were featured are William McKinley who was the 25th U.S. President on the five hundred dollar bill, Grover Cleveland who was the 22nd and 24th U.S. President on the one thousand dollar bill, James Madison who was the 4th U.S. President on the five thousand dollar bill, and Woodrow Wilson who was the 25th U.S. President on the one hundred thousand dollar bill. Salmon P Chase, depicted on the ten thousand dollar bill, was a former Secretary of the Treasury and was the only non-president that was depicted in the larger denominations of the United States currency. All of these notes, however, are now considered obsolete and are no longer in circulation.

Recently, the Presidential Dollar Coin Program was passed by congress and former presidents will be honored if their death is two or more years before the intended issue date of these coins. Presidents that will grace these coins to date, in sequential order, are George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford,  and Ronald Reagan. Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush may be depicted as well if they meet the requirement above.

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Dollar coins have had as colorful of a history as any paper currency here in the United States. It has, throughout time and again, been minted in various metal elements, which includes gold, silver, copper-nickel, and manganese-brass.

The first dollar coin minted back in 1974 was made out of silver. The minting of this silver dollar continued steadily until 1935, although it is said that its production was temporarily ceased between 1803 and 1836. Seven different designs were listed to have graced the dollar coin throughout this period and these are the Flowing Hair from 1794 to 1795, the Draped Bust from 1795 to 1803, the Gobrecht Dollar from 1836 to 1839, the Seated Liberty from 1840 to 1873, the Trade Dollar from 1873 to 1878, the Morgan Dollar from 1878 to 1921, and the Peace Dollar from 1921 to 1935.

Gold dollar coins, that was made out of 90 percent pure gold, were produced from 1849 to 1889. The decision to mint gold dollar is said to be credited to the gold rush period of the 1840’s. Because of its worth, the gold dollar is the smallest coin ever produced in the United States to date. The gold dollar coin spanned three periods of design stages, the first being the Liberty Head from 1849 to 1854, the Small Indian Head from 1854 to 1856, and the Large Indian Head from 1856 to 1889. It is also said that although gold dollar coins were no longer minted after 1889, several issues were struck in 1915 and 1922 to commemorate the Panama Canal and U.S. Grant respectively, and continued to circulate until the abandonment of the gold standard in the 1930’s.

The next phase in the United States coinage was the copper-nickel clad dollar coins, a period which spanned from 1971 to 1999. Designs on this variety of mint includes the Eisenhower Dollar from 1971 to 1978, the Eisenhower Bicentennial from 1975 to 1976, and the Anthony Dollar from 1979 to 1999. The Anthony Dollar or also cynically known as the “Carter quarters”, due to the poor performance of the dollar during President Jimmy Carter’s term, was minted in tribute to Susan B. Anthony, an important American civil rights leader of the 19th century.

In the year 2000, the Sacagawea Dollar series took birth and it still remains one third of all coins produced to date. The only other design of coinage that is of legal tender is the Presidential Dollar Coin Program, which was introduced in 2007.

The program was initiated to commemorate the former Presidents of the United States and it was decided that four new engraved relief portraits of them be minted each year, in sequential order by term served in office. The Statue of Liberty is engraved on its reverse, along with the inscription “$1″ and the words “United States of America”. Presidents that have adorned the coins so far are George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Martin Van Buren, the latter being released this coming November.

If this program should continue to depict all of our Presidents, George W. Bush would adorn the dollar coin in 2016. Cant wait!

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It is generally known that the selection of designs and portraits on the dollar bill is decided by the Secretary of the Treasury, with the advice of authorized official from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, after a thorough review by the Commission on Fine Arts.

It is also acknowledged that all of the portraits on the dollar bill are of deceased individuals of significant historical importance. This is because the Unites States Code, Title 31, Section 5114(b), forbids the depiction of any living persons on the dollar bill. The designs and portraits on the dollar bill today were chosen back in 1928, and in 1996, security enhanced variations were introduced in response to growing threats of currency counterfeiters worldwide.

The dollar bills in circulation today features the portraits and designs of George Washington displaying the number “1” between obverse and reverse of the Great Seal on the $1 bill, Thomas Jefferson with the design of “The Signing of the Declaration of Independence” on the $2 bill, Abraham Lincoln with the design of the Lincoln Memorial on the $5 bill, Alexander Hamilton with the design of the US Treasury Building on the $10 bill, Andrew Jackson with the design of the White House on the $20 bill, Ulysses S. Grant with the design of the US Capitol on the $50 bill, and Benjamin Franklin with the design of the Independence Hall on the $100 bill.

There are also several other depicted portraits on other denominations of the dollar bill which ceased in circulation back in 1969. These are the $500 bill displaying the portrait of William McKinley, the $1000 bill bearing a portrait of Grover Cleveland, the $5000 bill bearing a portrait of James Madison, the $10000 bill bearing a portrait of Salmon P. Chase, and the $100000 bill displaying a portrait of Woodrow Wilson.

No records have been found to date, however, to suggest the reasoning behind the selection of certain Presidents and statesmen on these various denominations.

To help safeguard against counterfeiters, the US government is expected to redesign the dollar bill every decade or so. The dollar bill is less exposed to the threats of forgery through the significant improvements in its security features, the tighter laws governing counterfeiters, and the ongoing effort to educate the public on the subject matter. Basically the new designs are targeted to be safer which makes it harder to forge and easier to check, smarter to stay ahead of tech-savvy forgers, and more secure, which help protect the integrity of the currency.

The subtle background colors of this new enhance designs is probably the most noticeable difference on the new dollar bills. This frustrates forgers as it makes the dollar bill more intricate and harder to counterfeit. This significant change also helps distinguish the different denominations because of the obvious contrast in background colors.

Despite all these added features, the redesigned dollar bills continue to preserve its distinct size, look and feel of the original dollar bills of the yesteryears, making it the most recognizable and travelled paper money in the world.

This continuous effort to honor the previous portraits and designs of the dollar bill can be credited to The Department of the Treasury. The older designed dollar bills are also never recalled or exchanged upon the pumping-in of the newer more secure currency. This process is methodically carried out in a controlled and purposeful manner, usually in stages, being careful not to overwhelm the financial markets. As a result, and due to the billions of dollars circulating worldwide, which is deliberately unaffected by this change, the value of the dollar bill has in time continue to strengthen in value.

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