Alternate people on US dollars?

Rules:
1. No politician allowed (especially dead presidents)*
2. Person needs not to be perfect, but has not helped creating humanitarian disasters
3. No cooperate advertisement ( e.g. Henry Ford may have contributed to automobile industry, but featuring him might be a free ad to the Ford.)

Strongly Advised:
I recommend featuring Americans citizens first. Because many people who are seen as the pride of their own countries have actually excelled in the US, if US money portray them, the other countries may think US is stealing their heroes... The power of brain gain.

Currently, the US dollar banknote and coins features mostly politicians,and all of them on the dollar bills are white male politicians, which is, to say the least of it, boring.*Let's have artists, scientists and educationist on US currency.

Assuming that penny, nickel and 1 dollar bill is to be ditched, we are left with four coins (dime, quarter, half dollar, dollar) and six banknote denominations (two, five, ten, twenty, fifty, hundred). Let's have one person on each coin denomination and two people on each banknote denomination (like the Australians), we will need 16 people altogether.*

My entry
Mark Twain ( literature achievements)*
Norbert Rillieux ( contributions to southern agriculture)
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (first open heart surgery, salute to US Medical achievements )*
William Barton Rogers ( founder of MIT, tribute to US education achievements)
Neil Armstrong ( space exploration)*
(adventurers)*

Two obvious additions for me are MLK Jr. and Lewis and Clark. Mother Jones would be a nice option in my opinion, by I don't know if that would fly in all reality.

No politicians on any US denomination? Okay:

$0.01: MLK Jr.
$0.05: Mark Twain (for writing the Adventures of Huck Finn)
$0.10: Ray Bradbury (for Fahrenheit 451)
$0.25: Andrew Lloyd Weber (for his contributions to Broadway)
$0.50: John Lennon (for music and Vietnam peace activism)
$1 coin: Charles Chaplin

$1 bill: Freddie Mercury and Elton John (two gay guys, c'mon)
$5: Yuri Gagarin (first human in space) and Neil Armstrong (first man on the moon)
$10: Francis Bacon and John Brown (famous men who "resisted" tyranny)
$20: George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur (military commanders)
$50: Louis and Clark (guys who mapped Louisiana)
$100: The crew of the Challenger, Apollo 1 and Columbia all together with the words "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" underneath it, with "1967, 1986, 2003" underneath that.

0.01: Copperhead
0.05: Gila Monster
0.10: Alligator
0.25: Snapping Turtle
0.50: Wild Turkey
1.00: Diamondback Rattlesnake, with the words "Don't tread on me"

$1: Bald Eagle
$2: Groundhog
$5: Grizzly Bear
$10: Moose
$20: Timber Wolf
$50: Plains Bison
$100: The mighty JACKALOPE

Sakura_F said:

No politicians on any US denomination? Okay:

$0.01: MLK Jr.
$0.05: Mark Twain (for writing the Adventures of Huck Finn)
$0.10: Ray Bradbury (for Fahrenheit 451)
$0.25: Andrew Lloyd Weber (for his contributions to Broadway)
$0.50: John Lennon (for music and Vietnam peace activism)
$1 coin: Charles Chaplin

$1 bill: Freddie Mercury and Elton John (two gay guys, c'mon)
$5: Yuri Gagarin (first human in space) and Neil Armstrong (first man on the moon)
$10: Francis Bacon and John Brown (famous men who "resisted" tyranny)
$20: George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur (military commanders)
$50: Louis and Clark (guys who mapped Louisiana)
$100: The crew of the Challenger, Apollo 1 and Columbia all together with the words "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" underneath it, with "1967, 1986, 2003" underneath that.

Click to expand...

Except that a lot of this people aren't American..

Sakura_F said:

$5: Yuri Gagarin (first human in space) and Neil Armstrong (first man on the moon)
$10: Francis Bacon and John Brown (famous men who "resisted" tyranny)
$20: George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur (military commanders)

Click to expand...

I thought only Americans can be on US money?
I'd suggest replacing MacArthur with Nimitz, who was wiser.

King Helü of Wu said:

I thought only Americans can be on US money?
I'd suggest replacing MacArthur with Nimitz, who was wiser.

Click to expand...

I don't think there's a requirement to put only Americans on the money. The OP put Charles Chaplin on one of his, and Chaplin's a Brit.

Dollars:

Martin Luther King Jr. $1.00
Ernest Hemingway $5.00
Elvis Presley $10.00
Jim Thorpe $20.00
Ayn Rand $50.00
Cesar Chavez $100.00
Andrew Carnegie $500.00
Muhammad Ali $1000.00
Henry Ford $5000.00

Honestly, the dollar amounts are rather arbitrary so feel free to critique regarding the order.

0.01 Martin Luther King, Jr. (The first coin dedicated to the Civil Rights Activist)
0.05 Edgar Allen Poe (The Nickel to Edgar Allen Poe, with a Raven on the back)
0.10 Rosa Parks (For Women and Civil Rights)
0.25 Susan B. Anthony (Pioneer of Woman's Suffrage)
0.50 Bald Eagle (Symbol of America, Scale on the other side for Equality)
$1 coin Walt Whitman (For his great literary achievement's and support of Abolition)

$1 Thomas Edison & Alexander Graham Bell (Advancement of Sciences)
$5 Robert Frost (Literary figure of the 20th Century)
$10 Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacajawea (Explorers)
$20 Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman (Abolitionism and Freedom)
$50 Henry Ford (Father of the Assembly Line and the Model T)
$100 Apollo 11 Mission Insignia (Surpassing the limits; One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Mankind under)

Metalicon said:

Dollars:

Martin Luther King Jr. $1.00
Ernest Hemingway $5.00
Elvis Presley $10.00
Jim Thorpe $20.00
Ayn Rand $50.00
Cesar Chavez $100.00
Andrew Carnegie $500.00
Muhammad Ali $1000.00
Henry Ford $5000.00

Honestly, the dollar amounts are rather arbitrary so feel free to critique regarding the order.

Click to expand...

How could Henry Ford be on the 5000, while Muhammed Ali was only on the 1000? Obviously, Ali needs to be on the 5000, since he was the greatest.

Sakura_F said:

I don't think there's a requirement to put only Americans on the money. The OP put Charles Chaplin on one of his, and Chaplin's a Brit.

Click to expand...

Sorry, my fault.

Just remind me of someone putting Justin Bieber on a US fantasy note even though he's a Canadian.

Just remind me that a large portion of my favourite Hollywood actors and actresses are foreigners, part of the reason behind its success (and indeed, America's success).

But I still recommend featuring Americans citizens first... Because many people who are seen as the pride of their own countries have actually excelled in the US, if US money portray them, the other countries may think US is stealing their heroes...

can we not have Harry "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" Ford on any of the money, thanks.

Could Benjamin Franklin still be included for his equally numerous non-political accomplishments?

Based off the currency assumptions Helü made in the first post:

$0.10: George S. Patton
$0.25: Jimi Hendrix (The World would be a better place if Jimi Hendrix appeared on currency)
$0.50: Amelia Earhart (I was on the fence about putting Charles 'Nazi sympathizer and White supremacist' Lindbergh in this post)
$1.00: Benjamin Franklin (My exception for the no politician rule)

$2.00: Martin Luther King Jr.-Susan B. Anthony
$5.00: Neil Armstrong-John Glenn
$10.00: Jonas Salk-Daniel Hale Williams
$20.00: William Faulkner-Mark Twain
$50.00: Andrew Carnegie-Henry Ford
$100.00: Thomas Paine-Frederick Douglass (It would take far too long to explain why I decided to put these two men on the hundred)

Crayhistory said:

0.01 Martin Luther King, Jr. (The first coin dedicated to the Civil Rights Activist)
0.05 Edgar Allen Poe (The Nickel to Edgar Allen Poe, with a Raven on the back)
0.10 Rosa Parks (For Women and Civil Rights)
0.25 Susan B. Anthony (Pioneer of Woman's Suffrage)
0.50 Bald Eagle (Symbol of America, Scale on the other side for Equality)
$1 coin Walt Whitman (For his great literary achievement's and support of Abolition)

$1 Thomas Edison & Alexander Graham Bell (Advancement of Sciences)
$5 Robert Frost (Literary figure of the 20th Century)
$10 Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacajawea (Explorers)
$20 Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman (Abolitionism and Freedom)
$50 Henry Ford (Father of the Assembly Line and the Model T)
$100 Apollo 11 Mission Insignia (Surpassing the limits; One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Mankind under)

Click to expand...

Almost perfect.
$2 Sequoya and Pocahontas
$50 Challenger Disaster Crew ( It's always good to remember those who paid with their lives for science)
$100 Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine (As a scientist, continuity from the old series) ( At least the US should include a founding father)

Benjamin Franklin was a *major* politician. If we disregard his membership in the Continental and Constitutional Congresses, we still need to remember that he was Governor of Pennsylvania, Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, and the first Postmaster General. If Franklin doesn't count as a politician, then the entire definition of politician is skewed in this thread.

Thomas Paine, on the other hand, is not really a politician at all. He was a secretary and aide for much of the Revolutionary War and after, but for the most part stuck to his writing and publishing.

Tim Thomason said:

Benjamin Franklin was a *major* politician. If we disregard his membership in the Continental and Constitutional Congresses, we still need to remember that he was Governor of Pennsylvania, Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, and the first Postmaster General. If Franklin doesn't count as a politician, then the entire definition of politician is skewed in this thread.

Thomas Paine, on the other hand, is not really a politician at all. He was a secretary and aide for much of the Revolutionary War and after, but for the most part stuck to his writing and publishing.

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May we treat Benjamin Franklin as the one and only exception?
He was a scientist, and his presence in the new series poses as a continuity from the old series.

Penny: Neil Armstrong
Nickel: George W. Carver
Dime: Jonas Salk
Quarter: Norman Borlaug
$1: Frederick Douglass
$5: Susan B. Anthony
$10: Grimké sisters
$20: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
$50: Harriet Beecher Stowe
$100: Mark Twain

If "dead presidents" are off the list, I believe US money would probably feature military people (both actual people and idealized soldiers/seamen, etc), workers, explorers, inventors, and major cultural figures like Martin Luther King. I think it's highly unlikely US money would ever feature writers or artists. My alternate US coins would feature stylized people while bills would have actual personages

penny coin - stylized WW2 airman
nickle - Stylized Native American warrior (not inlike "Indian head" nickle
dime - Agricultural laborers
quarter - Steelworkers
half-dollar - IwoJima flag raisers
dollar coin - Cowboys

$1 bill - Amelia Earhart
$2 bill - Sequoyah or Tecumseh
$5 bill - Martin Luther King
$10 bill - Neil Armstrong
$20 bill - The Wright Brothers
$50 bill - Dwight Eisenhower (as general)
$100 bill - John Paul Jones

zoomar said:

If "dead presidents" are off the list, I believe US money would probably feature military people (both actual people and idealized soldiers/seamen, etc), workers, explorers, inventors……
penny coin - stylized WW2 airman
nickle - Stylized Native American warrior (not inlike "Indian head" nickle
dime - Agricultural laborers
quarter - Steelworkers
half-dollar - IwoJima flag raisers
dollar coin - Cowboys

Click to expand...

But featuring "idealized" people of different trades is a very "communistic" practice.

What the US currency actually good at was featuring allegorical motifs and "personifications":

Lady Liberty
Lady Columbia
Lady Science
Lady Nature
Mercury as a symbol of commerce...
etc.

like the beautiful "Educational Series" (sorry for the gigantic image)