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Hemmings Motor News has been around since 1954. We're proud of our heritage, but we're also more than the Hemmings full of classifieds that your father subscribed to. Aside from new editorial content every month in Hemmings, we have three monthly magazines: Hemmings Muscle Machines, Hemmings Classic Car and Hemmings Sports and Exotic Car.

While our editors traverse the country to find the best content for those magazines, we find other oddities related to the old-car hobby that we really had no place for - until now. With this blog, we're giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what we see and what we do during the course of putting out some of the finest automotive magazines you'll ever read.

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Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

Posted November 02, 2009 4:59 PM by dstrohl

A bit of trivia for ya this morning – If you happen to have an old sawbuck, of the series first issued in 1929, pull it out and examine the car on the back, placed in front of the U.S. Treasury building. What car is it – or, more appropriately, what car is it meant to be?

Answer: Not a production car. It was apparently meant to be a composite of the various automobiles on the streets at the time.

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#1

Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/03/2009 12:09 AM

Duh, Hupmobile

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#2
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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/03/2009 9:16 AM

Interesting . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hupmobile

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#3
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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/03/2009 9:49 AM

I had to look it up also. I thought packrat was making up words.

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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/03/2009 9:52 AM

I wouldn't put it past him, he is a bit nuts, but he is full of useless information, amongst other things.

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#5
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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/03/2009 3:55 PM

So, what did I win? A vacation in south Florida? How about an atta boy or a GA?

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#6
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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/03/2009 7:02 PM

Atta boy, Hedley.

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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/03/2009 7:32 PM

My Sue, you do get around and THANK YOU.

I feel so cheap when I beg.

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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/03/2009 7:53 PM

Hupmobile, indeed. I thought it was a Yugo.

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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/03/2009 10:06 PM

Yugo, Girl!

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#11
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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/04/2009 12:23 AM

Hi sue,

It is in fact neither Hupmobile or Yogo. It is a composite.

As this note (from the horses mouth so to speak) explains:

Automobiles on US Bank Notes

Take care.

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#12
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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/04/2009 12:29 AM

Hi packrat,

I am afraid you win nothing this time. Please read the full request and answer combined from dstrohl.

A correct answer could have won a possible vacation in Florida though. It is not winning a flight to Florida that matters, but also winning a return journey!.......... Long way to walk if you live anywhere near the Canadian west for sure!

See my post #10

Take care

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#10

Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/04/2009 12:16 AM

Hi dstrohl,

What an interesting request!

I went to the 'Bureau of Engraving and Printing' Site, a link from the US Treasury Site, for these details, which should be definitive answer............?

http://www.moneyfactory.gov/document.cfm/18/100/100

The link above will take you to the detail below.

Autos on the Back of $10 Notes


The engraved die of the Treasury Building vignette was completed in the early part of December 1927. The engraver was Louis S. Schofield. There are four cars included in this vignette. These cars are of no specific make or model and each one is a creation of the designer who prepared the original model which was later used by Mr. Schofield when he made the original hand-engraved die of this vignette.

It would not be possible to have specific makes of automobiles engraved on the Treasury vignette for the $10 bill, which would be a composite model, without making it appear that we were sponsoring the product of one or another automobile manufacturer. Legal requirements will not permit a government agency to indicate its endorsement of a commercial firm or product.

The four automobiles engraved into this design are similar in appearance to various models of cars being manufactured at that time. However, again, the cars in the design are of no specific make or model.

The engraved die of the Treasury Building vignette was completed in the early part of December 1927. The engraver was Louis S. Schofield.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On this first site it is said the care is a 'composite' of cars of that date. (As the official account says above).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_ten-dollar_bill

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#13

Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/04/2009 1:08 AM

Hi dstrohl,

This is a wider angled view showing the four cars, not just the one.

Size of this preview: 800 × 402 pixels

Take care.

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#14
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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/04/2009 8:35 AM

Hi babybear

Dang b bear, you are so thorough. I had always heard it was a Hupmobile, I think I should relinquish my GA.

But, they will have to pry my cold, dead fingers off of my atta boy.

Hedley (Packrat)

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Re: Trivia: What’s The Car on the Old $10 Bill?

11/04/2009 9:24 AM

Hi packrat,

nice to hear from you my friend, and thank you for your kind note!

Well, there is a lot of other people out there who are also pretty disappointed, because they thought it was a Hupmobile as well!

As was said by one of the Marks Brothers, "A five year old could do this!..... Find me a five your old now!"

Take care.

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