Robert Morris

This c. 1785 portrait of Robert Morris by Robert Edge Pine hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

“As the Second Continental Congress moved toward a vote for independence, Robert Morris, one of America's leading merchants, thought that the country was not ready for it. In the interest of colonial unity, Morris absented himself from the Pennsylvania delegation when the vote was taken on July 2, but added his signature to the embossed copy of the Declaration of Independence on August 2. 'I am not one of those politicians that run testy when my own plans are not adopted,' Morris said, 'I think it is the duty of a good citizen to follow when he cannot lead.'

During the Revolutionary War, Morris did yeoman service, championing the formation of the American navy, striving to keep Washington's army fed and supplied, and, as superintendent of finance, pledging his personal credit as a substitute 'for that which the Country Had lost.'” -- National Portrait Gallery

Robert Morris' visage also appears in John Trumbull's 1819 painting “Declaration of Independence” that hangs in the Capitol Rotunda. 

(Wikipedia)

Folklore

Morris's representation on the engraving of Trumbull's painting that appears on the reverse of the U.S. $2 bill became the subject of folklore.

(2003 $2 bill in the author's possession.)

The dark engraving of Robert Morris' face has been taken to indicate that it depicts an African American.  The image has been further falsely identified as John Hanson, President of Congress under the Articles of Confederation, to conclude that the first President of the United States was an African American.  (See, for example, What is on the Back of the Two Dollar Bill? by Cyril Innis, jr.)

In the interest of tempering my love of folklore with my belief in the importance of actual history, I'll note that Hanson wasn't even present for the reading of the Declaration that Trumbull depicts, and that he was definitely not the John Hanson who was a Liberian Senator before his death in 1860. (See John Hanson in the Portrait Gallery.)

$1000 Greenback

In 1863, Morris appeared on the $1000 Greenback note. Greenbacks were the first United States Legal Tender notes and this may have been the first U.S. $1000 bill.  Salmon P. Chase was on the first $1 bill.

(Godot13 at Wikipedia)

This particular bill resides in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

$10 Silver Certificate

Robert Morris makes another monetary appearance on the obverse of the 1880 $10 Silver Certificate.

(Godot13 at Wikipedia)

This bill also resides in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

It is particularly appropriate to find Robert Morris on U.S. Currency as he was the “Moneyman” of the  American Revolution, investing his personal fortune in the revolutionary cause. He would later loose his fortune in real estate dealing and die in poverty.

(updated 2026)