So When Does The New $10 Bill Come Out?

The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that the new $10 bill will include a woman's face alongside Alexander Hamilton. So when does the new $10 bill come out? The release of the new bill is set to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. That means we'll have to wait five years for the new $10 bill to come out in 2020.

According to The New York Times, Treasury Secretary Jake Lew, who makes the decision, will be selecting a woman “who was a champion for our inclusive democracy.” The mystery woman won't be the first to be featured on U.S. currency though. First Lady Martha Washington briefly graced the $1 bill in 1886, and another 19th century bill featured a group portrait of Native Americans, which included Pocahontas.

Treasury Department held a similar call for nominations in 1987 for the creation of a specialty $1 coin. Susan B. Anthony won the nomination process, closely followed by other female icons such as Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, and Harriet Tubman. The Treasury Department (hilariously) nominated the Statue of Liberty.

However, Anthony's moment of fame was short-lived, as the coin did not circulate as well as expected. It was primarily used in vending machines, and people claimed it looked too much like the quarter. In addition, Americans just weren't used to carrying coins around. The coins were only minted for a year, and production was halted in 1980. The Susan B. Anthony coins were briefly minted again in 1999, right before the Sacagawea $1 coin was created, but sadly neither coin saw a large circulation. The only female currently in circulation is Helen Keller, who is featured on the 2003 Alabama quarter.

Although currency designs are changed periodically to safeguard against laundering, the presidents currently gracing the front of our money have not been changed since 1929, when Grover Cleveland was kicked out in favor of Andrew Jackson (who some activists are now trying to kick out).

Hopefully whoever the Treasury Department chooses this time will stick around for awhile (and is actually a real woman, unlike the Statue of Liberty). To help aid in the decision making process, Lew and the Treasury Department are soliciting suggestions and ideas from the American populace via social media using #TheNew10. The only requirement for consideration is that the woman in question is deceased, and that she and the new design embrace the new theme of the $10 bill, which will be "democracy."

However, the five-year wait might actually kill us. Though the nomination process is sure to be nothing less than entertaining, there is a very really possibility that America could have a female president before we have a female on our currency. Oh well. Baby steps.