Just for Kids

Trivia

Did you know?

• The Bank of the United States was the first national bank chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1791. The Bank of the U.S. issued the first "United States" currency.
  
• This $50 note was issued in 1801.
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  The highest denomination of U.S. Currency issued for public circulation is $10,000 from 1928. The highest denomination currently in circulation is $100 and has been since 1969.
  
• The highest denomination of U.S. Currency printed but not put in circulation is the $100,000 Gold Certificate. They were used for transactions between the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department.
  
• The smallest denomination of U.S. Currency is the United States Treasury 3 Cent note from 1863. During the Civil War period, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was called upon to print paper notes in denominations of 3 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, and 50 cents. The reason for this is that people hoarded coins because of their metal value that created a drastic shortage of circulating coins.
  
• The name "piggy" in the term piggy bank came from the word, "pygg." Pygg was a type of red clay used during the Middle Ages to make pottery. People often kept money in jars made of pygg clay.
  
• The term "buck" became slang for the U. S. Dollar from the Old West when buckskin was a common medium of exchange with Indians. Later as currency replaced the barter system, people still referred to the dollar as a buck (short for buckskin).
  
• The origin of the "$" sign comes from Mexican or Spanish "P's" for pesos. The theory is that the "S" gradually came to be written over the "P," developing a close equivalent of the "$" mark.
  
• The motto "In God We Trust" was first placed on U.S. coinage in 1864. During the Civil War, an era of high religious sentiment, many U.S. citizens desired that the nation's currency suitably recognize God, as other countries around the world had already done. At the insistence of then Treasury Secretary, Salmon P. Chase, the U.S. one cent and two cent coins contained the motto. The "Coinage Act of 1873" declared that "In God We Trust" could be placed on other U.S. coins. In 1955 Congress expanded the earlier law and required the motto to be placed on all coins and paper money. The motto was declared the national motto of the United States by the 84th U.S. Congress and was first used on paper money in 1957 when it appeared on the One Dollar Silver Certificates.