We all carry them around in our wallets — trading them back and forth without much thought. But have you ever stopped to think about how those faces ended up on our money?

For President’s Day, we’re taking a little stroll back in time to get you better acquainted with just how those important people get on our bills and coins. Plus, in case you think that our money never changes, read on for some brand-new faces you can expect to see — coming soon to a paper bill or coin near you.

How Do Notable People Get on Money?

Prominent individuals who shaped American history, along with dignified images that reflect the American economy, have always graced our money. The design process is kind of a group effort of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the U.S. Secret Service. But other organizations and the public can get involved, too. For example, 11,000 suggestions were made last year for a new coin program honoring pioneering American women (see more on that below).

Congress can create and direct a coin program around a design theme, while the BEP is responsible for making paper money and the U.S. Mint issues and circulates coins. Whose job is it to make the final design selections on currency? The Secretary of the U.S. Treasury approves the choices.

Take a guess: True or false? Because it’s used so frequently, the $1 bill has the shortest lifespan of any denomination. That’s false. The $5 bill lasts 4.7 years, while the $1 bill’s lifespan is 6.6 years. (In case you were wondering, the $100 bill lasts the longest: 22.9 years.)

How Many Presidents Have Been Featured on Money?

If you guessed seven, you’re right. Money now in circulation bears the images of seven U.S. presidents — George Washington on the $1 bill and quarter coin, Thomas Jefferson on the $2 bill and nickel, Abraham Lincoln on the $5 bill and penny, Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill and Ulysses S. Grant on the $50 bill. The nation’s first Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton appears on the $10 bill and statesman Benjamin Franklin is pictured on the $100 bill. Franklin D. Roosevelt is shown on the dime and John F. Kennedy’s image appears on the half dollar coin.

Trivia tidbit: Did you know that there were other large denominations (no longer produced) that once carried the portraits of presidents? These included William McKinley on the $500 bill, Grover Cleveland on a $1,000 bill, James Madison on the $5,000 bill and Woodrow Wilson on a $100,000 currency note. Politician (but not president) Salmon P. Chase appeared on a $10,000 bill.

How Many Women Are Featured on Money?

It’s a little-known historical fact, but Martha Washington was the first and only woman to appear as a primary portrait on U.S. paper currency. Her image appeared on a $1 Silver Certificate produced in 1886, six years after the first $1 bill depicting her husband was issued. Redeemable for silver at the time, the “first” first lady’s certificate was discontinued in 1957.

Twenty-two years later in 1979, suffragist Susan B. Anthony became the first woman to be featured on a U.S. silver dollar coin, and a dollar coin picturing Sacagawea — the Shoshone woman who aided Lewis and Clark’s expedition — was produced from 2000 to 2008.

Fast forward to today, and the U.S. Mint has just now begun shipping the first coins in the American Women Quarters Program. As part of a four-year effort, the Mint will issue five quarters each year from now through 2025 that honor women.

Who can you expect to see gracing the reverse side of quarters in your pocket change this year? Look for Maya Angelou, prominent writer, poet, social activist and teacher; Dr. Sally Ride, physicist and first woman astronaut; Wilma Mankiller, first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation; Nina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools; and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood.

In the works: It’s been a bit of a political tug-of-war, but there could be changes coming to paper currency, too. Treasury Department plans call for abolitionist Harriet Tubman to possibly replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill by 2030.

Following the Money Trail — Past and Present

Tracing our money’s design and development shows how a diverse blend of old and new continues to evolve with the times. The fact is that new currency designs are always being considered for coins and paper money as modern interests and defining representations fuel a greater scope of people and symbols that illustrate our country.

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