More interesting US Currency Facts

For more interesting facts about things Printed on the One Dollar bill, visit Facts About U.S. Money.

• The US government first issued 'paper' money in 1861 to make up for a shortage of coins to help finance the Civil War, because People were hoarding gold and silver coins. 
• The first 'paper' bills were issued in Fractional Currency: 3, 5, 10, 15, 25, and 50 cent denominations. 

Coins

• A penny costs of 2.41 cents to produce; it costs the U.S. Mint about 11cents to make a nickel and almost 6 cents to make a dime. 
• You can see Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial on the penny.  
• Changing the US one dollar bill for a US one dollar coin would save the US government about $4.4 billion in the next 30 years.

One dollar bill

• One dollar bills make up between 45-48 percent of all bills printed by the U.S. government each year. 
• The average life of a dollar bill is between 18-21 months in circulation. 
•  It is said you can see a spider in the upper left-hand corner of the shield surrounding the 1, while an owl is hidden one each side of the word 'One Dollar' about half way between the number 1 and the letter O in One and R in Dollar. 
• The $1 bill’s famous nickname of “Greenback” originates from the Dollar Bill created by Abraham Lincoln in the late 1800s to finance the Civil War; These notes were printed in green on the back side. 
• Martha Washington is the only woman to have appeared on a U.S. currency note. She appeares on the face of the 1886 and 1891 $1 Silver Certificate and on the back of the $1 Silver Certificate issued in 1896.

Two dollar bill

• In 1963, the $2 bill Federal Reserve Notes were changed by removing “WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND” from the front and adding “IN GOD WE TRUST” to the back. The $2 bill was last issued in 2003.

Five dollar bill

• $5 bills last in circulation for around 15-18 months. 
• The number 172 can be seen on the back of the U.S. $5 dollar bill in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial. 
• The security thread in bills $5 and higher will turn blue if they are held under ultraviolet light 
• You can see 26 of the 50 states listed on the Lincoln Memorial on a five dollar bill.

Ten Dollar Bill

• Ten Dollar Bill was nicknamed a "sawbuck" because the Roman numeral for ten (X) bears resemblance to the legs of a sawbuck.

Twenty dollar bill

• $20 bills last in circulation for approximately 24 months.
• Pocahontas appears on the back of the $20 bill in 1875. 
• The twenty-dollar bill was referred to as a "double-sawbuck" because it is twice the value of a ten-dollar bill. 
• The elm tree on back of the $20 bill near the White House was a real tree, the tree is no longer on the White House grounds due to rain softened ground in 2006. 
• Andrew Jackson preferred coins over 'paper' currency, but appears on the $20 bill.

Fifty dollar bill

• Larger bills ($50, $100) can last in circulation up to 8 years. 
•  The micro printing and security thread found in currency today were first introduced in 1990 on the $50 and $100 bills. 
•  A fifty dollar bill is often called a "Grant" because it features a portrait of Ulysses S. Grant.

Hundred dollar bill

• A $100 bill has many nicknames: C-note, Benjamin, Franklin, Ben, Benjy, Benny. 
• The clock tower of Independence Hall in Philadelphia on the new $100 bill is right twice a day, the time set at 4:10.

Thousand dollar bill

• High-denomination bills ($500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000) are legal tender, but were last printed in 1945 and officially discontinued in July 1969 and would probably have to be "broke" at a bank. 
• In 1969 President Richard Nixon halted the circulation of the high-denomination bills in an effort to fight organized crime. 
• A record $2,255,000 was paid in December of 2006 for an 1890 thousand dollar bill. 
• The United States 1000 dollar bill features General George Gordon Meade, who commanded Union Army troops at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Hundred Thousand dollar bill

• The 100,000 dollar bill was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1934 and was only used for transactions between Federal Reserve Banks. It is the highest denominated note ever produced by the United States.

Other Fun Facts

• Approx 94% of your cash has viruses and bacteria that can live for up to 17 days.
• Over 90% of your cash also contains traces of cocaine
• $30 billion in Monolpoly money is printed each year. The U.S. government only prints approx $974 million. 
• There is an estimated 1.2 trillion in coin and bills in circulation. The US debt is approx 14 times larger than the amount of currency in circulation, how's that for a credit card bill. 
• Approx 2/3 of US circulated money is held outside the United States. 
• If the Government just printed it's way out of debt, the hyper inflation would make the money worthless similar to 1923 Germany. Germany's money became so worthless it was given to kids to play with and even used as wall paper. 
• The "crack tax" was the name given to the Tennessee tax on illegal drugs. The law passed in January 2005, and applied to illegal substances like cocaine, marijuana, and moonshine. Drug dealers and bootleggers were required to pay taxes anonymously on profits and would receive a stamp to prove their payment. If the dealer was arrested and unable to provide a stamp the state would seek taxes. In 2009 the Tennessee Supreme Court judged that the "Crack Tax" is unconstitutional (because only legitimate employment should owe tax?). 
• North Korea is believed to be the biggest counterfeiter of US currency. 
•  Mr. Eighty Eight evaded capture from the Secret Service for 10 years by only printing about 40 one dollar bills a month and never spending them in the same place twice. His counterfeits were so bad that they even misspelled Washington's name. 
• The richest 1% (one percent) may own nearly half the world's wealth, but nearly half of lottery tickets are purchased by the same 5% of the population. 
• If you have a ten dollar bill in your pocket and no credit debts, then you are wealthier than 25% of Americans. 
• Before paper money, animal skins like deer and elk were used for trade, this might be where the word "buck" to designate a dollar came from.