And I'm talking American money here, not stupid rubles or seashells or whatever they trade in Russia.

1) At one point there was a $500 bill, a $1,000 bill, a $5,000 bill, and a $10,000 bill.

Yes, the first thing I was shocked to learn was that although today the highest U.S. currency unit is indeed the hundred, there used to be a lot more baller bills out there. Just look at these bad boys, sporting William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, James Madison, and Salmon P. Chase (!?) respectively.

First of all, who the hell is Salmon P. Chase, and why does he get to be on a bill worth $127,000 today? A little more research revealed that Chase was actually a pretty big bad-ass - not only was he a Senator, Governor and U.S. Treasury Secretary, but he also served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Oh, and he had a bank named after him. Alright, Chase, I'll step off.

2) There was also once a $100,000 bill, which would be worth 1.6 million dollars today. And guess who was on it. Woodrow Wilson.


Are you kidding me? Woody frickin' Wilson? Look, I know the guy was a decent president and all, but on maybe the highest value bill ever printed in the whole world, I would have expected someone a little more dramatic. Like Elvis. Or God.

Unfortunately, the $100,000 bill was only used for direct bank gold purchases, and was only briefly in circulation: in 1969 President Nixon ordered the halt of circulation for all high-denomination bills, in an attempt to combat organized crime. I am now unsure if my dreams of slapping a bouncer in the face with a $100,000 bill will ever be realized.


3) On the other end of the spectrum, there was also once a 5-cent bill.


During the Civil War, people began hoarding coins because of their metal values, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing started printing bills for 50 cents, 25 cents, 5 cents and even 3 cents to fill the void. I couldn't find out what people were hoarding the coins for, but I hope it was for making guns that shot stacks of pennies at people, because what a great use of insult to injury. Though better than getting shot with Confederate dollars, I suppose.

4) At one point, the copper needed to make a penny cost more than a penny.


This obviously needed to change, lest we have hoards of homeless people roaming about collecting pennies to melt in giant vats to make copper wire and such. This is why pennies since 1982 are made of zinc, with thin coatings of copper.

Similar metal price-increases have also spurred changes with the silver in dimes and quarters; in fact, the only coin that has stayed the same (except for a brief period in WWII) is the nickel, because nickel is such a broke-ass metal.

For comparison, paper bills cost 3 cents to make, regardless of their denomination.

5) The special paper that money is printed on comes from only one paper company in Massachusetts.


Oh, and it gets shipped to the mints in an armored car.

It's illegal to have any of this paper, even for non-counterfeiting purposes like drawing paper for your kids, or folding really expensive origami swans.


Bonus Stupid Fact:
(because I love you so much, and because the first two were kinda the same fact)
The most commonly counterfeited made-up bills are the $3 bill, the $200 bill, the $22 bill, and the $1,000,000 bill.


The $22 bill was entirely made up by this numberologist street-entertainer in Florida who changed his name to Love-22 and tried to run for President. He has twice been arrested for counterfeiting, but both times gotten off on the grounds that "since there is no such thing as a 22 dollar bill, it is impossible to counterfeit what doesn't exist".

bad ch parhungi 

tere kol edi badi post parn li time ni hunda

parh tan ma lea... ehna khas palle pea n... dis z f wot use...???? hun tan chap gai ohna di photto.... i dun knw y ppl beat abt d bush...  

bibi general knowledge b koi cheej hundi. har gal vich fyada ni sochi da

HUN AMR'KA DE NOTE TE OSAMA B'N LADEN V AA JU GA!!

eni lambi posts  gud nite

aaho jao so jao "Gd Night" par ma ni aa skda dreams vich ajj mera sunday haiga

hawww kina convencido aa....yh aaj sunday aa menu v bhoota de dreamz len da moorh nai aaj ta koi sexi jahe guy da dream aa jawe kool aa

nale huni kehnde tuci aaj aa nai sakde te huni kahe jande bhoota de dreamz aun
bhoot dekhi aa tahio kehndi aa 

nah thanu kisen keha k tuci ikale nai aa 

hor v haige, bhootnia b haigia

bt bhootnia kuria de supne ch nai aundia yr samja karo.....vekho asi ta jst eh keha c k aaj bhoota da supna nai auna cz u said k tucii busy aa dats all tuci ewe sadi gal da wrong mean kadi jande aa

ki samjhe tuci ??

hahahhahaha ullo
hun samji me tuci ki keha c
sachi u r crakk

how mean
i tho ur punjabi is por par u nt bad 

hummm jisdi punjabi pur hundi oh ghat badh hhi use karda lyk ju

ਮੇਰਾ ਕੇਹ੍ਨਾ ਚ੍ ਏਹ੍ਹ੍ਹ੍ਹ੍ਹ੍ ਬਲੀ ਪੁਞਬੀ 

  cz ur punjabi is pur sonnen g

ਮੇਰਾ ਕੇਹ੍ਨਾ ਚ੍ ਏਹ੍ਹ੍ਹ੍ਹ੍ਹ੍ ਬਲੀ ਪੁਞਬੀ 

ਪੁਞਬੀ ma' ajj tak punjab' ch eh letter n' dekhya     

dekhde v kida huni huni miss Talwar Kaur ne jo banya aa

How can one use phonetic pbi in PJ and Who wud understand my accent?

itss soo easy try to type meri v gud nai bt i try nd itss reali gud fun  try kar

hahhaah thude dost v vadia jk kar lenda 

  sachii
chalo vadia gal aa


vase tuci sounde nai raat de on bethe aa

u know, i believe at some point in future paper money is gonna disappear, 
there is only going to white money left thats it.  agree???

yea environmentalits and those green peace movements are already against cutting of trees. Not only paper money, i think paper gonna disappear in about 20 years or so.

hhaha ya, but i was thinking more something different, u see people these days mostly use Cards or checks to pay their bills and they even get paid from work with chks,, they never get to see real money,, just think about its future

plastic money

aho mere piche h paya rea kar huuhhh 

changi gal samjao ta samj ni lagdi tanu bibi

aho nahi aundi

tora hor mature ho ja ap hi samj a jau

theek aa

oda b manu samjhana ni aunda

fer bana ehne dr.banana  huuhh patient kahuga mera tid dukhda ehne kehna nahi tid nahi tuhanu kush hor hoea par menu samjhana n aa rea 

bibi enna mara doc b ni hona ma

fer kina mahda hona aa majaking rabb kre bada ho ke bada sara dr. bane

te tu mari nurse bas dove gappa mara gey te patient Rabb asre hauga

Sonnen eh sari meri money Chori kiti...  wapis karo..

mere paas aa kar le jao

aho dekhi apa dhomma pa deinea 
sarea ne kehna ehna kol h ilaj karuna aa.... 

AAHO clinic b graveyard ja cremation ground de nal lgda khola ge