Harriet Tubman Will Be on the $20 Bill; Hamilton Gets to Keep the $10

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is expected to announce Wednesday a plan to put abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, replacing President Andrew Jackson.

The only other woman to appear on U.S. paper money was Martha Washington, who appeared on a $1 silver note in 1891.

The decision follows a lengthy campaign that sought public input on whether to put a woman on the $10 bill, replacing founding father Alexander Hamilton, who also served somewhat ironically as the first U.S. Treasury Secretary. The Treasury Department had said it needed to redesign the $10 bill because it’s most prone to counterfeiting.

The New York Times speculated that Mr. Lew bowed to Hamilton’s Broadway-stoked popularity (the hip-hop musical “Hamilton” won a Pulitzer Prize on Monday), though there was an immediate response last year when Lew announced his plan for the new $10 bill defending Hamilton’s spot.

While Hamilton will stay on the $10, the back will be redesigned with a vignette honoring women’s suffrage. Andrew Jackson will reportedly be moved to the back of the $20.

There’s been no announcement yet on when the new $20 bill will be introduced into circulation, though it is widely expected to be sometime in 2020. But just how many of those will actually be seen popping out of people’s wallets remains to be seen, as more and more consumers are going cash-free in favor of credit cards, debit cards and digital wallets. A Money survey in 2013 revealed that 42% of people carry less than $40 in cash, 30% carry less than $100 and just 11% carry $200 or more.

The $1 bill accounts for around 30% of all bills in circulation 2015, according to the Federal Reserve. The $100 bill accounted for about 28% of all bills in circulation in 2015, and the $20 bill is the third-most circulated at 23%.

More Money-Saving Reads:

• What’s a Good Credit Score?
• What’s a Bad Credit Score?
• How Credit Impacts Your Day-to-Day Life

Image: Photodisc