Points for Penmanship

The Best and Worst Treasury Secretary Signatures (Photos)

The good, the loopy, and the indecipherable. A look at which Treasury secretaries were right on the money.

The White House/AP

By Andrew CarterJan 11, 2013

galleries/2013/01/11/the-best-and-worst-treasury-secretary-signatures-photos/note-lew2560_fhcsax — Get ready to see this beauty on your cash every time you go to the ATM. It really makes one wonder if President Obama had ever seen Jack Lew's signature before tapping him to be the next Treasury secretary. As Lew prepares to take over, The Daily Beast looks back at the prettier signatures that came before him.

The White House/AP

galleries/2013/01/11/the-best-and-worst-treasury-secretary-signatures-photos/note-geithner2560_lvks1j — Sure, it looks nice now, but Timothy Geithner's signature was not always so pretty. In an interview last year, he admitted that his signature before he went to the Treasury was illegible and he had to create a new one. "Well, I think on the dollar bill I had to write something where people could read my name. That’s the rationale," he said.

Mark Wilson/Getty

galleries/2013/01/11/the-best-and-worst-treasury-secretary-signatures-photos/note-paulson-2560_mwqroc — Henry Paulson's signature is pretty, even though it looks more like he signed his name "Harry Potter," which, given that he was Treasury secretary at the height of Pottermania, is not inconceivable.

Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty

galleries/2013/01/11/the-best-and-worst-treasury-secretary-signatures-photos/note-snow2560_mjqy9h — Winter is coming and you know nothing John W. Snow. Game of Thrones anyone?

Mike Theiler/Getty

galleries/2013/01/11/the-best-and-worst-treasury-secretary-signatures-photos/note-oneill2560_mu2tb9 — Paul O'Neill's signature is sharp, scribbly, and sort of dancing on the line of illegible. Perhaps it was that life-changing trip to Africa with Bono that muddied the waters a bit.

Shawn Thew/AFP/Getty

galleries/2013/01/11/the-best-and-worst-treasury-secretary-signatures-photos/note-rubin2560_iajx23 — We are pretty sure "Robert Rubin" is written in there somewhere.

Treasury Department/AP

galleries/2013/01/11/the-best-and-worst-treasury-secretary-signatures-photos/note-summer2560_w5c3ho — Good news for Jack Lew: even if your signature is not perfect, it's still possible to become president of Harvard if the whole Treasury secretary thing does not work out.

Treasury Department/AP

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