The Treasury on the Old $10 Bill

As I am President of the Treasury Historical Association, I thought I would discuss this depiction of the U.S. Department of the Treasury Building that appeared on $10 notes from 1928 to 2000.

This is the Treasury Building as it appeared in the late 1920s. (The design first appeared on the 1928 series.) The viewer is standing in what is now Pershing Park in Washington, DC, and looking at the southeast corner of the building. We are looking up 15th Street toward H Street and the old Riggs Bank Building. On the left side of the Treasury Building is a clump of trees, obscuring the White House.

Now, 15th Street is not as wide as depicted. Also, the car in the foreground is a fabrication of the designer. It is based on a Ford Model A Fordor. (There are also two other cars and a motorized omnibus in the distance.) Further, the two flags on the building are facing left, which is no longer done in US banknote design. But, the flags direct the viewer toward the center of the note in this composition.

Otherwise, you can see on this note the plate number "1516" and the red and blue fibers distributed through the paper as a security feature. This fiber paper, the intaglio printing, and the complicated guilloche were the only security features on this note.

Thanks for going along on this quick tour.