Extra Credit with Mr. Penny

10 Interesting Facts About U.S. Paper Money

Fact 1.
The first $1.00 bill was issued in 1862 as a Legal Tender Note. The portrait in the center was not George Washington. It was Salmon P. Chase, the Treasury Secretary under President Lincoln.


Fact 2.
According to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the average lifespan of a $1.00 bill is 5.9 years.


Fact 3.
Since 1969, the $1.00 bill is the largest denomination in circulation.


Fact 4.
It cost the government 6.4 cents to print each bill.


Fact 5.
Paper money is made from a combination of linen and cotton so it doesn't fall apart.


Fact 6.
Thirteen is an important number. On the $1.00 bill, there are 13 stars above the eagle, 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 berries on the olive branch and 13 arrows in the talon.


Fact 7.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produces 38 million bills a day, but 95 percent of them are used to replace worn out currency already in circulation.



Fact 8.
It takes 490 $1.00 bills to equal to one pound.


Fact 9.
A paper bill is 2.61 inches wide by 6.14 inches long- a good ruler in a pinch. It is0.0043 inches thick, and weighs on gram.


Fact 10.
A dollar bill has to be folded backward and forward about 4,000 times before it will tear.