Don't Break the Bank: A Student's Guide to Managing Money (5 page)

The use of the National Motto
In God We Trust
on all currency has been required by law since 1955. It first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864, on paper money with $1 Silver Certificates in 1957, and on Federal Reserve Notes starting with the 1963 Series.

The $20 Bill

The $20 bill shows Andrew Jackson, the 7th U.S. president, on the front and the White House on the back.

The $10 Bill

The $10 Bill shows Alexander Hamilton (first Secretary of the Treasury) on the front and the U.S. Treasury Building on the back.

Look closely, and you’ll see that there is a car pictured on the back. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a Model “T” Ford. It is just a fictional car created by the designer of the bill. The $10 Bill has been updated several times in recent years with added security features.

The $5 Bill

The $5 Bill shows Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, on the front and the Lincoln Memorial on the back.

The $5 Bill has been updated a couple of times since the mid-1990s to add more security features.

The $2 Bill

The $2 Bill shows Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd U.S. president, on the front. The Declaration of Independence is on the back.

The $1 Bill

The first $1 Federal Reserve Notes were issued in 1963, and the design with George Washington on the front and the Great Seal on the back has remained the same since then.

The $1 Bill accounts for 45% of all of the currency produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Curious where the dollars in your pocket have been? Go to
www.wheresgeorge.com
, and enter in the serial numbers of your bills. If they have been in circulation long enough, you may be able to see where they’ve been. You can also keep track of bills you’ve entered, and then you can check back to see where they have gone.

Major U.S. Coins

U.S. coins are produced by the United States Mint, which has six locations across the country. Current facilities include the headquarters in Washington, D.C.; production facilities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; West Point, New York; Denver, Colorado; and San Francisco, California; and the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Penny

The penny features a picture of Abraham Lincoln on the front. The images on the back have changed over the years—the latest design shows a union shield with a scroll across it that says, “ONE CENT.”