I also wish the Tubman $20’s had become a reality, but I disagree with Adafruit about the legality of this stamp. Or at least the advisability.
A Tubman-stamped $20 is indeed “unfit to be reissued”. It is unrecognizable by bill acceptors, which is a major use case for paper currency. In the words of the statute, it has been “defaced”. No bank would give such bills to their customers. This is unlike many other stamps (like “where’s George”) that do not affect the bill’s usability.
Since the bill won’t continue to circulate, there’s no value to the stamp, other than self-indulgence. You’re just making the feds destroy a banknote and print another one. It’s wasteful and silly.
