The United States five-dollar bill (US$5) is a denomination of United States currency. The current $5 bill features U.S. president Abraham Lincoln and the Great Seal of the United States on the front and the Lincoln Memorial on the back. All $5 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes. , the average life of a $5 bill in circulation is 4.7 years before it is replaced due to wear. Approximately 6% of all paper currency produced by the U.S. Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 2009 were $5 bills. Although sometimes nicknamed a "fin", which has German/Yiddish roots and is remotely related to the English "five", the term is currently far less common than it was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also occasionally referred to as a “fiver”.

Current design

The redesigned $5 bill was unveiled on September 20, 2007, and was issued on March 13, 2008, during a ceremony at President Lincoln's Cottage.

Security features

New and enhanced security features make it easier to check the new $5 bill and more difficult for potential counterfeiters to reproduce. The redesigned $5 bill has: The five dollar bill lacks the optically variable ink of higher denomination US bills.

Design features

The new $5 bills remain the same size and use the same—but enhanced—portraits and historical images. The most noticeable difference is the light-purple coloring of the center of the bill, which blends into gray near the edges. Similar to the recently redesigned $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills, the new $5 bill features an American symbol of freedom printed in the background: The Great Seal of the United States, featuring an eagle and shield, is printed in purple to the right of the portrait and an arc of purple stars surround both it and the portrait. When the Lincoln Memorial was constructed the names of 48 states were engraved on it. The picture of the Lincoln Memorial on the $5 bill only contains the names of 26 states. These are the 26 states that can be seen on the front side of the Lincoln memorial which is what is pictured on the $5 bill. On the back of the bill, a larger, purple numeral "5" appears in the lower right corner to help those with visual impairments to distinguish the denomination. This large "5" also includes the words "USA FIVE" in tiny white letters. The oval borders around President Lincoln's portrait on the front, and the Lincoln Memorial vignette on the back have been removed. Both engravings have been enhanced.

Proposed redesign

On April 20, 2016, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced that the $5, $10, and $20 would all undergo redesign prior to 2020. The changes would add new features to combat counterfeiting and make them easier for blind citizens to distinguish. Lew said that while Lincoln would remain on the obverse, the reverse would be redesigned to depict various historical events that had occurred at the Lincoln Memorial. Among the planned designs are images from Martin Luther King Jr. giving his 1963 speech "I Have a Dream" and the 1939 concert by opera singer Marian Anderson. , the Treasury has continued work on the $20 bill; the redesigns of the $5 and $10 were not mentioned.

Large size note history

( approximately 7.4218 × 3.125 in ≅ 189 × 79 mm)

Small size note history

(6.14 × 2.61 in ≅ 156 × 66 mm)

Series dates

Small size