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$20, $10, Or $5 Bill To Feature A Woman? Three Bills Up For Redesign May Honor Women, Hints U.S. Treasury

By Alap Naik Desai
Published on: 00:34 PST, Apr 19, 2016

Instead of $10 bill, it could be the $20 note or even $5 that might not feature a U.S. president. It appears Alexander Hamilton may retain his place on the tenner, while Andrew Jackson will be replaced with a prominent and historically significant woman, hinted U.S. Treasury officials.

It could be America’s seventh president, Andrew Jackson, who might not be featured on currency notes. His rightful place on the $20 bill may soon be handed over to a woman whose contributions have made America “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.” While the treasury isn’t revealing the exact details, officials did hint that erstwhile president Alexander Hamilton has secured his place on the $10 bill and won’t be replaced even after the redesign.

A woman may not oust Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill after all, despite U.S. Secretary Jacob Lew saying he hoped the redesigned tenner will feature a woman on the bill. No woman has ever graced a U.S. currency note, and the upcoming redesign was an ideal opportunity to honor one. But it seems Lew wasn’t prepared for the backlash and intense lobbying by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was the creative genius behind the smash hip-hop Broadway musical Hamilton.

Treasury officials declined to comment on a CNN report that Lew has decided to keep Hamilton on the $10 bill and instead replace Jackson’s portrait on the $20 bill with a woman who represents the struggle for racial equality, reported the Augusta Chronicle. The report also mentioned that multiple women will adorn the new $10 bill in “mural-style depiction of the suffrage movement.”

The bill currently depicts the Treasury building. When asked to comment on the specifics, Treasury spokesman Joshua Drobnyk said,”As Secretary Lew said last week, we are going to make an exciting set of announcements soon that involve the $5, $10 and $20 bills. We’re not just talking about one bill. We’re not just talking about one picture on one bill. We’re talking about using the front and the back of the bill to tell an exciting set of stories.”

Multiple signs indicated the $10 bill was to feature a woman. The hashtag #TheNew10 fueled the movement, which urged people to lobby for their favorite female figure to replace Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill. Incidentally, it was the Treasury Department that had sought public input into the redesign of the $10 bill way back in 2013. The department even announced their intention but stopped short of confirming which of the illustrious ladies will be honored.

https://twitter.com/NY_StateNews/status/722212458144751617

The Treasury even added that a woman or women could share the $10 bill, and that’s exactly what seems to be happening. But this time, it seems $10, $20, and the $5 will get a significant makeover, honoring multiple personalities instead of single presidential figures, continued Lew.

“We’re going to have a representation of the contribution women have made to our democracy on the next bill that’s issued.”

The presence of a woman on any bill would mark the first appearance of a female portrait on U.S. paper currency in 100 years. It is unsurprising that the Treasury received more than 1.5 million responses that suggested different women. Lew added it was the overwhelming response that caused the delay in the announcement. The Treasury wanted to confirm the redesign by the end of 2015, but it is likely the announcement will be made soon.

Despite the redesign, the new $10, $20, and $5 bills will not enter circulation before 2020. The year is significant, as it will mark the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote.

[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]

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