Groupon announced a President's Day deal on Saturday to honor a particular president: the one whose face appears on the $10 bill.
In a press release, Groupon said it wanted to honor Alexander Hamilton, "undeniably one of our greatest presidents." But Hamilton, of course, was never a president.
"Groupon is always serious about helping our customers save money, and saving $10 is no laughing matter," Groupon public relations representative Nicholas Halliwell said in response to the error.
The coupon company offered $10 off a $40 purchase through the weekend, but Groupon would have been better off giving a $5 or $20 discount to honor presidents Abraham Lincoln or Andrew Jackson.
Hamilton never held the office of Chief of State, but he could at least boast of presidential company. He was the first Secretary of Treasury under George Washington, who took notice of him when he was just a teen.
Referring to him as "President Alexander Hamilton" and "our money-minded commander-in-chief," Groupon quickly elevated Hamilton's status from founding father to president of the Untied States
Hamilton played an important role in the early days of the United States. He fought with George Washington in Valley Forge, served a year in Congress, penned more than half of the Federalist papers and expertly handled the post-war financial crisis that enveloped the new nation after the Revolution.
Hamilton's achievements certainly deserve commemoration of some kind, but perhaps it should be reserved for the Fourth of July, or another more relevant holiday.
