In 1861, the first $10 bill was issued near the outset of the Civil War.
It featured a portrait of Lincoln and is the only time a sitting president appeared on U.S. currency.
In 1861, a $10 bill could have bought you an entire barrel of flour, a month’s stay in a New York City tenement, or a ride on the Great Eastern steamship from Manhattan to Cape May, New Jersey.
In 1901, the $10 bill depicted explorers Lewis & Clark on the edges with a large American bison in the middle, and bought you ten private ballroom-dancing classes, a housepainter’s labor for eight days or a full eye exam and 10 pairs of glasses.
In 1929, all U.S. currency was changed to its standard size of today. Despite the popular belief, the car on your 1929 standardized $10 bill is not a Model T Ford, but a composite of cars from the day. In 1929, your $10 bill got you a year’s worth of accident and sickness insurance, a waffle iron, or a one-minute phone call from New York City to London.
In 1942, just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, special $10 bills were printed for Hawaii with the state’s name printed on the front and back and the serial numbers printed in brown ink instead of red. This was done so that if the Japanese invaded Hawaii, the U.S. Treasury would declare these $10 bills worthless.
Keep an eye out for the new $10 bill coming early in 2006. Its design is still mostly green, but now features shades of orange, yellow and red and has renderings of the Statue of Liberty torch and the words, "We The People..."
