Show Me the Money

As a child, I remember an older gentleman, a friend of the family, giving me old coins for my birthday. Prior to retiring, he and his wife owned a grocery store. Patrons paid with currency and coins and occasionally an old silver dime or quarter exchanged hands. When he noticed this transaction, he swapped out modern change for the coins with greater value because of their silver content. Over the years, he accumulated quite a collection. Occasionally, I became a beneficiary, as he loved giving the silver away on special days...like celebrating the day of my birth.

As I got older, I enjoyed birthday cards, especially those lined with cash. Who doesn't enjoy a little extra green? Now, it appears we're heading for a mostly cashless society. I mean seriously...how many people carry cash and use it for goods and services? Most people utilize credit or debit cards, citing the convenience. Someday, coins and cash will go away and become nothing more than items for hobbyists to collect. Before that happens, let's take a look at some facts about the dollar bill that Americans may or may not know.

The design of the dollar bill has remain unchanged since 1963. The $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills have all experienced makeovers. Some speculate there are a couple of reasons why this is the case. First, if the mint changed the design of the $1 bills, the price to convert vending machines to the newly designed bill would be quite pricey and inconvenient. Second, the United States Treasure Department says this denomination "is infrequently counterfeited."

When holding a one dollar bill, we are probably quite accustomed to seeing the phrase, "In God We Trust." However, that has not always been the case. The last change to the one dollar bill occurred in 1963, with the addition of this phrase.

Quick...Whose picture appears on the one dollar bill? If you answered George Washington, you are correct. But, Washington's face has not always graced the one dollar bill. The first face to appear on the one dollar bill was a man named Salmon Chase. Serving as Secretary of the Treasury during the Civil War, he obviously enjoyed a bit of self-promotion as he helped design the very first $1 note, going into circulation beginning in 1862.

How many times have we called it "paper money?" Probably, many. But that is not the case. Paper money is actually 75% cotton and 25% linen. Some say you can fold a regular piece of paper 400 times before it wears out. Because of the composition of the dollar bill, it can be folded up to 8,000 times before the bill is "retired." According to the Federal Reserve, a dollar bill falls out of circulation on average about every 5.8 years.

Maybe you're a traveler at heart. Since, Covid-19 quashed the traveling plans of millions of people this past year, you might enjoy living vicariously through one of the dollar bills hanging out in your wallet. You can see where your dollar has been and where it's going by using the website Where's George? All you have to do is enter the serial number of the bill, the website spits out the tracking information.

There's a plethora of other interesting facts about paper money but maybe one of the most pertinent during a pandemic is too keep in mind that a dollar bill is a haven for germs. According to bestlifeonline.com, a 2017 study published by PLOS One found 100 different strains of bacteria on the dollar bills tested, in addition to viruses, pet DNA, and other materials. Now we know why the CDC reminds us to wash our hands.

So, the next time you're at a small gathering, regale your friends with trivia about the dollar bill. Ask for someone to loan you a dollar while you rattle off interesting facts. Maybe when you're done, they'll let you keep it as a tip.