Interesting Facts About American Currency
The US dollar bills are readily recognizable all around the world. But there are some facts, which few people know about our currency.
- In the Constitution, there’s no clear-cut authorization for the federal government to print paper money. It has only been granted the exclusive right to coin money.
- Private banks issued paper money before the Civil War. Until the National Banking Act was adopted, about 8000 different banks issued currency, which caused unrestrained counterfeiting.
- Due to the shortage of precious metals, necessary for minting coins, foreign currency served as legal tender.
- Only after the discovery of gold and silver in the West, foreign coins were banned.
- The $100,000 gold certificate is the largest bill ever printed in the USA. However, it was only used between banks.
- The old shredded dollar bills are further recycled and are used for the manufacturing of building materials.
What else do you know about the USA?
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