When you picture the U.S. Secret Service, you probably imagine agents in dark suits and sunglasses, whispering into their wrists while protecting the president. While that’s a key part of their job today, their real origin story is far more surprising. The agency was born from a financial crisis and marked by a tragic irony, and its history is full of missions you’d never expect.

Their First Mission Was About Money, Not the President

Let’s clear up the biggest myth first: the Secret Service was not created to protect politicians. It was founded in 1865 as a division of the Treasury Department. Its one and only job was to solve a massive financial crisis that was threatening to destroy the country from within: counterfeiting.

After the Civil War, it’s estimated that up to one-third of all currency in circulation was fake. This flood of phony cash was causing bank runs and threatening to topple the entire U.S. economy. The Secret Service was launched as a federal law enforcement agency to hunt down counterfeiters and shut down their operations.

This mission continues today. While presidential protection gets all the headlines, the agency still has a “dual mission.” Its agents continue to investigate complex financial crimes, from cyber fraud and identity theft to, yes, old-fashioned counterfeiting.

A Tragic Irony: The Day It Was Created

Here is the most staggering fact about the agency’s origin, and it’s a dark twist of fate. President Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation to create the Secret Service on the morning of April 14, 1865.

Later that exact same day, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre. The brand-new agency, designed to protect the nation’s money, had no mandate or power to protect the president’s life.

In 1865, there was no formal, full-time presidential protection. It was a stark and painful lesson that the nation’s leader was vulnerable. But it would still take decades, and more tragedy, before this changed.

Presidential Protection Was an Afterthought

Even after Lincoln’s assassination, the Secret Service did not become a protective detail. In fact, two more presidents would be assassinated before the agency’s role officially changed. President James A. Garfield was shot in 1881.

It wasn’t until President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901 that Congress finally acted. This third presidential assassination in less than 40 years was the breaking point. Congress finally and formally tasked the Secret Service with the full-time, 24/7 protection of the President of the United States.

It was only then that the agency’s famous dual mission was born: one half protecting the nation’s leaders, the other half protecting the nation’s finances.

They Helped Give Birth to the FBI

The Secret Service is one of the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agencies. Its expertise was so valued that it actually helped create another famous agency: the FBI.

Before the Federal Bureau of Investigation existed, investigations were handled by various departments. When the time came to create a new, dedicated national investigative force (then called the Bureau of Investigation), it needed a core of experienced, professional agents.

The new bureau turned to the Secret Service for help. The Secret Service “loaned” a group of its own seasoned investigators to serve as the first agents for what would eventually become the FBI. These agents helped establish the bureau’s investigative protocols and laid the groundwork for the modern agency.

Yes, the Code Names Are Real

The code names you hear in movies and TV shows are 100% real and a long-standing tradition. Every president, first lady, and other protected individual gets a unique code name, and often the whole family’s names will start with the same letter.

These names are used for brevity and security over radio channels. For example, President Truman was “General,” President Reagan was “Rawhide,” and President Obama was “Renegade.” It’s a famous tradition that serves a very practical, operational purpose in their daily security chatter.

More Than a Human Shield

The Secret Service is far more than just a human shield. It began as a financial defense force, was born from a national tragedy, and grew over a century into the elite protective and investigative agency it is today. It’s a powerful reminder that the most famous institutions often have the most complex and unexpected histories. The agents in the dark suits are just one part of a story that started not with a bang, but with a bogus dollar bill.