Original photo by Sandra Seitamaa/ Unsplash+
American paper money is printed in just two places — at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s facilities in Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth, Texas — but once it’s entered circulation, it ends up all around the world. The greenback is so well received worldwide that U.S. dollars are commonly accepted in other countries, not just at banks but in everyday interactions. However, most of the U.S. money that leaves the country never returns, and financial experts believe anywhere from half to two-thirds of all U.S. circulating banknotes are actually kept outside of the country’s borders.
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It's a factRegardless of their face value, all seven denominations of U.S. paper money — $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 — weigh the same amount. When placed on a scale, each bill measures just 1 gram. It would take 454 banknotes to equal 1 pound.
It’s difficult to track down exactly where American currency winds up after it leaves the country. While the U.S. Customs Service requires travelers and others to report incoming and outgoing cash, and banks monitor large shipments of bills as they enter and exit the country, there isn’t any other way to track how U.S. bills are used (or where they end up) after crossing American borders.
Economists believe U.S. money has become popular outside of the country thanks to its stability. Citizens in countries with less reliable currencies often practice “dollarization”: using U.S. dollars alongside (or as) their homeland’s own form of tender. Swapping to a more secure form of money that better retains its value protects from tumultuous ups and downs that can cause financial losses. While greenbacks are commonly accepted all throughout the world, at least 11 countries have adopted U.S. dollars as their official currency, including Ecuador, Zimbabwe, Micronesia, and the British Virgin Islands.
Numbers Don't Lie
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The portrait of George Washington featured on the $1 bill was never finished.
Early American leaders were hesitant to print images of the Founding Fathers on the country’s currency, though that reluctance wouldn’t last forever. In 1869 — 70 years after his death — George Washington’s likeness was printed on the $1 bill for the first time. Engravers based Washington’s vignette on the “Athenaeum Portrait,” a piece by painter Gilbert Stuart that became famous despite never being completed. Washington sat for the painting at his wife Martha Washington’s request in 1796, with the understanding that she would receive the portrait after it was completed. However, Stuart never finished the painting, a move some historians believe was intentional so that the portrait could instead be copied and sold. Stuart may have made as many as 75 reproductions, though the original “Athenaeum Portrait” survives today, housed alternately at the National Portrait Gallery and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts.
Nicole Garner Meeker is a writer and editor based in St. Louis. Her history, nature, and food stories have also appeared at Mental Floss and Better Report.
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