The "unknown" U.S. dollar: little-known facts about U.S. currency
There is hardly a single person in the modern world who does not know what a dollar looks like. Everyone Trader knows that the dollar is the world's main reserve currency and other currencies are quoted against it. However, there are many curious facts about the dollar that will be of interest to our readers.
A bill with a face value of 100 thousand dollars.
In 1934, the U.S. Federal Reserve issued a banknote with a face value of 100 thousand dollars. Earlier in the United States were already in circulation bills of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10000 dollars. They were used for settlements between banks and, naturally, the greatest popularity of these bills won the gangsters who robbed American banks in the 30's.
The $100,000 banknote features a portrait of the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson. Wilson received this honor because he was a co-author of the Treaty of Versailles, one of the initiators of the League of Nations and its charter, as well as a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
In 1969, President Richard Nixon decided to limit the maximum denomination of bills. As a result, all bills above $100 were withdrawn.
80 years of consistency
The design of each banknote was approved as early as 1929. It includes a portrait on the front and a monument or architectural structure on the back. The only banknote whose appearance has been changed twice is the $100 bill.
Portraits and bills of sale
Outside the United States, the hundred-dollar banknote with the image of Benjamin Franklin is the most popular. Despite the fact that Franklin took a very active part in the formation of the United States as a state, he was never president. The honor of being depicted on the bill of 100 dollars he was awarded for the fact that the only one of all U.S. political figures participated in the signing of three historically important documents for the United States: The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the 1783 Treaty of Versailles.
Dollar bills exclusively depict men, but in 1886, a $1 bill was issued that featured a portrait of Martha Washington, the wife of the first U.S. president, George Washington.
The "eternal" dollar
Each banknote has a specific lifespan: 100 dollars are designed for 5 years, 20 dollars - for 2 years and so on. Nevertheless, any dollar banknote can withstand more than 4 thousand bends without any damage.
The Fed prints 35 million bills every day
One of the functions US FEDERAL RESERVE is to monitor the quality of money in circulation. For this purpose, the Federal Reserve withdraws about 35 million banknotes daily, worth about 635 million dollars. In order to maintain the volume of money supply, the same 35 million banknotes, but new ones, are put into circulation every day.
"In God We Trust."
The legendary phrase "In God We Trust" was first used in 1864 as a design element on the new two-cent coin. In 1964, a law was passed in the United States, according to which the inscription "In God We Trust" on all coins and bills became mandatory.
The rarest and most common bill of exchange
Banknotes of 1 dollar are the most popular among Americans and account for almost half of the total money supply in circulation in the United States. The rarest is the $2 bill. The last time two-dollar banknotes were printed in 2003 and are gradually going out of circulation.
The most common coin is 25 cents (quarter or quarters). Quarters are most common when paying for public transportation.
Outside of the United States, as we have said, hundred-dollar bills are the most widely circulated.
Weight and composition of the bill
Any banknote weighs approximately 1 gram. Banknotes are made of a special paper consisting of 75% of cotton and 25% of linen with blue and red synthetic fibers, which can be seen by placing any banknote in the "light".
Why "dollar"
In the period from 1567 to 1571, Scottish coins called "thaler" were used for monetary settlements in the United States. Gradually, the "thaler" was transformed into the "dollar", and in 1794 this name was officially assigned to the U.S. currency.
"Bucks" is deer hide.
The slang name of the dollar "buck" owes its origin to the English word buk, which means deer skin. During the conquistador era, these hides were traded from Indians for gunpowder and "firewater".
The U.S. dollar is not just in the U.S.
The U.S. dollar is not only the national currency of the United States, but also of countries such as El Salvador, East Timor, Ecuador, Zimbabwe, and the Marshall Islands. Along with national official currencies, the U.S. dollar is legally circulated in Guam, Palau and Puerto Rico.