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The U.S. fifty dollar bill ($50) is a denomination of United States
currency. U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant is currently featured on the front side of the bill, while
the U.S. Capitol is featured on the reverse side.
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Obverse of series 2004 note
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Reverse of series 2004 note
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Federal Reserve notes have been issued since 1914; small-sized notes since 1928. In prior years, fifty-dollar denominations of United States
Notes and other bills were issued.
Pre-Federal Reserve history
Federal Reserve history
- 1918: The first Federal Reserve $50 note is printed; a large-sized note with a portrait of Ulysses
Grant on the face
- 1928: To lower manufacturing costs, the first $50 small-sized Federal Reserve note is
30% smaller than the large-sized notes of prior years. Its design
is also standardized with the other denominations.
- 1963: The motto In God We Trust is added.
- 1991: A security thread and microprinting are added.
- 1997: A major new design is introduced to further deter counterfeits. It includes an enlarged and off-center portrait, an enlarged and updated view of the U.S.
Capitol on the back, a security thread which glows yellow under ultraviolet
light, a numeric "50" which shifts color from black to green when
tilted, and a watermark. For those with vision limitations, it includes a large
dark "50" on a light background on the reverse of the note.
- 2004: A new design is introduced, with the first use of multiple colors since 1905. Behind the portrait of Grant appears a subtle stylized blue and red background image of the
flag. A small metallic silver-blue star is to the
lower right of the portrait. It still includes a security thread, and a color-shifting numeric "50", though it now shifts from
copper to green. The new design retains
the enlarged portrait of Grant, though it has removed the oval borders surrounding both the
portrait on the obverse and the Capitol on the reverse.
External links
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