Currency paper in the U.S. is 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen, according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The dollar bill is the least expensive to produce, costing only 5.4 cents per note -- the same cost to produce a $2 bill, according to the Federal Reserve. The $50 bill is the most expensive at 19.4 cents a bill. The $100 bill costs only 15.5 cents per note.
The design of the front and back of each denomination bill is hand tooled by engravers working from a drawing or photograph. Each engraver is responsible for a single portion of the design—one doing the portrait, another the numerals, and so on.
The portrait on the face of each bill varies by the denomination. George Washington appears on the $1 bill, Abraham Lincoln on the $5, up to Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill. These persons were selected because of their importance in history and the fact that their images are generally well known to the public. By law, no portrait of a living person may appear on paper money.
In 1955, Congress passed a law requiring that the words "In God We Trust" appear on all U.S. currency and coins. The first bills with this inscription were printed in 1957, and it now appears on the back of all paper money.
In 2002, a study by the U.S. Air Force found that 94 percent of the bills that were tested had bacteria on them. The bacteria included some that could cause pneumonia and other infections, reports the Scientific American magazine.
9) Bacteria is not the only bad stuff residing on dollar bills. Ninety percent of paper money in U.S. cities hold traces of cocaine on it, reported CNN in 2009. In fact, cocaine showed up 100 percent of the time in the following cities: Detroit, Boston, Orlando, Miami and Los Angeles.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing claims it takes 4,000 double folds before a bill will tear, explaining why they tend to survive at least a couple accidental trips through the washer.
The front and back of a dollar are printed using black and green inks consisting of dry color pigments blended with oils and extenders, making them especially thick. While the original reason for choosing the distinctive monochrome green back is lost to history, the decision to continue using the hue in modern designs was based on green pigment's ready availability, resilience and long standing association with the stable credit of the US Government.
The $1 note originally featured Secretary of Treasury Salmon P. Chase's portrait until 1869, when George Washington's likeness replaced it. When the Treasury updated the design with the introduction of the Federal Reserve Note, Washington continued his reign as the face of the dollar bill, accompanied by the Great Seal of the United States on its reverse. Unlike other denominations, the $1 Federal Reserve Note's design has not changed since it was first issued in 1963. |
