Fun Bank Facts

Did You Know That…

1. The average life of a $1 bill is 18 months.
2. The average life of a $5 bill is 15 months.
3. The average life of a $20 bill is 2 years.
4. The average life of a coin is 25 years.
5. There is over $25 billion in unclaimed money in the U.S.
6. At the end of the Civil War about 1/3 to ½ of the currency in circulation was counterfeit.
7. China was the first country to issue paper money – in 140 BC.
8. Ben Franklin invented a process in 1793 to prevent counterfeiting paper money that was not revealed until 1960.
9. Paul Revere was a silversmith who supplied rolled copper to the Mint for coins.
10. Prior to 1981, a penny was 95% copper.  Today’s penny is 2.5% copper.
11. The nickel is the only circulating coin whose weight and composition have stayed the same for the longest time.
12. The nickel is the only U.S. coin call by its metal content.
13. The U.S. Mint prints currency and medals for the armed forces.
14. A 1792 law directed American money to be made of gold, silver and copper.
15. Grooved edges were used to prevent counterfeiting and clipping – cutting off some of the coin for the precious metal.
16. The Mint’s first gold and silver coins had no denominations printed on them.  Size told you how much the coin was worth.
17. The U.S. Mint was originally protected by a watchdog which cost $3 to acquire.
18. The Mint’s coin presses were first powered by horses, oxen and men. 
19. The first steam powered coin press appeared in 1836.
20. The Diner’s Club in 1950 was the first credit card that could be used at multiple locations.
21. The Diner’s Club was first offered to 200 people in 1950 and could only be used at 27 restaurants in New York City.
22. MasterCard was the first to use a hologram on its cards in 1984 to deter fraud.
23. There is no federal law regulating the rate of interest a credit card company can charge.  It was repealed during the Great Depression.
24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was created in 1896 by two financial journalists.
25. Blue Chip stocks, a term coined in 1923.  In poker, blue chips had the highest value.
26. Bear markets are falling markets.  Bears attack by slashing down with their paws.
27. Bull markets are rising markets.  Bulls attack by tossing up with their horns.
28. Andrew Jackson was the only President ever to pay off the national debt.
29. John Adams was the first President to live in the White House.
30. Thomas Jefferson was the first person to back the use of the decimal money system we use today.
31. Herbert Hoover was the first President to have a telephone on his desk.
32. FDR was the first President to appear on TV.
33. Abraham Lincoln was the first President to receive a patent – for a floating dry dock.
34. U.S. Grant was the first President to run against a woman candidate.