h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Last night my mother-in-law gave Richard and me some U.S. currency. I had a look at the bills and saw George Washington on the $1 bill, Abraham Lincoln on the $10 bill and somebody called 'Hamilton' on the $5 bill.

I know that Washington and Lincoln were presidents, but who was Hamilton? He doesn't appear in the list of U.S. presidents I have. And why is he on the $5 bill?

hamilton is on the $10 bill and lincoln on the 5 and he wasn't a president he and Benjamin Franklin($100) are the only 2 ppl not presidents on US bills

Yes. Washington and Lincoln were both presidents. Hamilton was Washington's Secretary Of The Treasury. After a distinguished career, he remained active in the politics of the early U.S. government until he was killed in a duel by Vice President Aaron Burr, for trying to keep him from being elected as Governor of New York.

Oops! Sorry about that! I was just coming to correct myself when I spotted your post. The only thing I can say in my defence is that I never saw any U.S. currency until yesterday, and I'd only seen the bills once when I made the posting.

I don't know much about Ben Franklin, other than that he was an inventor. IMHO, the best thing he ever invented was the rocking-chair. We have one and it keeps Richard happy!

Thanks for that. I guess it explains why there's a picture of the Treasury building on the back of the $10 bill.

What other denominations do you have, and who's heads are on them? AbsoluteKnave has mentioned Ben Franklin on the $100. There must be others.

i think franklin had better inventions (like the bifocals) but he was also a great writer and the only one i thought had a great govetnment plan organized anarchy

lol a list
$1 Washington
$2 i dunno
$5 abraham
$10 hammelton
$20 not in my wallet dunno
$50 see above
$100 franklin

The only other bill I have on me is a $20, which has Andrew Jackson on it. I'm a little disappointed that U.S. money really has only political figures (even Ben Franklin was Ambassador to France, I believe). I used to live in Japan, and their currency has poets and artists as well as political figures.

wait up we just got our new dolla coin on it with sacachewia(i don't think thats spelled right but oh well) she was an indian guide who helped lewis and clark find a river rout to the west coast to they arn't ALL political..... but poets would be cool i can see iy now e.e.cunnigs on the $37 bill

English currency has or has had an inventor (George Stephenson), a scientist (Michael Faraday), a playwright (I think) (Shakespeare), a nurse (Florence Nightingale) and a general (the Duke of Wellington). The Duke and Miss Nightingale were on the £5 and £10, respectively.

Currently, we have George Stephenson on £5, Charles Dickens on £10 and Edward Elgar (composer) on £20. I don't know anybody who has ever seen a £50; they're rare beasts, partly because there was a spate of counterfeiting of them.

As far as I'm aware, we've never had any political figures on our bank notes. We have the Queen's head on one side, and a famous person on the other.

I like that story about Hamilton and Burr. I wish modern politics were so colourful.

From the Bank of England website (http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/ )
£5, George Stephenson, details include the Rocket Locomotive and other railway stuff.
£10, Charles Dickens, detail of Cricket match from Pickwick Papers
£20, Edward Elgar, detail Worcester Cathedral - introduced 1999 - (Michael Faraday notes still in circulation, detail Faraday lecturing at the Royal Society)
£50, Sir John Houblon, First Govenor ofthe Bank 1694 and of a family who were some of the first subscribers to the new bank, detail Houblon's home in Threadneedle St.

They comment that the historical figures are to have made an indisputable contribution to British history and the final choice is made by the court of directors of the bank.
Previous people are Newton (£1), Wellington (£5), Florence Nightingale (£10), Shakespere (£20), Wren (£50).

I wish American currency would honor those outside the political realm. Mark Twain, Rosa Parks, Bob Dylan . If you ask me, they missed a good opportunity to honor other great heroes when they switched over to the new "big head" style. (Recently American currency was updated to make it more difficult to counterfiet, and in the process the portraits on the front were enlarged greatly.)
England has the right idea.

The UK notes (and most other places bar the US) are colour coded as well, £5 Blue, £10 Orange, £20 Purple, £50 Red. Each note is of a different size also.

Why does the US continue to produce greenbacks that are the same size irregardless of denomination?

who knows our countrys so strange i don't even get it o_O oh well maybe someone else can explain why but i just think it's because were efraid to change

The $2 bills is Thomas Jefferson, inventor, architect, slave-owner, president, ect.

The $50 bill is Ulysses S. Grant, drunk, cigar-chewer, Civil War general, president, ect.

Well, that sounds like a good reason to me. Easier for all the con men to swindle the non Americans. This is only fair since the rest of the world spends its time trying to rip off the Yanks, or at least most of the Yanks I know are convinced they're about to be robbed blind by the perfidious natives (of wherever)

Hey, did you know that they're going to replace Dickens with Darwin on the £10 note? Apparently Darwin's beard is more difficult to counterfeit than Dickens' rather scraggly effort.

Whether we're talking quids or bucks
The tenners should always feature Chucks

Ouch! That HURT!

I know they're not English, but the £10 should feature Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. After all, they were 'The 3 Tenors'.

(Sorry, but I had to get my own back for your last one!