We all use it every day, we earn it every day, we spend it everyday, we save it, but how much do we really know about it? Here are 40 interesting Money Facts to fill your mind and your wallet.
1. Money is made in factories called mints.
2. Two-thirds of all US$100 bills are held outside the US.
3. There are more than 1.6 million ATMs in the world.
4. There are eagles printed on all U.S currency.
5. The United States officially adopted the dollar as its unit of currency in 1785.
6. The U.S. dollar is the most commonly used currency in the world.
7. The first U.S Mint got its power from Harnessed horses to print the money.
8. The Romans were the first to stamp the image of a living person on a coin.
9. The study or collection of money is called “numismatics”.
10. The first paper money was made in China over 1,000 years ago.
11. The first coins were minted around 2500 years ago.
12. In 2011, Americans spent around US$61.4 billion on their pets.
13. Martha Washington donated her own silverware to make the first U.S currency.
14. More Monopoly money is printed each year than actual money.
15. Some countries share a currency. For example, countries in Europe all use the Euro.
16. The only woman to have ever appeared on a U.S. currency note was Martha Washington.
17. Between 1942 and 1945 nickels didn’t have any nickel in them. The coins were 9% manganese, 56% copper and 35% silver.
18. In 1920, credit cards were first used in the United States.
19. The Massachusetts Bay Colony became the first to make coins in 1652.
20. The largest bill ever printed was a $100,000 gold certificate issued in 1934.
21. The International Space Station is the world’s most expensive object ever built at US$150 billion.
22. The Icelanders use debit cards and credit cards more than any other country in the world.
23. The first Bitcoin transaction was to buy a pizza for 10,000 Bitcoins.
24. Marilyn Monroe’s dress during the filming of The Misfits, sold for US$66,000.
25. The country with the worst inflation in the world is Zimbabwe.
26. The average American family carries a credit card debt of $8,000.
27. Tea bricks were used as money in Siberia until the WW2.
28. Queen Elizabeth II holds the record for appearing on more currency than any other person.
29. The Philadelphia facility is the largest mint in the world.
30. Over 170 different currencies are used around the world today.
31. One of the most expensive coins in the world is the 1913 Liberty Head nickel.
32. McDonald’s makes about US$75 million per day.
33. Early Romans used salt as a form of money. Even the word “salary” derived from sal, which means “salt” in Latin.
34. Pablo Escobar had enough cash that rats ate almost $1 billion of his money each year.
35. There are three ways by which Governments can get money: 1) print it, 2) borrow it, or 3) collect taxes from their citizens.
36. Abraham Lincoln was the first American to be pictured on an American coin in 1909.
37. One of the most expensive wigs belonged to Andy Warhol, which was sold at $10,800.
38. Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world.
39. One of the most expensive pizzas ever made cost £4200.