The Andrews, the Benjamins, and the Woodrows
Just a tip to pass around.
When handing money to a sales clerk or whatever, make sure the largest bill is on top. Too often, I hand someone a $20 and a bunch of $1s in a stack to pay for something, and the clerk will put it in the cash register, and then remind me I need to pay $20 more. I usually then have to say, I just hand you a $20, and the clerk will have to open the register back up, look through the stack of $1s and see an odd $20 in there. Of course, the opposite has happened to me, when I went to Jack in the Box and paid with a $20 and a $1 and some change, so I would get an even $15 back, and the guy hands me back $14, because he says I just gave him a $20. I'm all in favor of denomination having different sizes or different colors to avoid this.
On a somewhat related topic, who is displayed on the portrait of the currency has no relation to their value. By this, I mean, can anyone argue that Ulysses S. Grant is a greater or lesser American than Benjamin Franklin? Or that he is worthy enough to be passed around in daily transactions? Washington obviously as a founder of the country gets to be the most used bill. Abraham Lincoln on the $5 makes sense, since he and Washington get talked about in the same breath as America's greatest president. Alexander Hamilton was one of the architects of America's financial system, so being on the $10 is apropriate despite him never realizing his dream of being President. Then comes Andrew Jackson on the $20. Uh, why? He's nowhere on the same level as those on the smaller currencies, and there's plenty of greater Americans. Move on to the $50 which has Ulysses S. Grant. OK, he won the American Civil War, but is widely acknowledged as one of America's worst Presidents. Benjamin Franklin is on the $100. Good. Fine. He's a great American. Great because he founded the University of Pennsylvania. Then there's the bills no longer in usage. William McKinley on the $500. Huh? I just know him as the guy who died so Theodore Roosevelt could be the youngest President. Grover Cleveland on the $1000. He's that Trivial Pursuit question about non-consecutive terms. James Madison on the $5,000. OK, I can see that. Salmon P. Chase on the $10,000. Most people go "Who?" at his name, though he was a significant contributor to the American financial system, including creating the first federal banknotes, which means he created the paper money you handle today. Chase Manhatten was named after him, though he has no connection to the bank. Finally, Woodrow Wilson is on the $100,000. I'm not going to make snide comments about Woodrow Wilson, other than wondering why isn't Edith Galt pictured instead.
When handing money to a sales clerk or whatever, make sure the largest bill is on top. Too often, I hand someone a $20 and a bunch of $1s in a stack to pay for something, and the clerk will put it in the cash register, and then remind me I need to pay $20 more. I usually then have to say, I just hand you a $20, and the clerk will have to open the register back up, look through the stack of $1s and see an odd $20 in there. Of course, the opposite has happened to me, when I went to Jack in the Box and paid with a $20 and a $1 and some change, so I would get an even $15 back, and the guy hands me back $14, because he says I just gave him a $20. I'm all in favor of denomination having different sizes or different colors to avoid this.
On a somewhat related topic, who is displayed on the portrait of the currency has no relation to their value. By this, I mean, can anyone argue that Ulysses S. Grant is a greater or lesser American than Benjamin Franklin? Or that he is worthy enough to be passed around in daily transactions? Washington obviously as a founder of the country gets to be the most used bill. Abraham Lincoln on the $5 makes sense, since he and Washington get talked about in the same breath as America's greatest president. Alexander Hamilton was one of the architects of America's financial system, so being on the $10 is apropriate despite him never realizing his dream of being President. Then comes Andrew Jackson on the $20. Uh, why? He's nowhere on the same level as those on the smaller currencies, and there's plenty of greater Americans. Move on to the $50 which has Ulysses S. Grant. OK, he won the American Civil War, but is widely acknowledged as one of America's worst Presidents. Benjamin Franklin is on the $100. Good. Fine. He's a great American. Great because he founded the University of Pennsylvania. Then there's the bills no longer in usage. William McKinley on the $500. Huh? I just know him as the guy who died so Theodore Roosevelt could be the youngest President. Grover Cleveland on the $1000. He's that Trivial Pursuit question about non-consecutive terms. James Madison on the $5,000. OK, I can see that. Salmon P. Chase on the $10,000. Most people go "Who?" at his name, though he was a significant contributor to the American financial system, including creating the first federal banknotes, which means he created the paper money you handle today. Chase Manhatten was named after him, though he has no connection to the bank. Finally, Woodrow Wilson is on the $100,000. I'm not going to make snide comments about Woodrow Wilson, other than wondering why isn't Edith Galt pictured instead.
posted by Pettifogger | 7:52 PM
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