Little-Known Facts about Your Money

Paper currency has had a long and eventful history in our country. Here are a few quirky facts about the money you use every day.

How Well Do You Know Your Money?
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is responsible for the production of our currency. They are a storehouse of fascinating trivia about money:

They're in the money. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produces 37 million notes every day with a face value of approximately $696 million.
Small change is big. Of all the denominations printed, the $1 bill is by far the most popular and represents 45% of the bureau's production.
Mile high millions. If you stacked up 14.5 million currency notes, the pile would be one mile high.
Longevity of currency. According to the Federal Reserve, a currency note lasts between 22 months to 8.5 years depending on its denomination. A $20 bill lasts about 2 years.
Stronger than you think. You need to fold a currency note about 4000 times — first forward and then backwards — before a note will tear.
No polyester here. All currency notes are made from a very precise blend of fabrics - 25% linen and 75% cotton.
Do you have change for this? The largest denomination ever printed by the Bureau was the $100,000 Gold Certificate. It was issued from December 18, 1934 through January 9, 1935. The notes were printed primarily for Federal Reserve Banks and not for the general public. Since 1969, the $100 bill has been the largest denomination in general circulation.
Money with more security. The new $20 bill was released in October 2003, while the new $50 bill was released this April. The new currency notes have extra security features like special watermarks, inks and security threads to make counterfeiting even more difficult.

Money Is Serious Business
You'll be seeing a lot more of the new $20 and $50 bills so you may want to learn more about how they've been developed and how they protect against counterfeiting. Even though it's getting more difficult for counterfeiters, you should still keep a close watch on the currency you use. Visit the U.S. Secret Service website for easy ways to identify counterfeit currency.

*Source: Bureau of Engraving and Printing

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