Before George Washington, whose face appeared on the $1 bill? Correct
When the United States first issued paper $1 legal tender notes in 1862, the face greeting citizens was not George Washington, but Salmon P. Chase. As the Secretary of the Treasury during the Civil War, Chase was the mastermind behind the country’s first federal currency system. He reportedly chose to put his own image on the inaugural bill as a way to increase his public visibility, harboring high hopes that the fame gained from every American’s wallet would propel him to the presidency.
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIT7MD93R7w
https://www.threads.com/@beliproduk.official/post/DV04PPLEkHT