We asked Harley J. Spiller to sharehis favorite facts about money from his new book , Keep the modification : A Collector ’s Tales of Lucky Pennies , Counterfeit C - Notes , and Other Curious Currency .
1.U.S. paper money is not newspaper . It ’s textile . In Ben Franklin ’s day , people repaired lacerate bills with a needle and thread .
2.Serial numbers are not just numbers game . They also use letters as part of the alphanumeric codification for the 12 Federal Reserve Banks .
3.The ink used for money is gamey tech — very high tech . It has trackable , magnetic , and birefringent ( color changing ) properties .
4.The U.S. Mint mutilate coin that are find faulty . reject are run through a “ waffling ” machine before being send for recycling , pass the need for armed guard .
5.The risque ribbon interweave through the Modern hundred dollar pecker contains G of micro lens system that make the Liberty Bell appear to trip the light fantastic ( and make me finger like I ’m looking through someone else ’s eyeglasses ) .
6.A farm in Delaware mulches more than four piles of U.S. hard currency into compost every day . In previous eras , tire out bills were pierced or burned .
7.The first U.S. cents were 100 percent bull , while today ’s cent are 95 percent zinc with a Cu coating measuring only 1/2000th of an in ( as thin as cellophane tape ) .
8.Pennies inhume in a garden will repel slugs , which get electric shocks from touch copper and zinc .
9.U.S. banknotes are made on $ 7 million Swiss Super Orlof impression presses that exert 60 tons of pressing to force ink into material . Prized for their typical grain , U.S. Federal Reserve note are the finest quality engraving being make in the world today .
10.Each colour has its own physical characteristics . Green was selected for U.S. dollars because it ’s the most insubordinate to evanesce , flaking , and discoloration .
11.Counterfeit clam can be too respectable . Fakes are frequently notice because they are more perfect than bona fide money .
12.Sailors used to pass the time by spang on the edge of coins with the cad of a spoonful , then cut the middle out of the thickened rim to make ring for their have sex ones .
For more merriment fact , oodles more , getKeep the Change : A gatherer ’s Tales of Lucky Pennies , Counterfeit C - Notes , and Other Curious Currency , published byPrinceton ArchitecturalPress , now available wherever all right book are sell . Did you know that banks throw forth thousands of clam each year ? BuyKeep the Changeand find out why .
