Putting a woman’s picture on the $10 bill will help prevent counterfeiting — though it’s not about gender. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing announced it will place a woman alongside Alexander Hamilton on the new $10 bills, making it a double bill bill. The new $10 bill will be ready in 2020. But why the $10 bill and not the $20 bill? (Early speculation had focused on replacing the more common $20 bill’s Andrew Jackson with a woman’s portrait.)
But whether it’s a woman’s portrait or a man’s, the redesign is primarily to stay one step ahead of counterfeiters, says the Treasury. Besides the welcome political circumstances — 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in America — U.S. currency is “primarily redesigned as necessary to address current and potential security threats to currency notes.” Last redesigned in 2006, the $10 bill was due. The Treasury reiterates: “security requirements are the driving consideration behind any new design.” The $20 could be next.
