--- title: "Treasury Puts Trump's Signature on a $100 Bill, Breaking With Long Tradition" description: "President Trump has unveiled a $100 bill carrying his own signature, part of a Treasury plan to add it to new US paper currency for the country's 250th anniversary. It would be a first for a sitting president, breaking a signing convention that dates back over 160 years." category: "Economy" category_url: https://boursel.com/category/economy author: "Rafael Ortiz" published: 2026-07-04T22:37:08.000Z updated: 2026-07-04T22:37:08.000Z canonical: https://boursel.com/article/treasury-puts-trump-s-signature-on-a-bill-breaking-with-long-tradition tags: ["us-currency", "treasury", "money", "bureau-of-engraving-and-printing"] --- # Treasury Puts Trump's Signature on a $100 Bill, Breaking With Long Tradition President Trump has unveiled a $100 bill carrying his own signature, part of a Treasury plan to add it to new US paper currency for the country's 250th anniversary. It would be a first for a sitting president, breaking a signing convention that dates back over 160 years. Around the Fourth of July, President Trump posted an image of a $100 bill bearing his own signature, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shared it too, [according to Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/07/04/treasury-currency-trump-signature-100-dollar-bill-fourth-of-july/). The image is the public face of a Treasury plan to add the president's signature to new US paper currency, a small change that touches something most people handle without a second thought and breaks a convention more than a century and a half old. ## What is changing By long-standing practice, US banknotes carry two signatures, and neither belongs to the president. The plan would place Trump's signature on new currency alongside that of Bessent as Treasury Secretary. It "would be a first for a sitting president, since traditionally, U.S. paper currency carries the signatures of the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer, not the president," [PBS News reported](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/treasury-plans-to-put-trumps-signature-on-all-new-u-s-paper-currency-in-break-with-tradition). The Treasury has framed the move as a commemoration of the nation's semiquincentennial, its 250th anniversary. "There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S dollar bills bearing his signature, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the semiquincentennial," Bessent said, [in remarks reported by Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/07/04/treasury-currency-trump-signature-100-dollar-bill-fourth-of-july/). One point worth keeping straight: what has been shown so far is an image of the note, not confirmation that such bills are already in wallets. New designs enter circulation only gradually, as fresh notes are printed and worn ones are retired. ## Whose names normally appear, and why The two-signature system is old. It traces back to the 1860s, when Congress gave the Treasury Secretary authority over the design of federal paper money, [PBS News noted](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/treasury-plans-to-put-trumps-signature-on-all-new-u-s-paper-currency-in-break-with-tradition). Since then, the signatures of the Treasury Secretary and the Treasurer of the United States have served as a standing mark of federal authority on the currency, a routine feature that changes only when the officeholders do. The notes themselves are made by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Treasury agency that designs and prints US paper money at facilities in Washington, DC, and Fort Worth, Texas, [as the bureau describes](https://www.bep.gov/about-bep). Producing a banknote runs through engraving, printing and inspection before it is issued, which is why any change to a note's design shows up on the streets slowly rather than all at once. ## The reaction The plan has drawn criticism. Representative Shontel Brown, an Ohio Democrat, called it "gross and un-American," adding that "at least it will remind us who to thank when we pay more for gas, goods, and groceries," [PBS News reported](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/treasury-plans-to-put-trumps-signature-on-all-new-u-s-paper-currency-in-break-with-tradition). Whether the change is within the Treasury's power is a narrower question. Because the Treasury Secretary holds authority over currency design, the administration may be on solid legal ground. Michael Bordo, who directs the Center for Monetary and Financial History at Rutgers University, said he did not know "if he has crossed any legal red lines," [PBS News reported](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/treasury-plans-to-put-trumps-signature-on-all-new-u-s-paper-currency-in-break-with-tradition). For now, the practical effect is modest: the money keeps its value and its function, and only the names on it are set to change. ## Sources - [Treasury currency: Trump signature on $100 bill for Fourth of July](https://fortune.com/2026/07/04/treasury-currency-trump-signature-100-dollar-bill-fourth-of-july/) - [Treasury plans to put Trump's signature on all new U.S. paper currency in break with tradition](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/treasury-plans-to-put-trumps-signature-on-all-new-u-s-paper-currency-in-break-with-tradition)