From the dilemma of keeping the penny, to deciding who goes on the $20 bill, here are
8 surprising things you probably didn’t know about Money in the US.
8.
Pennies and Nickels Are Expensive!
In 2013, Canada officially withdrew pennies from circulation, citing the excessive and
impractical costs of production.
The United States has yet to follow suit, but is faced with the same dilemma: our pennies
and nickels cost more to make than they’re worth.
Some experts even argue that the continued production of these coins, particularly the
penny, could ultimately bankrupt the government.
While that claim might be a stretch, or at least probably isn’t likely to happen anytime
soon, pennies are, indeed, an economic burden in this country, with one cent costing 1.7
cents to make.
This doesn’t sound like a huge discrepancy, but the cost adds up.
Meanwhile, each nickel costs eight cents to produce.
So, what’s the answer to this problem?
Changing the composition of coins would possibly make them easier to counterfeit and would
adversely affect coin-based businesses, such as laundromats and vending machines, to the
tune of billions, because this would force them to update their machinery.
Should the U.S. follow suit with Canada and also get rid of the penny?
That might be the most practical answer, as the penny doesn’t appear to be missed by
our neighbor to the north.
Who can blame them?
Pennies seem to be more trouble than they’re worth, on both the individual and government
level.
What do you think?
Let me know in the comments below!
7.
Where Are All the Dollars?
In 2016, the Federal Reserve reported that there’s at least $1.4 trillion in U.S. currency
currently in circulation.
But the whereabouts of only about 15 percent of that money is known, with an astounding
two-thirds of $100 bills being included in that figure.The traceable funds are mostly
located in banks and being used for everyday transactions throughout the country.
So, you’re probably wondering...where’s the rest of it?
In an interview with American Public Media’s Marketplace, Edgar Feige, an emeritus professor
of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explained this phenomenon, known as the currency
enigma, stating: “It’s hard to figure out where this currency is and why so much
of it is out there.”
In other words, the currency enigma is pretty much just what it sounds like.
Of course, there are some plausible explanations for the whereabouts of at least some of this
missing money.
Not surprisingly, a portion of it is being circulated throughout the “shadow economy,”
which is dictated by illegal transactions and generally upheld by cash, since cash is
the most anonymous form of payment.
The size of the shadow economy, which includes things like drugs, illegal gambling, and other
things I shouldn’t be saying on YouTube, is estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars,
according to Feige.
It’s believed by some experts that more than 20 percent of the country’s gross adjusted
income could be accounted for by the booming shadow economy at certain points throughout
history.
Some economists, on the other hand, believe that black market proceeds constitute a relatively
small portion of the country’s missing money - perhaps just ten percent.
It’s likely that a large portion, if not most, of the missing money is overseas.
The US dollar is seen throughout the world as a stable and reliable form of currency;
therefore, it has the tendency to be hoarded by most countries in large amounts, and in
CASH.
Not everyone trusts their banks!!
It’s estimated that there’s roughly $80 billion in U.S. funds stashed in Russia alone.
6.
The Biggest Counterfeiter of US Currency
Over the years, North Korea has developed a reputation for being very skilled at creating
fake American money.
For decades, the “hermit kingdom” was responsible for the existence of a sophisticated
counterfeiting program that generated near-perfect $100 bills.
U.S. officials dubbed these bills “supernotes” and believe that at times, North Korea earned
up to $25 million per year from this phony currency.
In 2013, the Federal Reserve redesigned the $100 bill to help combat counterfeiting by
including additional security features on the banknote.
However, as history has proven time and time again, people who are intent on manufacturing
convincing copies of money will find a way.
And counterfeiters always adapt.
That appears to have happened in December 2017, when a shockingly realistic counterfeit
$100 bill was discovered in South Korea.
It was found at a Seoul bank and was described by forgery experts as nearly identical to
the real thing, and stoked concerns of counterfeiting occurring within the elusive neighboring country
to the north.
There’s no direct evidence to link North Korea to the recently-discovered fake $100
bill, but an operation sophisticated enough to replicate the money so accurately would
cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million - an investment most crime rings would
be unwilling to make, according to Yi Ho-Joong, head of the counterfeit center at KEB Hana
Bank.
The lack of proof that North Korea is behind the widespread counterfeiting of U.S. money
has, understandably, led some people to maintain their doubts about who’s truly to blame
for the mass manufacturing of fraudulent funds.
All things considered, however - including North Korea’s disrespect for the U.S., the
uncorroborated claims of defectors of a counterfeiting center in Pyongyang, and the country’s history
of trafficking counterfeit funds to generate foreign exchange, it’s a distinct possibility
that these supernotes are, in fact, being created in the hermit kingdom.
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5.
The Largest Bill Ever Made
The 1934 $100,000 gold certificate was the largest bill ever produced and is therefore
a commonly sought-after item by amateur collectors, individuals in possession of fakes, and those
hoping to get rich overnight.
Don’t get your hopes up, however.
These banknotes were printed specifically for transactions between Federal Reserve banks
and were never meant to fall into public hands.
Not a single one was ever owned by a public domain, and the government kept meticulous
track of them.
Traceability of the gold certificate was maintained so well, that currency experts state with
certainty that all that were issued have been redeemed.
This doesn’t stop hopeful prospective owners of a gold certificate from calling the professionals
and asking about its value.
AntiqueMoney.com’s resident paper money expert, Manning Garrett, receives so many
calls about the item, he’s had to issue a disclaimer on the website reminding people
that it’s “100% impossible to own one of these” and “if it was authentic, it
would be illegal to own.”
4.
Where’s the President?
Did you know there’s no President on the Highest-Denomination bill ever issued to the
public?
The largest bill ever issued into public circulation by the federal U.S. government was the $10,000
bill.
It was first printed in 1918, was last printed in 1945, and was discontinued in 1969.
Unlike the $100,000 gold certificate, the $10,000 bill was available for common use,
and according to the U.S. Treasury, some people still have them.
You’d probably think that such a valuable banknote would be adorned with the portrait
of one of our nation’s former leaders, but this isn’t the case.
Featured on the $10,000 bill is a man named Salmon P. Chase.
He was treasury secretary at the time of the passage of the National Banking Act of 1863,
during the Lincoln Administration, and later went on to become chief justice of the Supreme
Court.
In 1969, the same year the $10,000 bill was discontinued, the $5,000, $1,000, and $500
bill were also called out of circulation.
Since then, the largest American banknote that can be exchanged is the $100 bill.
3.
No Portraits of Living People Allowed
In recent years, rumors have circulated on the internet and on social media that living
former presidents, such as Barack Obama, were slated to appear on U.S. money.
But this simply isn’t possible, because it’s against federal law for portraits of
living people to appear on American currency.
This law was passed in 1866 as the result of an embarrassing mix-up on behalf of Spencer
M. Clark, the superintendent of the National Currency Bureau at the time.
Due to the hoarding of coins made of precious metal during the Civil War, the U.S. Treasury
was repeatedly forced to issue paper coins to make up for the shortage.
Prior to the third issuing of the five-cent note, Congress requested for the portrait
of famous Lewis and Clark explorer William Clark to be printed on the money.
The document containing this request allegedly only identified the desired portrait by the
name “Clark.”
Spencer Clark went ahead and had the money printed with his own likeness on it, and Congress
was not happy about the decision, to put it lightly.
Russell Thayer, a Congressman from Philadelphia, was especially outraged by the mistake, and
pushed for an amendment to U.S. currency law.
Since the passage of the amendment on April 7, 1866, no American money has featured a
living person.
2.
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
In 2016, plans to introduce the first woman to a U.S. bill in over a century were announced
by the Department of Treasury.
Abolitionist and former slave Harriet Tubman would not only hold the distinction of being
the first woman on American money in over 100 years, but she would be the first African-American
featured on a U.S. banknote.
Plans to incorporate the heroic woman’s image on the $20 bill have been halted by
the Treasury Department’s reluctance to commit to the change since the beginning of
the Trump Administration.
The first African-American to be featured on an American coin was Booker T. Washington,
who appeared on a special edition 1946 half-dollar.
During the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, Washington helped educate freed slaves, believing
that learning was the first step in their path toward future success.
The commemorative coin bearing his portrait also contains the words “FROM SLAVE CABIN
TO HALL OF FAME.”
Understandably, many people feel that it’s long overdue for the government to implement
a more racially diverse array of portraits on U.S. currency.
There are, however, some conflicting opinions surrounding the matter, as evidenced by the
Trump Administration’s reluctance to move forward with plans to feature Harriet Tubman
on the $20 bill.
On the other hand, some critics of the planned change believe that placing a former slave
on money is an “extension of the commodification of enslaved people,” as explained by Professor
of History and African American Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, Daina
Ramey Berry in an article for Slate.
For now, the future of the $20 bill remains a mystery.
1.
The US Mint Has Produced Coins for Other Countries
The United States Mint has produced approximately 10.7 trillion coins for over 40 countries,
starting in 1875 with the manufacture of two coins for Venezuela.
The year before, Congress had authorized the Mint to manufacture coins for other countries,
as long as the foreign country paid for it and the Mint’s obligations for producing
U.S. money were met.
Next, in 1895, five million 20 centavos coins were produced for Ecuador by the Mint facility
in Philadelphia.
Production of coins for other countries occurred nearly every year after that until 1984, and
was seen as a diplomatically strategic and beneficial move by the government, especially
when the money was being made for countries experiencing shortages during wars.
Creating coins for other countries ceased to be a regular occurrence after the Mint
produced Panamanian coins in 1983.
The only coin production for another country since then was in 2000, when a two-coin Leif
Erikson commemorative set was issued jointly by the U.S. Mint and Iceland.
Whether the U.S. will produce coins for other countries in the future is unknown.
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Let me know if you would like a part 2 about surprising facts about money from other countries
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