If you’re an average American today, you know money doesn’t stay in our pockets very long. It’s gone before we know it. Money is also one of those many, many things we take for granted every day. As a result, we actually know very little about it. Let me bring you up to date on what you’ve been missing.
The life span of the average one-dollar bill is only 18 months. Most one-hundred-dollar bills remain in circulation for nine years.
The U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing makes $696 million a day!
It’s illegal for U.S. currency to have the portrait of a living person.
Between the Fort Worth, Texas, and the Washington D.C. facilities, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing uses about 18 tons of ink per day.
The only woman ever depicted on United States paper currency was first lady Martha Washington, on a silver certificate.
Afraid of ending up with counterfeit money? Fear not! Only 0.01% of the $750 billion in circulation is actually counterfeit.
Currency is printed on cotton, not paper.
If we laid each current U.S. bill printed side by side, they would stretch around the earth’s equator about 24 times.
Contrary to popular belief, pennies contain only 2.5% copper — they are mostly made from zinc.
There are five million millionaires in the U.S.
The ridges on the sides of some coins have a name — reeding or milling.
People used to save their cash in kitchen jars made of a clay called pygg, and people called them pygg jars. Later they became known as piggy banks and were made in the shape of pigs.
There is about 500 billion of U.S. currency in circulation and most of it is held outside of the United States?
There are only nine engravers in the whole U.S. who do all the engraving for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
All engraving plates used by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, have been engraved in reverse.
If your money is mutilated and if you can account for 51% of your bill, the Office of Currency Standards in Washington, D.C. will gladly replace your money.
It only costs 4.1 cents to make a $1 bill. It costs the same thing to make a $100 bill.
In the early 1900s, you could return dirty money to Washington to be cleaned. If the bill was in good shape, they would wash it, iron it, and reissue it.
When bills finally wear out, they are sent back to the Federal Reserve Banks where a machine sorts out the good, the bad, and the counterfeit. The counterfeit bills are sent to the Secret Service. The worn-out bills are pulverized and buried. They used to burn old bills, but because of the lead in the ink, they are now buried.
Prior to using paper money, Americans used buckskins for money. This is where we get the term “bucks.”
There are 4 automobiles and 11 light posts on the back of the $10 bill.
If you use a magnifying glass, you can see Abraham Lincoln sitting at the
Lincoln Memorial on the back of a penny.
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.