what presidents are on money

June 28, 2026

Most U.S. paper bills and coins feature past presidents, plus a few other historical figures. Here’s a clear breakdown of what presidents are on money in everyday U.S. circulation.

Paper bills: who’s on which?

Modern U.S. banknotes (currently in circulation)

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Denomination</th>
      <th>Person on the front</th>
      <th>President?</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>$1 bill</td>
      <td>George Washington</td>
      <td>Yes – 1st president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>$2 bill</td>
      <td>Thomas Jefferson</td>
      <td>Yes – 3rd president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>$5 bill</td>
      <td>Abraham Lincoln</td>
      <td>Yes – 16th president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>$10 bill</td>
      <td>Alexander Hamilton</td>
      <td>No – first Secretary of the Treasury</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>$20 bill</td>
      <td>Andrew Jackson</td>
      <td>Yes – 7th president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>$50 bill</td>
      <td>Ulysses S. Grant</td>
      <td>Yes – 18th president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>$100 bill</td>
      <td>Benjamin Franklin</td>
      <td>No – Founding Father, inventor, diplomat</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

So, presidents on current paper money are:

George Washington – $1 bill
Thomas Jefferson – $2 bill
Abraham Lincoln – $5 bill
Andrew Jackson – $20 bill
Ulysses S. Grant – $50 bill

Hamilton and Franklin are not presidents, even though they’re on the $10 and $100. There are or were also higher denominations (no longer printed, but famous in history):

$500 – William McKinley (25th president)
$1,000 – Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th president)
$5,000 – James Madison (4th president)
$10,000 – Salmon P. Chase (not a president, Treasury Secretary & Chief Justice)
$100,000 gold certificate – Woodrow Wilson (28th president, used only between Federal Reserve Banks)

Coins: presidents on everyday change

For regular circulating U.S. coins today:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Coin</th>
      <th>Person on front</th>
      <th>President?</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Penny (1¢)</td>
      <td>Abraham Lincoln</td>
      <td>Yes – 16th president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Nickel (5¢)</td>
      <td>Thomas Jefferson</td>
      <td>Yes – 3rd president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Dime (10¢)</td>
      <td>Franklin D. Roosevelt</td>
      <td>Yes – 32nd president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Quarter (25¢)</td>
      <td>George Washington</td>
      <td>Yes – 1st president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Half dollar (50¢)</td>
      <td>John F. Kennedy</td>
      <td>Yes – 35th president</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Dollar coin</td>
      <td>Varies – see next section</td>
      <td>Many presidents featured</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

So, on coins you regularly see:

Lincoln – penny
Jefferson – nickel
FDR – dime
Washington – quarter
Kennedy – half dollar

Dollar coins and the “Presidential” series

There are several designs of U.S. dollar coins:

Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979–1981, 1999) – Susan B. Anthony (not a president).
Sacagawea / Native American dollar (from 2000) – Sacagawea and then other Native American themes (no presidents).
Presidential $1 Coin Program (2007–2016, plus Bush later)
- This series issued $1 coins honoring each deceased president in order of service, from George Washington through George H. W. Bush.
- That means you can find special $1 coins with:
  - Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison
  - Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Jackson, Van Buren
  - William Henry Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor
  - Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln
  - Andrew Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield
  - Arthur, Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, McKinley
  - Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson
  - Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, FDR
  - Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson
  - Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and finally George H. W. Bush

These presidential dollar coins still exist and are legal tender , but they’re not widely used in daily cash transactions anymore and are mostly seen in collections or rolls from the bank.

Quick way to remember it

If you just want a fast mental cheat-sheet for “what presidents are on money” that you’ll actually see in your pocket or wallet:

Bills: Washington ($1), Jefferson ($2), Lincoln ($5), Jackson ($20), Grant ($50).
Coins: Lincoln (1¢), Jefferson (5¢), FDR (10¢), Washington (25¢), Kennedy (50¢).
Special dollar coins: many presidents, from Washington through George H. W. Bush.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.