Riggs Bank on Ten Dollar Bill

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The “old ten dollar bill” featured an engraving of the US Treasury on the reverse side, but lurking in the distance was a second bank named Riggs.

Riggs Bank has an astonishingly rich history, and at various times, has significantly influenced the history of the United States. To list a few stories involving Riggs:

1. Riggs financed the purchase of Alaska
2. Riggs hid millions of dollars for Pinochet, the exiled Chilean dictator, and his family (which resulted in the largest banking fine in history, and precipitated the collapse of Riggs Bank)
3. Riggs has held a bank account for most presidents since the Civil War

Although Riggs is now defunct, its old building is still standing in Washington DC, at 1503 Pennsylvania Ave. The engraving can be compared to the map below, where the US Department of Treasury is the large building just south of Riggs.

In case you wanted to know where 1503 Pennsylvania Ave was, it’s actually quite close to 1600 Pennsylvania, also known as the White House. No doubt, its proximity to the seat of government is related to the bank’s intimate involvement in US affairs.