Faces On U.S. Paper Money Online Trivia | Coins and Banknotes

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 1862, the first $1.00 bill was issued that was a legal tender United States note. Legal tender just means that it was approved by the government. Whose face was on the front of this bill?

Answer: Salmon Portland Chase

Salmon P. Chase was the U.S. Secretary Of the Treasury under President Lincoln during the Civil War. This was a large format bill which measured 7.4218 by 3.125 inches. In the middle 1920's, U.S. bills were changed to a small format which measured 6.14 by 2.61 inches which is still used today.

2. From December 18, 1934 through January 9, 1935, A legal, tender $100,000.00 bill was issued. Which president's face was printed on the front of the bill?

Answer: Woodrow Wilson

President Woodrow Wilson had his picture printed on the $100,000.00 bill. It was a gold certificate and was never issued to the public. The bill was only used for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks. It is not legal for collectors to have these in their collection.

3. The first $2.00 bills were released by the federal government in 1862. They were known as United States Notes or "Legal Tenders." The first Secretary of the Treasury's face was printed on the front of this bill. He held that position from 1789-1795. Whose face was on the front of this early bill? All of the gentlemen listed, were Secretary of the Treasury at one time or another.

Answer: Alexander Hamilton

Founding Father Alexander Hamilton also founded a newspaper that later became The New York Post and of course signed the U.S. Constitution. He was a political philosopher as well. Hamilton and Aaron Burr were attorneys who worked together on the first murder trial. For whatever reasons, Hamilton had seen to it that every political goal that Burr had, failed. Wanting revenge, he wound up challenging Hamilton to a duel. On July 11, 1804 they dueled. Burr mortally wounded Hamilton who died the following day in a great deal of pain. From 1869 until today, the face of Thomas Jefferson has been on the $2.00 bill.

4. The $500.00 legal tender bill goes back to 1918. It's no longer being printed. As of 1969 it was discontinued due to the fact that it was pretty much never used. The first issue of this bill had the face of a Chief Justice on front. Whose face was it?

Answer: John Marshall

The Chief Justice whose face was on the $500.00 bill was initially John Marshall. It was discontinued in 1969 and last printed in 1969. Collectors are still very interested in this bill and many come up for sale on eBay.
Initially, Marshall was an attorney who defended his clients against British prewar creditors. In 1800 he served as Secretary of State. He became Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1801 and remained in that position until he passed away in 1835.

5. The legal tender $5,000.00 bill was first printed in 1918. There were two versions but both had the same president's face on front. One version was a Federal Reserve Note, and the other, a Gold Certificate. Which president's face was printed on the front of this bill?

Answer: James Madison

The back of the bill had General George Washington on it, shown as he was resigning as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He did this on December 23, 1783. The last time this bill was printed was in 1945.
In 1969 Richard Nixon was president, and he ordered that these bills be recalled, because he thought criminals might use them in money laundering schemes.

6. The 1913 Act created the Federal Reserve System in the United States. The following year, Federal Reserve Notes were issued by Federal Reserve Banks. These notes replaced national bank notes as the accepted form of paper money. In 1914, the San Francisco Federal Reserve printed out $20.00 bills. Whose face graced the obverse of these bills? It was a president.

Answer: Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland's picture graced the $20 bill until 1928 when his face was replaced with that of Andrew Jackson. President Jackson's face has been on the bill ever since.
Back in the day, the $20.00 bill was referred to as a "double sawbuck," obviously because it was twice the value of a $10.00 bill, or "sawbuck."

7. In 1914, the first $100.00 Federal Reserve Note was printed. They are now referred to as large size notes due to the fact that they're bigger that today's bills. Whose face was printed on the front of this 1914 bill?

Answer: Benjamin Franklin

From 1914 until at least 2020, Benjamin Franklin's face has been on the obverse of $100.00 bills. As of 1969, the $100.00 bill was the largest denomination printed in the United States.
Franklin was chosen to be on this bill because he was a founding father, his values represented what a true American should be like, and he was surely a man to admire.

8. This question is regarding the $10,000.00 bill. It was the highest denomination ever released for public use. There were only two printings of this bill. First was 1928 and last was 1934. Whose face was on all $10,000.00 bills?

Answer: Salmon Portland Chase

Chase served as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States, the 23rd Governor of Ohio, and the 25th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Chase was also an anti slavery activist and helped establish the Republican party.
There are only 350 of these $10,000.00 bills in existence, so they are quite rare and valuable.

9. The 1907 legal tender $5.00 bill was nicknamed the wood chopper. The face on the front belonged to a president. This was the last year his face was on the $5.00 bill. Which president's face was on the front of this bill?

Answer: Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson's face is situated on the far left side of the bill near the bottom. In the middle is a picture of a pioneer family consisting of a mother, father, baby, and family dog. The father has an axe in hand, hence the wood chopper nickname. The seals and serial numbers are printed in red ink.
Ulysses S. Grant was one of the wrong choices. He was born Hiram Ulysses Grant. The S in the middle name he used, stood for Simpson, his mother's maiden name.

10. The first circulated legal tender $50.00 bill was issued in 1862. This is a bill without a president's face on front. The signatures of Lucius Eugene Chittenden (Register of the Treasury) and Francis Elias Spinner (Treasurer of the United States) appeared on the bill. Whose face was on front of this bill?

Answer: Alexander Hamilton

The face of statesman and founding father, Alexander Hamilton, was featured on this bill. It was a large size note which measured approximately 7.4218 � 3.125 inches, as opposed to small size notes, which were roughly 6.14 � 2.61 inches. U.S. paper money is made of 75% cotton and 25% linen.

Source: Author feedyourhead

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
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Faces On U.S. Paper Money Trivia Quiz

I will give you specific denominations and years of U.S. paper money and you tell me whose face is on that particular bill.

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