The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: Economic Research, Educational Resources, Community Development, Consumer and Banking Information

Since 1929, monuments have appeared on the back of most U.S. currency. Sometimes the monuments depicted relate to the portrait on the front of the bill. The current five-dollar bill has a portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the front and a picture of the Lincoln Memorial on its reverse side. The ten-dollar bill has a picture of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, on its front side and a view of the Treasury Building on the back. Benjamin Franklin appears on the front of the $100 bill, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where Benjamin Franklin lived, is on the back.


American paper money featured historic buildings as early as 1860, when the United States Capitol building was first illustrated. The bronze statue of Freedom, which was placed on top of the Capitol dome in 1863, also appeared on an 1860 demand note. Currently, the U.S. Capitol building appears on the back of the $50 note.
Since 1929, monuments have appeared on the back of most U.S. currency. Sometimes the monuments depicted relate to the portrait on the front of the bill. The current five-dollar bill has a portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the front and a picture of the Lincoln Memorial on its reverse side. The ten-dollar bill has a picture of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, on its front side and a view of the Treasury Building on the back. Benjamin Franklin appears on the front of the $100 bill, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where Benjamin Franklin lived, is on the back.
The White House appeared on the back of the $20 note in 1929. The 1948 restoration of the White House, which added a balcony to the second floor, is featured on the current twenty-dollar bill.