An early conceptual design for the new $20 bill featuring Harriet Tubman has leaked.
The image, reportedly produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, features the civil rights icon wearing a dark coat and a white scarf. The conceptual design was finished in 2016, but last month Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the bill’s planned 2020 release would be moved back to 2028.
Mnuchin said the delay was because of security issues.
“The primary reason we’ve looked at redesigning the currency is for counterfeiting issues,” Mnuchin said. “Based upon this, the $20 bill will now not come out until 2028. The $10 and the $50 will come out with new features beforehand.”
In an email to the Washington Examiner, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing added clarity to the New York Times article that released the images of the bill.
“The image depicted is neither an official, nor BEP authorized image; it is not a currency image prototype,” a spokesperson from the bureau said.
“BEP was never going to unveil a note design in 2020,” bureau Director Len Olijar said in a statement. “To keep our currency safe and secure, it is unwise to give counterfeiters a look at a potential future note far in advance of a note going into circulation. Additionally, if the concept of a note that was made public by the government were to change during that lengthy amount of time, it would create confusion in the global marketplace, further aiding counterfeiters.”
Trump has criticized the decision to swap the current image of former President Andrew Jackson in favor of Tubman. In 2016, he praised Jackson’s presidency, saying he would prefer Tubman on the $2 bill.
NY Times obtained an early mock up of the Harriet Tubman 20.00 bill. The design was created by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. pic.twitter.com/icTi1kRIzi
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) June 14, 2019
“Andrew Jackson had a great history, and I think it’s very rough when you take somebody off the bill. Andrew Jackson had a history of tremendous success for the country,” Trump said.
“I think Harriet Tubman is fantastic. I would love to leave Andrew Jackson and see if we can maybe come up with another denomination, maybe we do the $2 bill or we do another bill,” he added.
In 2016, then-Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that Jackson’s likeness would be nixed in favor of Tubman with a scheduled 2020 rollout.
