Money! It's A Hit!

Up until a few days ago, about the only thing I knew about money was how to spend it. Then one of our regular patrons called with some questions about United States paper currency and now I feel like I could rewrite that old Pink Floyd song! Go ahead; you know you want to...put on "Dark Side of the Moon" and dig into these papery nuggets:

• Paper notes consist of 75% cotton and 25% linen. (moneyfactory.gov) That's a nice blend!
• It costs about 5 cents to put a new paper bill into circulation. (msnbc.msn.com)
• It takes about 4,000 back-and-forth folds to make a brand new bill tear. (moneyfactory.gov) Get going! We're going to be at this for a while...
• Have the need to know about regular wear and tear on those poor little Georges and Abes? Here's how long they'll last according to the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing:
$ 1: 21 months (1 3/4 years) $ 5: 16 months (1 1/4 years) $ 10: 18 months (1 1/2 years) $ 20: 24 months (2 years) $ 50: 55 months (4 7/12 years) $100: 89 months (7 5/12 years)(moneyfactory.gov)
• A bill of any denomination weighs 1 tiny little gram. Accordingly, that's 454 $1 bills in a pound. (moneyfactory.gov)

My favorite nugget? The fact that I can order a sack full of shredded, recycled moolah! Of course, there is a ten item list restricting what you can do with the "residue" once you have it. Item number two? "The shredded currency must not be recycled into paper of printable quality." (moneyfactory.gov) I suppose it didn't hurt to try.

http://www.moneyfactory.gov/faqlibrary.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7148966/