page_title: United States ten-dollar bill
section_title: Small size note history
hierarchical_section_title: United States ten-dollar bill / Small size note history
caption_attribution_description: English: $10 Gold Certificate, Series 1928, (Serial #1) depicting Alexander Hamilton, with signatures of Woods (Treasurer of the United States), and Mellon (Secretary of the Treasury).
context_page_description: The United States ten-dollar bill is a denomination of U.S. currency. The obverse of the bill features the portrait of Alexander Hamilton, who served as the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. The reverse features the U.S. Treasury Building. All $10 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes.
  As of December 2013, the average life of a $10 bill is 4.5 years, or about 54 months, before it is replaced due to wear. Ten-dollar bills are delivered by Federal Reserve Banks in yellow straps.
  The source of the portrait on the $10 bill is John Trumbull's 1805 painting of Hamilton that belongs to the portrait collection of New York City Hall. The $10 bill is unique in that it is the only denomination in circulation in which the portrait faces to the left. It also features one of two non-presidents on currently issued U.S. bills, the other being Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill. Hamilton is also the only person not born in the continental United States or British America currently depicted on U.S. paper currency; three others have been depicted in the past: Albert Gallatin, Switzerland; George Meade, Spain; and Robert Morris, England.
context_section_description: 1929: Under the Series of 1928, all U.S. currency was changed to its current size. All variations of the $10 bill would carry the same portrait of Alexander Hamilton, same border design on the obverse, and the same reverse with a vignette of the U.S. Treasury building. The $10 bill was issued as a Federal Reserve Note with a green seal and serial numbers and as a gold certificate with a golden seal and serial numbers.  The car parked outside of the Treasury Department building is based on a number of different cars manufactured at the time and was the creation of the Bureau designer who developed the artwork that served as a model for the engraving, because government agencies were prohibited from endorsing any specific manufacturer or product, according to a bureau of engraving and printing pamphlet. The tiny building to the right rear of the treasury building is the American Security and Trust Company Building, which for some years advertised itself as "right on the money".
  1933: As an emergency response to the Great Depression, additional money was pumped into the American economy through Federal Reserve Bank Notes. This was the only small-sized $10 bill that had a different border design on the obverse. The serial numbers and seal on it were brown.
  1933: The first small sized $10 silver certificates were issued with a blue seal and serial numbers. The obverse had a similar design style to the 1928 $1 Silver Certificates; however, phrasing on the $10 bill was different from the $1 bill. This issue, with the series date of 1933, was not widely released into general circulation. Surviving examples of these notes usually sell for $10,000 to $30,000 in the numismatic community depending on the condition of the paper.
  1934: The redeemable in gold clause was removed from Federal Reserve Notes due to the U.S. withdrawing from the gold standard.
  1934: The $10 Silver Certificate was redesigned with a blue numeral 10 on the left side of the obverse and the treasury seal printed over the gray word TEN on the right. Phrasing on the certificate was changed to reflect the Silver Purchase Act of 1934.
  1942: Special World War II currency was issued. HAWAII was overprinted on the front and back of the $10 Federal Reserve Note, and the seal and serial numbers were changed to brown.  This was done so that the currency could be declared worthless in case of Japanese invasion. A $10 Silver Certificate was printed with a yellow instead of blue treasury seal; these notes were given to U.S. troops in North Africa. These notes, too, could be declared worthless if seized by the enemy.
  1950: Many minor aspects on the obverse of the $10 Federal Reserve Note were changed. Most noticeably, the treasury seal, gray word TEN, and the Federal Reserve Seal were made smaller, the words WASHINGTON, D.C. were added between them and the serial number; also, the Federal Reserve seal had spikes added around it, like the Treasury seal.
  1953: The $10 silver certificate had several design changes analogous to the 1950 Federal Reserve Note design changes; also, the blue numeral 10 on the left side of the bill was changed to gray.
  1963: WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND was removed from the obverse and IN GOD WE TRUST was added to the reverse of the $10 Federal Reserve Notes. Also, the obligation was shortened to its current wording, THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. Also during this time, production of Silver Certificates ends.
  1969: The $10 bill began using the new treasury seal with wording in English that simply says, "The Department of the Treasury," instead of Latin "THESAUR. AMER. SEPTENT. SIGIL.," "Seal of the Treasury of North America."
  1981: During production of Series 1977A, a few star notes from the Richmond FRB were made on experimental Natick paper, in the only experimental note series not involving the $1 bill.
  1992: The first modern anti-counterfeiting measures were introduced with microscopic printing around Hamilton's portrait and a plastic security strip on the left side of the bill. Even though the notes read Series 1
caption: Series 1928 $10 Gold Certificate
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