United States ten-dollar bill

Ten dollars
(United States)
Value$10
Width156 mm
Height66.3 mm
WeightApprox. 1[1] g
Security featuresSecurity fibers, security thread, watermark, color shifting ink, microprinting, raised printing, EURion constellation
Material usedCotton-linen
Years of printing1861–present
Obverse
DesignAlexander Hamilton
Design date2006
Reverse
DesignU.S. Treasury Building
Design date2006

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).

  1. ^ "Currency Facts". uscurrency.gov. U.S. Currency Education Program. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  2. ^ "FRB: How long is the lifespan of U.S. paper money?".