Currency Facts

  • Crane and Co., a Massachusetts-based company, has been providing the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing with paper for U.S. currency since 1879. 

  • Federal Reserve notes are a blend of 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton. Currency paper has tiny red and blue synthetic fibers of various lengths evenly distributed throughout the paper.

  • It would take 4,000 double folds, forwards and backwards, to tear a banknote. 

  • No matter the denomination, a banknote weighs approximately 1 gram. Because there are 454 grams in one pound, this means there are 454 notes in one pound of currency.  

  • Want to measure your notes in a different way? A stack of currency one mile high would contain more than 14.5 million banknotes.

  • It is estimated that between one-half to two-thirds of the value of all U.S. currency in circulation is outside of the U.S. 

  • In 1934, the $100,000 Gold Certificate became the highest denomination ever issued. It was never intended for public use. Instead, it was meant solely for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks.