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The front of the notes feature portraits of famous, deceased American statesmen: George Washington on the $1 note, Thomas Jefferson on the $2 note, Abraham Lincoln on the $5 note, Alexander Hamilton on the $10 note, Andrew Jackson on the $20 note, Ulysses Grant on the $50 note, and Benjamin Franklin on the $100 note. The backs of the notes feature images reflective of the history of our nation: The Great Seal of the United States on the $1 note, the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the $2 note, the Lincoln Memorial on the $5 note, The Treasury Building on the $10 note, the White House on the $20 note, the Capitol on the $50 note, and Independence Hall on the $100 note.
- The motto "In God We Trust" first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864. However, it was not until 1955 that a law was passed, which stated that thereafter all new designs for coins and currency would bear that inscription.
- The $100 note has been the largest denomination of currency in circulation since 1969.
- The obverse and reverse of the Great Seal of the United States appeared in a currency design for the first time when the $1 Silver Certificate, Series 1935, was issued. The Seal dates back to 1782 - before the Constitution.
- Series Year and Federal Reserve Bank Indicators - A new series will result from a change in the Secretary of the Treasury, or a change to the note's appearance such as a new currency design. After the Secretary of the Treasury changes, a new series year is adopted (e.g. 1999). When the Treasurer of the United States changes, a suffix letter is added to the current series year (e.g. 1999A). Additional changes of the Treasurer, whereby the Secretary of the Treasury remains the same results in subsequent letter changes to the current series year (e.g. 1999B, 1999C, etc.). On newly designed notes, the series year may appear on the right or the left of the note's face side. The year in which the currency is actually printed is not indicated on the note. Beginning with Series 1996 Federal Reserve notes, there are two prefix letters to the serial number. The first prefix letter indicates the series year. The second prefix letter indicates the issuing Reserve Bank. Table 1 (PDF) shows the relationship of the series year to the first prefix letter serial number. Table 2 (PDF) shows the relationship of the second prefix letter in the serial number to the Reserve Bank. The last letter of the serial number or suffix letter identifies the number of times that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing used the sequence of serial numbers - A is the first time, B is the second time, C is the third time and so on.
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