U.S. currency rules the lives of many Americans, yet there are some fun little facts we don’t know about our currency. If you would like to be knowledgeable about the hard-earned money in your wallet, be sure to read on! Below, you will find some amazing facts about our U.S. currency you need to read to believe!
Short Lifespan
Most people believe that money lasts forever, and you could take that quite literally. However, our currency bills do not last that long, because a $1 bill has an average lifespan of only 22 months. The lifespan of the $5 and $10 bill is even shorter, since they have a respective lifespan of 16 and 18 months. Still, the more valuable bills last longer, with the $100 bill having a lifespan of 89 months.
When a bill reaches the ends of its lifespan, the bill is taken out of circulation. Of course, the bill removed from circulation is eventually replaced by a new one from the BEP (U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing).
Popular 1$ Bills
$1 bills are most common is the United States, because almost half of all the bills printed by the BEP are the $1 bills. In 2009, the BEP reported that 42.3% of all the bills they printed were those worth $1, so the next time you hold a $1 bill, realize that you are a part of a big U.S. family!
A Lack of Women
When you look at the images printed on our paper money, you’ll notice a distinct lack of women. In fact, only one woman has ever been a portrait on American money, more specifically Martha Washington. These bills no longer circulate, so if you own a $1 silver certificate from 1886, 1891 or 1896, you could be sitting on a potential gold mine.
African Americans on Paper Money
There is a lack of women on American paper money, but also a lack of African Americans. Throughout history, not a single African American has been portrait on paper money. They have been portrait on coins though and some of our paper money carries signatures of four African American men and one African American woman.
Starting in 2020 – Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson from the front of the $20 bill. This was announced by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew back in 2016. Tubman, died in 1913 at the age of 91. She was best know for escaping slavery in the south and leading hundreds of escaped slaves to freedom as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad. After the slaves were freed, Tubman was also staunch supporter of a woman’s right to vote.
The Largest Bill in History
The largest bill ever printed was made in 1934, more specifically a Gold Certificate with a whopping value of $100,000. Only 42,000 were printed. Of course, these notes were never used by the public, but were used by Federal Reserve Banks for various transactions.
Our Country in Pennies
If you would use pennies to measure our country’s borders, you would need a total of $2.5 million in pennies. To cover a mile, you would need $844.80 in pennies, so if you are up for the task, you will need to do a considerable amount of saving!
The E Pluribus Unum Enigma
A lot of our currency carries the motto E Pluribus Unum, which means One from Many. It is a motto that was first printed on the Great Seal of the U.S. in 1782, but it did not come on the actual market until 1902. So, next time you see E Pluribus Unum Enigma, you are witnessing history in person!