The Capitol Dome

Summer 2016

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33 THE CAPITOL DOME One of the most recognized images of the U.S. Capitol mea- sures only two by four inches. It was originally engraved by Louis S. Schofield in 1927 (fig. 1), and an updated version was made by Thomas R. Hipschen in 1996 (fig. 2). There are 1.5 billion copies of the image in circulation around the globe, 1 and millions more will be printed in 2016. Which Capitol image is this? It is the engraving on the back of the $50 bill. While this view of the Capitol is familiar to most Amer- icans, it is far from the only engraving of the iconic build- ing—even on other forms of U.S. paper currency. the Bureau oF eNGraviNG aNd PriNtiNG United States paper currency is produced at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) at the directive of the Federal Reserve. The BEP also creates products for several other government agencies, such as identification cards, certifi- cates, and official portraits. Almost every item the BEP has made—including individual design components for each item, some equipment used in production, and artifacts related to the history of the BEP itself—are housed in the bureau's Historical Resource Center (HRC). The HRC's growing collection includes more than two million artifacts. viGNettes oF the CaPitol From the Bureau oF eNGraviNG aNd PriNtiNG by Margaret Richardson NATIONAL NUMISMATIC COLLECTION, NATION MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY (NMAH), SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION (SI) Fig. 1. $50 Federal Reserve Note, uniform back. The Capitol vignette was engraved by Louis S. Schofield in 1927. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Fig. 2. $50 Federal Reserve Note, Series 2004, back. The Capitol vignette was engraved by Thomas R. Hipschen in 1996.

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