The Gop Debates The New $10

American Numismatic Society - The ongoing discussion about changing the personages who grace US currency is one that we have covered before (here, here, and here). This spring, the Women on 20s movement effectively sparked a renewed national discussion about the lack of women on US currency (beyond of course the lightly-circulated Sacagawea dollar coin). Although the goal of that campaign was to replace Andrew Jackson on the twenty-dollar bill, in June Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew made a surprise announcement that the ten-dollar bill, which was already in the process of being redesigned, would feature a woman. The rather general message was simply that a "notable woman" would feature on the bill and the American public was asked to share its ideas about who it might be here. Despite this solicitation for public feedback, the decision will ultimately be made by Jack Lew and opposition to removing Alexander Hamilton at this point seems moot.

The tremendous response to the announcement and discussions about the varied possibilities have been ongoing. The winner of the popular Women on 20's poll was Harriet Tubman, with Eleanor Roosevelt coming in a close second. The poll we ran here on Pocket Change was won by Amelia Earhart, with Helen Keller just behind. Anecdotally, the name I have most often heard is Rosa Parks. In short, it seems like there are a number of different possibilities and it has been heartening to see this numismatic issue enliven the public interest. It was also fascinating to see it addressed at last night's GOP debate on CNN. Although moderator Jake Tapper condescendingly introduced it is a "lighthearted" topic, he asked the Republican candidates directly: "What woman would you like to see on the $10 bill?"

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