Trump’s Signature Will Appear on U.S. Paper Money Starting This Summer, the First Time in 165 Years a President’s Signature Has Appeared There

For the first time in American history, a sitting president’s signature will appear on U.S. currency.

The first $100 bills with Trump’s signature and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s will be printed in June, timed to the 250th anniversary of American independence. The overall designs won’t change. Only the signature.

The tradition dates to the Civil War. When the federal government could no longer borrow enough gold or silver, Congress authorized the first paper currency in 1861. Every note had to be individually hand-signed by the Treasurer and the Register of the Treasury. By the late 1860s, signatures were engraved onto printing plates. Federal Reserve Notes have carried the Treasurer and Secretary of the Treasury combination since 1914, creating hundreds of distinct signature pairs tracked by currency collectors.

Every bill since 1861 has carried the Treasurer’s signature. Lynn Malerba, the 43rd Treasurer and Mohegan Tribe chairwoman, was the first Native American woman to hold the position. She will be the last name in that unbroken 165-year line. Her signature is being replaced by the President’s.

The current Treasurer, Brandon Beach, has never had his name appear on currency. Malerba declined comment. Jovita Carranza, Trump’s first-term Treasurer and the first Latina to hold the position, called the change “a powerful symbol of American resilience.”

Bessent framed it as appropriate for the occasion: “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 name.”

Federal law prohibits depicting living individuals on U.S. coins. Paper currency falls under broader Treasury discretion over design, which is how the signature change is legally viable. This fits a broader pattern. The administration has been putting Trump’s name on federal buildings, government programs, warships, and a commemorative gold coin approved last week.

Current bills carrying Janet Yellen and Lynn Malerba’s signatures will remain legal tender and circulate alongside the new ones for years. The $100 bills will take several weeks to reach banks after the June printing. Numismatists will treat the new “Trump plus Bessent” series as instant collectibles.

Nothing says 250th anniversary of American independence quite like turning every $100 bill into limited-edition memorabilia.