Money Detective: USA Mostly Current Quiz

Answer: Monticello

Look under the image of the building and you'll find its name! Monticello, in Virginia, was Jefferson's home, which he designed himself. This is not quite the same thing as Abe Lincoln having built the log cabin in which he was born! Also, Jefferson didn't look anything like Nick Nolte.

Another interesting fact is that this great man who stood for freedom was a slave owner, as was George Washington.

Answer: A man riding a horse

The man on the horse is Caesar Rodney, and the coin is designed after a well-known statue which stands in Rodney Square in the center of Wilmington (my home town). Rodney, a delegate to the Continental Congress from Dover, was an early hero in Delaware's history because, on July 1, 1776, in spite of having cancer and asthma and being 48 years old, he made a lone 80-mile ride to Philadelphia through thunderstorms and heat, across rickety bridges and through deep mud, to inform the Continental Congress that Delaware had voted for independence, which swung the Congress to pass the Declaration of Independence, which he signed a few days later.

He was also a judge, a military commander, and first governor of Delaware. Hail, Caesar!

Answer: An eye

The eye is said to represent the eye of God. A very busy design indeed is the back of the one. Take a good look at it! Check out the Great Seal of the United States and all the details in it. Count the stars, the arrows, and the leaves. And puzzle over what the heck those Latin phrases might mean. Who knew all that stuff was there!

Answer: False

The mint marks (P for Philadelphia or D for Denver, also S for San Francisco on proof coins only) can be different. For most of our history, coins minted in Philadelphia had no mint mark, with the exception of the wartime silver nickels, which had a P over Monticello on the back.

Answer: President Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial, finished in 1922, has the names of all 48 states that were in the Union at the time inscribed on the frieze around the roof. A 'must-see' in DC.

Answer: Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton is honored on the ten because he was the first Secretary of the Treasury. The Treasury Department Building appears on the back. Hamilton was never President and in fact couldn't be because he was born on Nevis in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean.

He is the only famous American to be killed in a duel. He was shot by Vice-President Aaron Burr in a duel in Weehawken, NJ on July 11, 1804. Hamilton died the next day. See what you can learn by doing trivia quizzes?

Answer: On the front right in the seal of the Department of the Treasury

The scales and key are so small most people never notice them. And, on the one-dollar bill, if you use a high-powered magnifying glass and look very carefully at the shield surrounding the 1 on the upper right corner of the front, you may just spot the tiny owl. No joke!

Answer: a flying eagle

Sacajawea (or Sacagawea, as Lewis and Clark spelled it) was a young American Indian or Native American woman of the Shoshone tribe who was born in the Rocky Mountains in the present state of Idaho. She was sold as a slave to a French fur trapper, and she eventually helped guide Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase (see recent Louisiana state quarter).

Answer: The Old Man of the Mountain

The Old Man of the Mountain, was probably the biggest tourist attraction in New Hampshire. It was a natural result of erosion producing what looks like the profile of the face of a somewhat 'Christ-like' man. On a May night in 2003 it disappeared forever by falling off the cliff face.

Answer: the 100

Independence Hall is a good choice since a portrait of Ben Franklin (another non-President) appears on the front and he was associated with Independence Hall, which of course is in Philadelphia, where he lived for many years, and is the home of the Liberty Bell, which has nothing to do with Franklin. Boy was that a long sentence!

Answer: United States of America

Of course it seems obvious now. "In God we trust" was added to our coins in 1864 and was first used on the two-cent piece! Continuous use of the phrase started with the one cent coin of 1909. Use on bills began in 1957.

Answer: a sailboat and a bridge

Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State (check the license plates as well as the quarter itself!), and Narragansett Bay is the state's dominant body of water. On any nice day in spring or summer the Bay is dotted with sailboats, as well as power craft, and the bridge over the bay.

Answer: a bald eagle

The bald eagle is the symbol of the US. Ben Franklin proposed the turkey as our symbol, but fortunately he was voted down. Could you imagine how embarrassing it would be today to be known as a nation of turkeys?

Answer: Sacajawea, Eisenhower, and Susan B. Anthony

An interesting set of honorees. Sacajawea and Susan B are females.

Answer: This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private

Just in case anybody thought this wasn't an official US note, this statement makes the bill official US currency.