United States twenty-dollar bill

History

Large-sized notes

• The back is printed green.
• The back has several small variations.
• The reverse has a $20 gold coin and various abstract elements. The back is orange.
• The back design is green.
• The back design is black.
• The back is orange and features an eagle.
• The front is similar, but the back is different and printed in brown.
• Two different backs exist both with abstract designs.
• The front features Hugh McCulloch, and the back has a vignette of an allegorical America.
• The back design is orange.

• Small size notes

• 1914: Began as a large-sized note, a portrait of Grover Cleveland on the face, and, on the back, a steam locomotive and an automobile approaching from the left, and a steamship approaching from the right.
• 1928: Switched to a small-sized note with a portrait of Andrew Jackson on the face and the south view of the White House on the reverse. The banknote is redeemable in gold or silver at any Federal Reserve Bank.
• 1933: With the U.S. having abandoned the gold standard, the note is no longer redeemable in gold, but rather in "lawful money", meaning silver.
• 1942: A special emergency series, with brown serial numbers and "HAWAII" overprinted on both the front and the back, is issued. These notes were designed to circulate on the Hawaiian islands and could be rendered worthless in the event of a Japanese invasion.
• 1948: The White House rendering on the reverse of the note was updated to reflect renovations to the building itself, including the addition of the Truman Balcony, as well as the passage of time. Most notably, the trees are larger. The change occurred during production of Series 1934C.
• 1950: Design elements such as the treasury and Federal Reserve seals are reduced in size and repositioned subtly, presumably for aesthetic reasons.
• 1963: "Will Pay To The Bearer On Demand" is removed from the front of the note and the legal tender designation is shortened to "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private" Also, United States national motto| is added above the White House on the reverse. These two acts are coincidental, even if their combined result is implemented in one redesign. Also, several design elements are rearranged, less perceptibly than the changes in 1950, mostly to make room for the slightly rearranged obligations.
• 1969: The new treasury seal appears on all denominations, including the $20 note.
• The old presses are gradually retired, and old-style serial numbers appear as late as 1981 for this denomination.
• Production of Series 1990 notes began in April 1992.
• 1994: The first $20 notes produced at the Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas are printed in January 1994, late during production of Series 1990.
• 1998: The Series 1996 $20 note was completely redesigned for the first time since 1929 to further deter counterfeiting; A larger, off-center portrait of Jackson was used and the view of the White House on the reverse of the note was changed from the south portico to the north. Several new anti-counterfeiting features were added, including color-shifting ink, microprinting, and a watermark. The plastic strip now reads "USA 20" and glows green under a black light. Production of Series 1996 $20 notes began in June 1998.
• 2003: The redesigned Series 2004 20 dollar note is released with light background shading in green and yellow, and no oval around Andrew Jackson's portrait ; the reverse features the same view of the White House, but without an oval around it. Ninety faint "20"s are scattered on the back in yellow à la the "EURion constellation" to prevent photocopying. Production of Series 2004 $20 notes began in April 2003.

  Series dates

Small size