Originally posted on March 5, 2007 @ 11:10 am
I’ve started to work on my Dollar Bill Project again and it got me thinking about currency trivia, so I figured that it was time for a little Fun Fact post since I haven’t done one in quite some time.
It is a little known fact that five African Americans have had their signatures on US currency.
The four African American men whose signatures appeared on the currency were Blanche K. Bruce, Judson W. Lyons, William T. Vernon and James C. Napier. These men served as Registers of the Treasury.
Until the series 1923 currency, the two signatures on almost all currency (except Fractional Currency and Demand Notes) were of the Treasurer and the Register.
During this period four of the 17 registers were African American.
The fifth African American whose signature appeared on currency was Azie Taylor Morton. Ms. Morton was the 36th Treasurer of the United States. She served from September 12, 1977, to January 20, 1981.
There are no images of African-Americans printed on U.S. currency.