STRICTLY BUSINESS: A FACELIFT FOR ULYSSES S. GRANT

Ulysses S. Grant is getting a facelift.

The $50 bill, which bears a portrait of Grant, will receive a new look to be introduced next fall.

The new note is the second in the U.S. currency series to include new and modified security features. A new $100 bill was issued in March 1996.

The U.S. Treasury will introduce later design changes for the $1, $5, $10 and $20 bills. The redesigned $20 note will be issued next year.

The redesigned $50 note and subsequent denominations will included large, dark numerals on a light background on the back of the note.

Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, in announcing the new bill, said the larger numbers on the back will make it easier for the more than 3.7 billion Americans with low vision to recognize the note.

Many elements of the new note will remain the same, including size, ink colors, paper and the motto, "In God We Trust."

New features include the larger, off-center portrait of Grant, a watermark to the right of the portrait, the larger numeral, "50," on the back of the note and the enlarged engraving of the Capitol to include more detail.

Micro-printing and security threads, which first appeared in the 1991 series currency, have been effective deterrents to counterfeiting and will appear in the new notes. The security thread will be positioned at different parts of each new denomination. The thread will glow red when it is exposed to ultraviolet light in a dark room.

A replacement process

The new $50 note will gradually replace the older series notes in circulation. As the older notes reach the Federal Reserve from depository institutions, they will be replaced by the newer notes. About $46.5 billion in $50 notes is in circulation.

Rubin and Greenspan stressed that the United States will not recall or devalue existing currency.

The new currency series of bank notes represents an ongoing commitment to protect the U.S. currency, which has seen important changes throughout the years, starting with the first series of U.S. bank notes issued in 1861. These early notes featured a distinctive cotton/linen paper, green ink and a fin-line design.

In 1928, each denomination was standardized with easily recognizable single portraits and illustrations. In 1990, U.S. currency was further enhanced with an important new feature -- the security thread that runs vertically through the left side of the note.

Basically, the currency's appearance remained largely unchanged.

Now after almost four generations, U.S. currency is undergoing a more noticeable change in appearance. And in the future, as new, dependable technology becomes available, the next generation of currency enhancements will be incorporated.

Fact sheets on the new note, the history of U.S. currency and related agencies area available on the U.S. Treasury's web site: www.ustreas.gov/treas/whatsnew/.

From 'H.U.G' to 'U.S.G'

Ever wonder what the S. stands for in Ulysses S. Grant's name?

Ulysses S. Grant was born April 27, 1922, at Point Pleasant, Ohio, a small village on the Ohio River. His parents, Jesse and Hannah Simpson Grant, named him Hiram Ulysses Grant on April 27.

During his young life, he was called Ulysses, or, just "Lyss."

In 1839, he was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The Congressman who made the appointment made a mistake in Grant's name. He thought Ulysses was the youth's first name and that his middle name was that of his mother's family (Simpson). The congressman made out the appointment to Ulysses S. Grant.

Ulysses never corrected the mistake. He thought he might be teased about his real initials -- "H.U.G."

So, young Grant became Ulysses S. Grant, a name which was to become well known in history.

Ulysses S. Grant became one of the great generals in Civil War history and later a two-term president.

Grant is also a familiar name in this area. He established his headquarters at Cairo Ill., in September 1861. He participated in a number of major battles -- Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga.

Grant often returned to Cairo to visit with friends during his presidency.

The desk used by Grant during the Civil War is on display at the Custom House Museum in Cairo.

Grant was named commander of all Union forces in 1864, and he accepted the surrender of Confederate forces under Gen. Robert E. Lee on April 9, 1865.

Grant's victory won him great popularity in the North. Southerners appreciated his generous terms to Lee.

In 1968, Grant was selected by the Republican Party to oppose former New York Gov. Horatio Seymour.

Grant was elected president in 1868, and re-elected in 1872. Grant refused to run for a third term.

Grant spent the last few years of his life writing his memoirs. Mark Twain -- pen name for Missouri native Samuel Langhorne Clemens -- a noted American author who established his own publishing company in the 1880s, was Grant's publisher.

No middle name

While on the subject of presidential trivia and middle initials, a Missouri-born U.S. president also had the initial, "S." in his name.

History reminds us that Harry S. Truman, born in Lamar, Mo., was named Harry by his parents, John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young Truman.

They chose the middle initial, "S." but gave him no middle name.

The reasoning? So both his grandfathers -- "Solomon" Young and Anderson "Shippe" Truman -- could claim he was named for them.

Harry S. Truman, who was elected vice president in 1944, became president April 12, 1945, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt died.

Truman was re-elected president in 1948. He did not seek re-election in 1952.

B. Ray Owen is business editor for the Southeast Missourian.