37 amusing money facts to help you dominate trivia night

These were originally written for a trivia night with friends, but they went over so well that I wanted to share with you 37 amusing facts about money you should absolutely know. I will specify, these are money facts about the United States of America currency.

Take a moment to memorize one or two of these facts about money to impress your friends in the future! It might even help you win a trivia night.

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1. In the $1 bill, there are lots of secret meanings hinting at the 13 original colonies

You may have never noticed it before but there are lots of little Easter Eggs hidden in the complex design of the $1 bill. They all revolve around the number “13”. 

• There are 13 steps on the pyramid.
• 13 vertical bars are placed on the shield.
• There are 13 horizontal stripes on the top of the shield as well.
• The symbolism continues with 13 stars on the eagle.
• Extreme detail was used to place 13 leaves and 13 berries on the olive branch on the eagle’s talons. The other talon holds 13 arrows.
• There are 13 stars above the key on the Department of Treasury seal.

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2. On the $5 bill, all 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial

However, if you want to read them you will need a magnifying glass. 

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3. How slang terms about money like “buck” were formed

Here is a breakdown of some of the origins of words we associate with money today. These are often based on historical societies that influenced the way we refer to money. 

• Buck – Back in the day, people used the skin of deer’s as trade and barter for goods/services. Each skin was referred to as a “buck.”
• Fee – This comes from the German word for cattle “vieh.“
• Shell Out – At one point, Native Americans used shells as currency, and later European colonists adopted the phrase “Shell Out” meaning “to pay.”
• Salary – Adopted from the Romans, soldiers at one point were paid their wages in salt. The Latin word for salt is “salarium“. That phrase over time originated “salary”.
• Dollar – A Czechoslovakian town called Jachymov minted their own silver coins in 1519, and those coins were called “talergroschen.” The slang or short form of these were called “talers.“ This spread across Europe and today, many nations name their currency with some variation of “taler.“ For instance, in the United States, we call our currency “Dollars.” Pretty cool right! 

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4. People underestimate how valuable loose change can be. In 2018, the TSA collected $960,105 in loose change

All that loose change thrown in the bins as you roll through security often gets forgotten and left behind. However, it all adds up and it’s consistently a lot. Making this one of the more impressive facts about money.

• 2017 – $866K
• 2016 – $867K
• 2015 – $765K
• 2014 – $674K
• 2013 – $638K

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5. One of the grossest facts about money, like bacteria gross

This feels obvious, but something we don’t often think about is “just how many people handle your money before it comes to you…” Basically money can contain lots of germs. Most of these are harmless but some $1 bills have been known to contain traces of salmonella and E.coli, making this one of the grossest facts about money. However, it seems that older bills (which are cotton-based) usually contain more contanimants while newer, glossier polymer-based $1 bills remain a little cleaner. 

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6. The $1 bill is the most circulated bill in the United States

In fact, 48% of the money printed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing is just the $1 Bill. This is primarily because it is the most common bill, but also because the average lifespan of a $1 bill is just 18 months. Often times you can take a worn out bill to your local bank and they’ll replace it for you.

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7. There is more Monopoly Money printed every year than real money

If you take the combined value of all U.S. money printed each year, it’s between $696M – $974M (most is just to replace old worn money). Yet Parker Brothers reported that the combined fictitious value of their monopoly money, meaning add up all of their orange $500 bills, yellow $100 bills, purple $50 bills, green $20 bills, blue $10 bills, pink $5 bills and white $1 bills, that combined fictitious value is $30 Billion. That’s with a “B”. So nearly 30 times as much Monopoly money than U.S. bills created every year. 

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8. There is an ATM machine in Antarctica

In fact, there are ATMs on every continent in the world. It just seems strange that there is an ATM in Antarctica, but there are actually 2 of them. Both are operated by Wells Fargo at McMurdo Station, the largest science hub on the continent. That makes this one of the “coolest” facts about money. 

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9. By law, living presidents can’t have their face on US currency

This is issued by Congress in 1866, and for the most part, has held true. In the past, usually, only monarchies had the faces of their living presidents. Typically the only time living presidents have been featured on coins are during commemorative coins. George Washington was famous for not wanting his face on U.S. currency because kings often put themselves on coins. He thought his face on currency was too much like the monarchy. 

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10. Benjamin Franklin is the only non-president featured on American bills

Mr. Franklin was an important founding father of the United States of America, but he is the only non-president to show up on U.S. paper currency. He is featured on the $100, which is the highest publicly circulated U.S. paper currency. 

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11. The phrase “In God, We Trust” wasn’t written on US currency until 1957

The change was approved by President Dwight Eisenhower on July 30, 1956, and put into effect the following year. The phrase actually replaced the previous phrase on U.S. currency “E Pluribus Unum” meaning “One out of many”. 

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12. The most counterfeited bill is the $20 bill

While the $100 bill is a close second, people are more likely to break a $20 at a store or bar than a $100. Some famous counterfeit money launders took fake $20s or $100s to bars during rush hour to buy a drink and pocket the change. While the bartender is rushed, they often didn’t take the time to examine the money too closely. I wouldn’t suggest this though, there are better ways to make money. In the end, most people get caught.

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13. There is a $100,000 bill

It’s a gold certificate that features the 28th U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson. However, it was never for public circulation. The Federal Reserve Banks used to use these paper notes to circulate money between the banks. This is one of the most expensive facts about money. 

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14. Paper money was founded in the 1700s when goldsmiths gave out paper receipts for their gold

At this point in history, most money was coin based. This started the standard of governments using paper currency as a representative of that government’s storage of precious metals. For the U.S. Government, paper money was representative of the gold supply in Fort Knox. This continued until 1971 when digital currency made the value of money in the world based on “faith” rather than gold. A $20 bill is only valuable because everyone agrees it has value.