Chapter 61: The Night They Came Up with All the Currency
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary (Complete and Chronological)
Petri imagines a U.S. Mint committee designing every coin and bill in one absurd session. The penny features Lincoln's hatless profile and the Lincoln Memorial, despite costing more than one cent to make. The nickel uses Thomas Jefferson's side view and his Monticello home instead of the Jefferson Memorial, to avoid appearing overly obsessed with him. The dime is worth ten cents but is physically smaller than the penny and nickel, intended to teach that appearance does not reflect value. The quarter is named for its value (one quarter of a dollar) and carries George Washington and an eagle. The paper dollar introduces the all-seeing eye atop a pyramid and uses green, weird paper. The two-dollar bill is a "secret bonus bill" with Jefferson and a painting of the Constitution signing. The five-dollar bill gives Lincoln a forward-facing portrait. The ten-dollar bill shows a "sexy" Alexander Hamilton and the Treasury building. The twenty-dollar bill features Andrew Jackson, but the committee immediately regrets it and wishes for Harriet Tubman. The fifty-dollar bill has Ulysses S. Grant and the Capitol. The hundred-dollar bill includes Benjamin Franklin with an unwelcome blue stripe. Higher denominations grow increasingly ridiculous: the five-hundred bill might feature William McKinley or a generic concept; the thousand-dollar bill could be Dewitt Clinton or a double Hamilton; the five-thousand has James Madison; and the ten-thousand claims Salmon P. Chase and pilgrims, a combination so improbable that the committee hopes it deters counterfeiters. Trevor occasionally objects but is overruled.
Key Events
- The penny hat debate: Lincoln's hat is omitted to avoid sharp, oversized coins.
- The nickel's back is Monticello, not the Jefferson Memorial, to downplay adoration of Jefferson.
- The dime is made smallest despite being most valuable, to challenge expectations.
- The quarter is named rationally, unlike the nickel.
- The dollar bill features a pyramid with a disembodied eye, creating confusion.
- The two-dollar bill is created for novelty, with Jefferson on both sides.
- The twenty-dollar bill is immediately regretted after Jackson's inclusion.
- The hundred-dollar bill gains a blue stripe no one wanted.
- High-denomination bills include obscure figures like Salmon P. Chase, intended to appear fake.
Character Development
The narrator (part of the committee) evolves from playful enthusiasm to power-drunk creativity, especially with higher denominations. Trevor acts as a dissent voice, questioning the naming of the nickel and the placement of figures on both sides of the two-dollar bill, but his logic is repeatedly dismissed. Other characters appear only as historical placeholders, not developed personalities.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Arbitrariness of Value: The committee decides coin sizes and names without logical consistency, mocking how monetary symbols gain acceptance.
- Historical Absurdity: Placing Andrew Jackson on the twenty-dollar bill while acknowledging his Indian Removal Act highlights the disconnect between commemoration and critique.
- Visual Symbolism: The torch, eagle, and pyramid are presented as empty symbols that "speak for themselves" but convey no clear meaning.
- Power of Naming: Terms like penny, nickel, and dime are revealed as imported or misunderstood labels, showing how arbitrary designations become official.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter uses satire to deconstruct a familiar aspect of daily life—currency—and expose the arbitrary, sometimes hypocritical choices behind it. Petri critiques how nations enshrine controversial historical figures (Andrew Jackson) and obscure ones (Salmon P. Chase) while ignoring the implications. The chapter also foreshadows real-world debates about replacing Jackson with Harriet Tubman. By making the design process comedically incompetent, Petri invites readers to question why they accept the imagery on money without scrutiny.
3 Study Questions and Answers
Question 1: Why does the committee put Thomas Jefferson's house (Monticello) on the nickel instead of the Jefferson Memorial?
Answer: They thought his house was cooler and wanted to avoid appearing weirdly obsessed with Jefferson, though they later realize a plantation may be just as problematic.
Question 2: What is the stated purpose of making the dime smaller than the nickel and penny despite being worth more?
Answer: To teach people not to judge things by appearances.
Question 3: Why does the narrator hope the ten-thousand-dollar bill (with Salmon P. Chase and pilgrims) will never be used?
Answer: The combination is so improbable (an obscure justice with pilgrims on the back) that anyone seeing it would assume it is counterfeit and stop a bank robbery.