Interesting Facts about American Money    [19-03-2010] American currency plays an important role in the world economy. But how much do you know about it? This week, let’s learn some interesting facts about American money. American bills are made up of 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton paper. It costs about 3 cents to make a 1-dollar bill. A piece of bill can be folded forward and backward 4,000 times before it will tear. So, how long do the bills last? Usually, 1-dollar bills last 22 months, while 100-dollar bills last about 9 years. Coins usually last about 30 years. So, when did the Americans start using paper bills and coins? A long time ago, American Indians used to carry around strings of clamshells to use as money. They called the money “wampum.” It was the most common form of money in North America until the late 1600s. In 1690, the first paper money was issued in Massachusetts. Then, in 1793, America produced its first coins, using copper. Soon, gold and silver coins were also issued. However, in the 1800s, as much as one third of all the money in America was estimated to be counterfeit. In 1865, the U.S. Secret Service was established to combat fake money. Today, fake money is still a serious problem. About 250,000 dollars in counterfeit money circulates each day in America. American money has some interesting features. If you take a close look at the 1-dollar bill, there is a spider hidden in the front upper right-hand corner of the bill. Also, there is an owl in the upper left-hand corner. On the back of the 5-dollar bill, all 50 states are listed. A penny weighs 2.5 grams, which is the average weight of a humming bird. A quarter has 119 grooves on its edge, and a dime has 118. These are special aspects to prevent counterfeiting. Why don’t you find out some more interesting facts about American money or about other currencies around the world?     출처: 어린이 영자신문 키즈타임즈 (www.kidstimes.net)