Interesting Money Facts: Learn About Currency and Finances
Money is an essential part of our daily lives and plays a significant role in shaping our economy and society. It is hard to imagine existence without this medium of exchange. Money is the equivalent of services or goods' value. People got already comfortable with earning and spending, while money management turns out to be much more difficult than meets the eye. Finance is a highly topical issue by itself, thus we've put together the most interesting, fun and even weird facts about money that you might not know. Whether you're a student of economics, a business professional, or simply curious about the world around you, this information will help you gain a deeper understanding of money and its role in our lives.
Top 10 Amazing Facts
(Curious? Click on any element to discover more!)
Notes that don't meet quality criteria are taken out of circulation and destroyed. The lifespan of U.S. paper money: $1 - 6.6 years, $5 - 4.7 years, $10 - 5.3 years, $20 - 7.8 years, $50 - 12.2 years, and a long-liver $100 - 23 years.
There was a coin called "Gazzetta" in Russian (that literally meant "newspaper" in English) circulating in the old Venice. Hence, then printed press used to cost one gazzetta. The word "newspaper" was later copied to mean "the printed news".
Paper is not what paper money is made of! The composition of 75% cotton and 25% linen is actually a conventional standard, which makes up a material highly resistant to mechanical damage.
We all know the term "inflation" (price rise), but there is also "hyperinflation". Case in point: the annual inflation rate in Zimbabwe was estimated at 231.000.000% in 2008. Prices doubled every few hours!
Queen Elizabeth II holds the record for appearing on more currency than any other person. The image of Her Majesty appears on at least 33 different currencies.
Money is really dirty. Currency is an environment of exchange for hundreds of different kinds of bacteria as bills pass from hand to hand. Researchers identified 3,000 types of bacteria on a set of one-dollar bills.
Infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar kept his cash in warehouses since he couldn’t deposit them in a bank. About 10% or $2.1 billion, was eaten by rats or destroyed by the elements annually.
The world's most expensive and heaviest coin ever was made in Australia. It has a weight of one ton and a nominal value of 1,000,000 Australian dollars. It contains 999.9% fine gold.
The Russian word "moneta" (meaning
"coin" in English) was named after Juno Moneta, whose temple was a
place where ancient Romans made the first coins.
Making patterned edges on coins (milling) is one more way to protect money. Craftsmen used to cut a thin layer of the coin's rim. After it got enough mass, a new coin was melted and put into circulation. Isaac Newton came up with metal coin grooving, thus making counterfeiting virtually impossible.
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