After the Coinage Act 1792, signed by George Washington, the first American dollar was circulated in 1974. The U.S. dollar was circulated in the U.S to determine the legislative basis for minting money. A system was introduced by the document in which 1 dollar was equal to 100 cents. It also determined the composition of coins. Coins were supposed to be made of gold and silver alloy.

The official U.S. dollar did not have portraits of presidents until the 20th century. The first dollars that were launched and used in America were having figures and faces of Greek and Roman characters.

Amazing Facts About The U.S Dollar

1. Till the 20th century, the U.S currency consisted of Gold and Silver Coins, Gold and Silver Certificates, Commercial banknotes issued by private banks. These commercial banknotes were backed by government bonds.
2. Greenbacks were declared legal by Congress to fund the Civil War. Greenbacks were a fiat currency.
3. A new type of currency was issued by FED. The Fed was given the authority to issue Federal Reserve Notes.
4. $1 banknote was the first note to depict the portrait of George Washington in 1869.
5. According to the Federal Reserve Act 1913, the lawful currency was backed by gold.
6. U.S Dollar is the only currency in the world that is backed by gold. All of the other currencies are backed by Dollar.

1. In the beginning, the Fed did not have enough gold to back all of the circulated Federal Reserve Notes and Gold Certificates.
2. Today, there is about $1.54 trillion of currency is in circulation.
3. The green ink in U.S. dollars is to prevent counterfeiting.
4. A normal sheet of U.S. Dollar can withstand 400 folds without breaking.
5. A dollar bill can be folded at least 8,000 times
6. The dollar is made of 75% cotton and 25% linen.
7. Dollar note is having red and blue security fibers embedded throughout.
8. The highest dollar denomination in circulation has been $10,000.
9. Torn or malformed banknotes can be exchanged but you should be having more than half of a note.
10. Ever heard of Dirty Money expression? If not, then it is because the paper money is contaminated with 94% of bacteria. 7% of the banknotes is having dangerous pathogens on them.
11. 45% of the entire currency production is represented by $1 bills.
12. During Civil War, the coins got a phrase In God We Trust, has been added to all of the coins in the present era.

1. The bison nickel that is a 5-cent coin depicts a buffalo. The buffalo wandered in the Bronx Zoo.
2. If you want to trace a banknote by its serial number, then you can use the site known as Where’s George? The site does exactly what it says.
3. The stack of the dollar notes makes one mile high that is equal to $14.5 million.
4. The U.S. cents minted in 1839 were named Silly Head. It was because the citizens of America believed that the picture of Miss Liberty looks silly.
5. A picture was included as a reflection of Divine Providence, known as All-Seeing Eye. The Latin sentence on the $1 bill below the pyramid was NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM which means A New Order of The Ages.
6. 90% of the banknotes were tested positive for cocaine residue.
7. $1 bill is having 13 arrows, 13 stars, 13 leaves, and 13 stripes. It was a symbol of the original 13 colonies.
8. The composition of white cents was of 88 parts of copper to 12 parts of nickel. This is the reason that they look light or white.
9. The daily printing of notes in the U.S.A. is 37 million that makes $696 million.
10. If you want to layout a mile of pennies, then it will be equal to $84,480. The U.S.A. is $2.5 million wider from the west to the east coast.
11. Talking about the lifespan of each dollar bill, then $1 lives for 5.8 years. A $5 bill lives 5.5 years. $10 banknote has a lifespan of 4.5 years. $20 lives for 7.9 years. $50 is having a lifespan of 8.5 years. $100 bill can survive for 15 years, whereas, the coin can live for more or less 25 years.
12. The smaller denominations of notes are having a shorter lifespan because of more frequent usage in daily life.
13. 5-cent coins minted from 1942 to 1945 cannot be called nickel. The reason is that they no nickel in the alloy.
14. Counterfeit dollars are often detected because they are more perfect than the original or genuine bills.
15. If you are having $1 million in $1 notes, then it will weigh equal to the ’66 Volkswagen Beetle.
16. In case, you are having $1 million of $20 banknotes, then it will weigh almost equal to a car tire.
17. In all these years, you will never find an African American depicted on the dollar banknotes. Never!
18. $100,000 banknote was the largest dollar denomination ever printed in the history of the Dollar. It was a gold certificate. It was printed for the transaction between the Federal Reserve Banks. The amazing fact is that it has never been in circulation.
19. Salmon P. Chase was the first person depicted on the $1 bill in 1863. Although he was still alive. He was the incumbent secretary of the treasury. It was not of surprise that how he appeared on the dollar bill. He just printed himself on the note. After 6 years, in 1869, George Washington settled his hubris down (as mentioned above).
20. On $2o banknote, Andrew Jackson was a big confronter of paper money. He believed that only gold and silver coins were legal tender.
21. The old dollar bools are shredded and they are sold to the companies. They recycle it into building materials.
22. Americans throw away coins worth $62 million yearly.
23. Foreign reserves and trade prefer $100 bills. This is why two-thirds of $100 bills are held outside the U.S.
24. There are two active printing facilities known as Money Factory. One is in Washington D.C. and the other one is in Fort Worth, Texas. They use 9.7 tons of ink per day (accumulated).
25. In 2017, Fed ordered 7.1 billion new notes. The total worth of 7.1 billion notes was $209 billion.
26. For the replacement of old and damaged notes, more than 70% of the new notes are used.
27. There are more than 30,000 claims of the damaged notes annually. The Treasury Department responds to them and it is worth $30 million.
28. 16 trillion coins were produced by U.S. Mint in 2016. These coins were worth $1.09 billion. $40.3 million were non-circulating collectible coins.
29. All of the coins in the U.S. have a mintmark. The mark shows the location of production.
30. North Korea is the largest counterfeiter of U.S. currency. They have circulated them for years without getting detected.
31. By law, it is stated that only deceased people can appear in U.S. currency.
32. The only coin that has a figure facing right is the Lincoln Penny.

Verdict

These were the 50 amazing, fun, and hidden facts about U.S. Dollar, an iconic currency that is recognized by people around the world. There are more amazing facts about the U.S. Dollar.