You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

[Lee Stewart]

The bird pictured on the American silver dollar was a real eagle named Peter. From 1830 to 1836, people who worked at the United States Mint adopted him to use as model for the drawings. When he died after getting his wing injured in the coining press, they stuffed him. He is still on display in the lobby of the Philly mint

[Lee Stewart]

Not only do money engravers work with incredible precision, but they also have to illustrate backwards. The design they cut into the plates is the mirror image of what it will look like when it is printed. It takes 12-15 years of training to become an engraver.

[Lee Stewart]

There are more than 1.6 million ATMs in the world. There is even one in Antarctica. Friday is the most popular day at the ATM. The average amount withdrawn from an ATM is $80.

[Lee Stewart]

The worst market crash in the United States lasted two years (1930-1932) and helped spawn the Great Depression. A thousand dollars invested in September 1929 was worth just $108.14 in July 1932.

[Lee Stewart]

The two facilities of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (one in Fort Worth, Texas, and one in Washington, D.C) together use about 9.7 tons of ink—per day.

[Lee Stewart]

The Philadelphia Mint has the capacity to make 1.8 million coins an hour, 32 million coins per day, and 13.5 billion coins every year. The Philadelphia facility is the largest mint in the world

[Lee Stewart]

The “FW” on the bank note means the bill was printed in Fort Worth, TX. If there is not an “FW,” the bill was printed in Washington, D.C



The letter inside the seal on a bill (on this bill it is "B") shows which of the 12 Federal Reserve banks issued the bill (A: Boston, B: New York, C: Philadelphia, D: Cleveland, E: Richmond, F: Atlanta, G: Chicago, H: St. Louis, I: Minneapolis, J: Kansas City, K: Dallas, L: San Francisco)

[Lee Stewart]

The Latin phrase Annuit Coeptis above the “all-seeing eye” on the dollar bill means “he has favored our undertaking.” The Latin phrase underneath the pyramid on the dollar bill, Novus Ordo Seclorum, means “a new order of the ages” and refers to the time after 1776 when America declared its independence.

[Lee Stewart]

All the gold discovered in the world would be a cube between 62 feet and 82 feet along each side, which would fit into a tennis court. Around 161,000 tons of gold have been mined by humans.

[Lee Stewart]

There is an estimated total of 10 billion tons of gold in the world's oceans. That is 25 tons of gold for every cubic mile of seawater.