The Federal Reserve currently issues seven notes: $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. All US currency designs issued since 1914 remain legal tender. An older portrait or a bill without the newest colour does not expire just because it looks unfamiliar.
Seven notes to recognize
| Bill | Portrait | Travel-wallet role |
|---|---|---|
| $1 | Washington | Small tips and change |
| $2 | Jefferson | Real, but uncommon |
| $5 | Lincoln | Useful small bill |
| $10 | Hamilton | Everyday cash |
| $20 | Jackson | A common ATM bill |
| $50 / $100 | Grant / Franklin | Compact value; sometimes awkward for a tiny sale |
The $2 is genuine spending money, not a souvenir, although it appears less often in everyday change. Portraits help, but Hamilton on the $10 and Franklin on the $100 were never presidents. The denomination numeral is the quickest universal clue.
Paper money
US dollar bills are a colour-light puzzle: the notes are nearly all green and the same size, so the large numeral and portrait matter more than a quick glance.
The designs read like a compact civic history: national founders and statesmen on the portrait side, with the Great Seal, memorials and landmark buildings on the reverse. Cash by Country artwork is an original, simplified interpretation and is not legal tender.
Coin vocabulary worth knowing
A penny is 1 cent, a nickel 5 cents, a dime 10 cents and a quarter 25 cents. The dime is smaller than the lower-value nickel, so size alone can mislead you. Half dollars and dollar coins are valid too, but visitors are much more likely to meet the four named coins in ordinary change.
Quarters still matter at laundries, lockers, vending machines and older parking equipment. A coin marked one dime is worth 10 cents; its small diameter is a design fact, not a clue that it is worth less than a nickel.
Security changes with the denomination
Current-design $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes use combinations of watermarks, embedded security threads, colour-shifting ink and other denomination-specific features. The $1 and $2 have a simpler design. Check the official guide for the exact note in your hand instead of looking for one feature on every value.