22 secrets of the bill of a dollar

What is in your wallet will surprise you completely.


The $ 1 ticket is one of the most familiar objects in the United States, with George Washington The severe face adorning the front and design of the pyramid and the eagle on the back. But while we have transported this currency in our pockets since we started to receive an allowance, there are still a lot of things that you probably don't know. Of its design quirks to its large part Forgotten story , there are a lot of invoice secrets to a dollar to discover. Read the rest to better understand an element that you use every day and perhaps even discover the answers to certain questions that you have always asked.

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22 hidden secrets surrounding a dollar note

1. The a dollar note has not changed over 50 years.

woman holding a one dollar bill
Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock

Tickets of $ 5, $ 10, $ 20 and $ 50 have all been redesigned in the past decade, the federal reserve adding colors and watermark to thwart the counterfeiters. But the dollar note has been unchanged since 1963. The government has even made legislative efforts to prevent changes from taking place. According to article 116 of the law on financial services credits and the general government, spending money to rethink the $ 1 is prohibited. The reason why it has not been updated, according to the Department of the American Treasury, is that this name " is rarely counterfeit . ""

But another possible reason to take into account is probably lobbying made by the ATM , which should rethink its machines to accommodate new invoices if the current design obtains a redesign.

2. "In God, we have confidence" has not always been printed on the dollar.

close up of phrase
RSooll / Shutterstock

The last change made to the dollar note was the addition of the line, " We believe in God ", Which was added in 1963. This sentence began to be included throughout the American currency following a law adopted by the president Dwight eisenhower In 1956, which made it the official motto of the country.

3. George Washington either.

Salmon P. Chase (1808-1873)
Everett / Shutterstock collection

Although we associate the first president of our country with the $ 1 bill, his was not in fact the first face to appear on the currency. This honor went to Salmon P. Chase , whose face was on the American original $ 1 note , which was published in 1862 during the civil war.

As secretary of the Treasury at the time, Chase was also the man who conceived the first banknotes in the country. His vanity project lasted until 1869, the year George Washington has taken his place .

4. Another Washington once appeared on another type of dollar.

Martha Washington Portrait from United States of America 1 Dollar 1886 Banknotes. Martha Washington is the first and only woman to grace the primary portrait of U.S. paper currency.
Prachaya Roekdeethaweesab / Shutterstock

The first first lady, Martha Washington , was one of the faces of Silver certificate at $ 1 . Printed for the first time in 1886, the certificates were supported by the silver deposits of the American government and presented an engraving of Martha based on his portrait by Charles François Jalabert . The silver certificates had a long race but were interrupted in 1957, although the last impression featuring Martha (this time with her husband) worked in 1896. To date, Martha Washington and Pocahontas are the only two Women to have appeared on American currency paper .

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5. It is not made of paper.

A hand pulling a one dollar bill out of a wallet
Tsingha25 / Istock

We can call it "paper money", but the The currency is actually composed 75 percent cotton and 25% linen. According to the Treasury engraving and printing office, this equipment is delivered (except what is used for $ 100 tickets) in loads of 20,000 sheets which are each carefully followed. The different colors of the ink used are specially mixed by the office for safety reasons.

6. It costs 2.8 cents to produce a dollar.

pile of pennies
Brandon Pack / Shutterstock

Not a bad return on investment: the federal reserve spends 2.8 cents to produce each invoice of $ 1 (a much better deal than the 2.72 cents It costs to produce a penny). While the $ 2 bill includes the same price, bills become more expensive from there. The $ 10 bill costs 4.8 cents, the $ 20 cost 5.3 cents and the $ 100 bill costs 8.6 cents to produce.

7. It falls from traffic in less than seven years.

A closeup of someone taking bills out of their wallet
Martin Prague / Shutterstock

According to the Federal Reserve, a Dollar falls from traffic On average about every 6.6 years. It is more frequently than the average invoice of $ 20 (7.8 years), the $ 50 (12.2 years) ticket and the $ 100 (22.9 years) ticket - but less frequently than the post $ 5 (4.7 years) and the $ 10 (5.3 years) ticket.

8. He has his detractors.

american politician john mccain at podium
Chameleonede / Shutterstock

Due to the cost and the need to frequently reprint tickets of $ 1 strongly disseminated, he acquired powerful enemies. In 2013, a group of five senators, including Arizona John McCain And iowa Tom Harkin , United behind an effort to Go to a room of $ 1 , as indicated by USA today. According to senators and consumer defenders who support them, such a change would allow government $ 13.8 billion over three decades. But for various reasons (the lobby of automatic distributors in view of them), the effort went nowhere.

9. You can follow your dollar.

people looking something up online
Dean Drobot / Shutterstock

You can see where your dollar took place and where it is going using the site Where is George . Simply enter the dollar serial number in your wallet, and you can find out which postal codes it has passed to reach you and keep an eye on where it is heading after spending it.

10. The pyramid on a dollar note represents the young country.

back of dollar bill
Loraks / Shutterstock

THE Pyramid on the back of the bill Represents the young United States, with 13 stages representing the 13 original colonies, and an unfinished summit reflecting the growth and expansion that the country still had to make. The floating "eye of providence" represents a god who watches everything Some conspiracy theorists You would say, the Illuminati.

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11. The eagle represents war and peace.

An Eagle on the Back of the Dollar Bill {Hidden Meanings in Objects}
Photovrstudio / Shutterstock

Our national bird appears on the back of a dollar note and is supposed to transmit both war and peace, with arrows held in its left heel and an olive branch in its right heel. The same symbol appears on our Super seal, was designed by Charles Thomson , the first secretary of the continental congress. He said that the White Head Pygargue represents "freedom, freedom and independence".

12. Number 13 is everywhere.

Macro closeup American currency dollar eagle claw holding arrows
Ezume Images / Shutterstock

We have already mentioned the 13 stages of the pyramid, but look further and you will see that number 13 appears in some other places of money. There are 13 arrows in the heel of the Eagle as well as 13 stripes and 13 stars on the large seal.

13. More important invoices are much more difficult to find.

new 100 dollar bill
Ruslan Lytvyn / Shutterstock

Decades ago, the Federal Reserve Board printed Come in names $ 500, $ 1,000, $ 5,000 and $ 10,000. These were mainly used for bank transfer payments, which became useless after more advanced (and secure) means to transfer money were introduced. The production ceased on these major bills during the Second World War and, in 1969, the secretary of the Treasury announced that the ministry would cease to distribute the currency.

They are still legal, but you may want to keep them if you are in possession - there are only a few hundred tickets of $ 5,000 and $ 10,000.

14. The United States has once produced invoices of $ 100,000.

President Woodrow Wilson, United States of America - USA 100,000 Dollars Banknotes
Prachaya Roekdeethaweesab / Shutterstock

THE The largest denomination of the official American currency Never printed has been the GOLD certificate of $ 100,000 in the 1934 series. With a portrait of the president Woodrow Wilson , these grades were printed from December 1934 to January 1935 and were mainly used for official transactions between the banks of the Federal Reserve - it was therefore unlikely that a member of the general public will get their hands on one. (Despite the contrary rumors, the Treasury Department has never produced a currency ticket of $ 1 million.)

15. There are $ 14.3 billion in circulation.

airplane on dollar bills close up
ALFEXE / ISTOCK

According to the latest calculations of the Federal Reserve from 2022, there is a total of 54.1. billion Invoices circulating in the United States . The strangest part? The dollar is not even the most common invoice. This decomposes roughly as follows:

  • 14.3 billion tickets at $ 1
  • 1.5 billion tickets at $ 2
  • 3.5 billion tickets at $ 5
  • 2.3 billion tickets of $ 10
  • 11.5 billion tickets of $ 20
  • 2.5 billion tickets of $ 50
  • 18.5 billion tickets of $ 100

16. It takes a lot to tear them.

A very wrinkled and battered American one-dollar bill
Jason Kolenda / Shutterstock

According to CNBC, you will have to fold an invoice in both directions approximately 4,000 times Before he really tears . Although this may seem a lot, for a dollar tickets, this threshold is reached in about 22 months, reports the Federal Reserve.

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17. And you can always use them when torn.

Torn half of a dollar bill in the hand of an adult
Uesiba / Shutterstock

But if you snatch a bill, it is always ok to use it. As long as three -quarters of a bill are intact, it can be discussed for a bill. If it is torn in half, as long as the serial number corresponds on both sides, it can be used. If it is seriously mutilated, you can really send the invoice to Division of mutilated currencies of the engraving and printing office, where it is examined and often replaced (the group deals with around 30,000 complaints per year).

18. A star on a dollar note means that it is a replacement.

stack of one dollar bills
Pankin Constantin / Shutterstock

A "star" on an invoice means that it is a replacement for one with an error. When a imperfection is detected on a bill after a serial number has already been superimposed, the engraving and printing office replaced it by A "star note" Before it goes into circulation. A star note is a note with the same serial number with an asterisk added to the end. These invoices are rarer than the notes with traditional standard numbers, but have exactly the same value as any other dollar.

19. A detail of a dollar has inspired decades of conspiracy theories.

bank note close up 1 us dollar
Mouii / Shutterstock

If you look carefully at the frame surrounding the figure "1" in the upper right corner of a dollar note, you can see what seems to be a little bird or a owl taking a look at the top left. And when we say "look carefully", we want it - you would need a magnifying glass to distinguish these figures. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

Some have guessed that this represents Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom , whose sacred bird was the owl and which is a common figure in the theories of the illuminati plot. Others argue that this is actually a small spider , partly because of the palbated design that surrounds it. This has also inspired vast conspiracy theories. However, none of these assumptions has never been confirmed. In reality, unidentified design is probably only a quirk of the model.

20. They are full of bacteria and other rude things.

someone wearing a rubber glove while holding a dollar bill
Netopaek / Shutterstock

By changing so many hands, it is probably not surprising that a dollar tickets are not the cleanest objects. A 2017 study published by Plos a find 100 strains of different bacteria On tested dollars tickets, in addition to viruses, DNA for pets and other materials.

21. You can find drugs on most of them.

dollar bill under a microscope
Romsvetnik / Shutterstock

In addition to bacteria, mushrooms and even excrement , dollar tickets also often contain traces of drugs , namely cocaine. However, other studies have shown that other drugs, including morphine, heroin, methamphetamine and amphetamine Found on our invoices .

22. You can follow the Federal Reserve Bank issued your bill.

dollar bill with serial number
Romsvetnik / Shutterstock

You may never have noticed the serial number On your dollar ticket before, but if you look closely, you will see two letters and eight numbers. The letters are all between A and L and indicate the bank which initially issued the bill. Below, you can see in which city each letter represents:

  • A: Boston
  • B: New York
  • C: Philadelphia
  • D: Cleveland
  • E: Richmond, Virginia
  • F: Atlanta
  • G: Chicago
  • H: Saint-Louis
  • I: Minneapolis
  • J: Kansas City, Missouri
  • K: Dallas
  • L: San Francisco

Wrap

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Categories: Smarter Living
Tags: Facts / Fun Facts / Trivia
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