This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2008) |
(United States) | |
---|---|
Value | $10 |
Width | 156 mm |
Height | 66.3 mm |
Weight | Approx. 1[1] g |
Security features | Security fibers, security thread, watermark, color shifting ink, microprinting, raised printing, EURion constellation |
Material used | Cotton-linen |
Years of printing | 1861–present |
Obverse | |
Design | Alexander Hamilton |
Design date | 2006 |
Reverse | |
Design | U.S. Treasury Building |
Design date | 2006 |
The United States ten-dollar bill (US$10) 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, two renditions of the torch of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World), and the words "We the People" from the original engrossed preamble of the United States Constitution. The reverse features the U.S. Treasury Building. All $10 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes.
As of December 2018, the average life of a $10 bill in circulation is 5.3 years before it is replaced due to wear.[2] Ten-dollar bills are delivered by Federal Reserve Banks bound with yellow straps.
The source of Hamilton's portrait on the $10 bill is John Trumbull's 1805 painting 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 (he was from the West Indies) currently depicted on U.S. paper currency; three others have been depicted in the past: Albert Gallatin, Switzerland ($500 1862/63 Legal Tender), George Meade, Spain ($1,000 1890/91 Treasury Note), and Robert Morris, England ($1,000 1862/63 Legal Tender; $10 1878/80 Silver Certificate).