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Timothy Geithner's signature not fit for print
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's signature before and after. He had to change his autograph to appear on U.S. currency.
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You've probably got a dollar or two in your pocket with Timothy Geithner's signature on it. But the Treasury Secretary's John Hancock wasn't always, shall we say, legible. He had to change his autograph from this 
to this 
when his signature was added to the storied list of those featured on our nation's currency.
Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal squeezed this curious detail out of Geithner during his exclusive interview Thursday afternoon in San Francisco, which airs Friday on Marketplace.
Kai Ryssdal: I gotta ask you about your handwriting. Is it true that this used to be your signature
Timothy Geithner: Yes it is true.
Ryssdal: And why would you do that?
Geithner: You mean from this
Ryssdal: Yeah.
Geithner: You mean you like this one
Ryssdal: No, that one
Geithner: Well, I think on the dollar bill I had to write something where people could read my name. That’s the rationale.
Ryssdal: Really?
Geithner: I didn’t try for elegance. I tried for clarity.
Ryssdal: 'Cause you know Mrs. Quiggly, my 1st grade teacher, she would have given me the big F on that one.
Geithner: Well, I took handwriting in the third grade in New Delhi, India, so I probably did not get the best instruction on handwriting.
Some might say both versions are better than that of some of the past signatures featured on U.S. Currency, as seen here.
Learn more about Geithner and listen to our full interview with the Treasury Secretary here.
If Mr. Geithner is serious about the last statement about handwriting...then it is awfully ignorant of him to say this...sample 10 Indians and 10 Americans and have them write a sentence - Indians by far will have much better and legible handwriting.....
Tim Geithner spent his youth internationally. In the western European countries at least, and apparently as far east as India, it appears, one's signature is not meant to be really legible. It is a point of pride to work on a unique signature that will be a "symbol" of the individual person. If you look at the original (illegible) signature, you can see that there is a curved "T" at the beginning and a curved "G" at the end. I think it's a fine signature and one that is solely Geithner's. What's the problem?
The currency signature is "fake" and I believe he will not use it again once he leaves Treasury. I know American signatures are meant to be legible, but why don't we "expand" our minds to other types of signatures that are just as legitimate, though new to us compared to those from the past?
