Click to Enlarge             Design Changes to the Dollar 1860s to Present


The US dollar has taken a lot of flak in recent years for what many see as outdated design. In 2009, Richard Smith launched the Dollar Redesign Project which asked designers to submit their own ideas for a makeover. But, is the dollar really so dreadful after all?

As an American who grew up in the 80s and 90s, I can remember wondering why the dollar had not had a major change since the 1930s. I had seen currency from other countries, and noticed how much more colorful it was and wondered why ours couldn't be. But, in the last twenty years, we've seen two design changes to the dollar. While neither change was very dramatic, we now have different colors for each denomination, and it appears that changes in design will take place more regularly in the future.

I believe that US paper money should be overhauled as soon as possible, as the size of each denomination MUST be different to accommodate the visually impaired. I also think it is time to retire presidents on the face of our money, as our nation's history is rich with many more people and ideas that deserve celebrating. However, I think the dollar should get some more respect for its heritage of vibrant and interesting designs.

The above picture depicts the major design changes of the US dollar from the 1860s until today. The first two series of dollars had designs that were rather unique in the world at that time, and would influence the designs of banknotes across the Americas and the world. Let's have a look at what paper money in other nations was looking like in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

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Much of the paper money in the world at that time was looked more like a check than a what we think of as a banknote today. It was just black text with minimal design on one sided white paper, like the money in France, England and many other European countries. The design of England's "White Fiver", remained virtually unchanged from Victorian times until 1961. That's two hundred years without a design change! The more than two century use of white pound notes makes the dollar's fifty year design stagnation seem short by
comparison.

While England was certainly an exception, other countries also used the same designs for many years before changing them. Norway had a series in use from the 1900s to 1940s. Italy used a similar design for Lira from the 1910s to 1960s. Let's have a look at the Fivers from the United States, England and Sweden from the 1860s to the 1950s.
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Compare the White Fiver or other relatively plain banknotes of the late 19th century to this 5 dollar bill from the 1890s