In a – maybe not – surprising turn of events on Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department changed its tune about ousting Alexander Hamilton from the front of the $10 bill in favor of a woman, and instead will replace Andrew Jackson’s mug on the $20 bill with that of Harriet Tubman, though it will still be years before the new design is released. [More]
currency
Poll: Americans Want Eleanor Roosevelt’s Face On New $10 Bill
By 8.5.15
Although we won’t find out which historic woman the U.S. Treasury Department will choose for a new $10 bill until later this year, a new poll says Americans already know who they want sharing face time with Alexander Hamilton: The nation’s longest-serving first lady, as well as an activist, diplomat and politician, Eleanor Roosevelt. [More]
U.S. Treasury: There Will Be A Woman On The $10 Bill
By 6.18.15
Move over, Alexander Hamilton: Come 2020, the country’s first secretary of the treasury will be sharing the $10 bill with a woman. It will be the first time in more than a century that a woman’s face will appear on American paper currency. [More]
Lawmaker Urges Congress To Vote On Bill That Would Put A Woman On The $20 Note
By 5.20.15
You don’t have to look in your wallet to know that no paper U.S. currency features the face of an American woman, but one lawmaker wants that to change sometime soon: Rep. Luis Gutierrez urged Congress today to vote on a bill he introduced last month that would change the face of money as we know it, literally, by putting a woman on the $20 bill. [More]
Canadians Paying Tribute To Leonard Nimoy By “Spocking” Their Currency
By 3.2.15
The news of beloved actor Leonard Nimoy’s passing on Friday has saddened his fans over the last few days, but we’ve got to hand it to our neighbors in the wintry north for their unique way of paying tribute: Reviving a past trend known as “Spocking,” mourning Canadians have been doodling on their $5 bills, turning the image of Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier into that of the half Vulcan, half human Star Trek character. [More]
Production Of Pennies, Nickels Cost Taxpayers $105 Million In 2013
By 3.10.14
We all know that old coins can be very valuable and that saving your change adds up. But did you know that minting the low-value currency creates quite a tab for U.S. taxpayers? That’s because the cost to produce pennies and nickels is nearly twice as much as they are actually worth. [More]
New $100 Bill Debuting Tomorrow After 2-Year Delay
By 10.7.13
The Benjamins are coming, the Benjamins are coming! And they’re all new, these fancy $100 bills that had been expected back in 2011. The Federal Reserve had to delay the new currency over creasing problems during the printing process, which left blank spaces on the bills. But now they’re on their way, finally. [More]
New Zealanders Will Be Able To Buy Bilbo & Gandalf Stamps With ‘Hobbit’ Legal Tender
By 10.11.12
If there was a common currency* used in Middle Earth, Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey would’ve totally been famous enough to have their faces grace coins all over the land. But back here on regular old boring Earth, they’re important enough in New Zealand to be featured on actual legal tender, as well as a new set of stamps to commemorate the upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. [More]
During Trying Economic Times, Some Small Towns Turn To Their Own Currency
By 1.19.12
Who hasn’t grabbed a handful of Monopoly money and just wished it could be used to purchase things in real life? A few towns are doing that with their own currencies, and it’s helping to keep things bustling within their communities. [More]
Reasons To Retire To A Foreign Country
By 12.21.11
Maybe you’ve always seen yourself running out the clock in Scottsdale or Miami, but if you want to make your retirement dollar stretch, you may want to expand your horizons. Some foreign countries cater to retirees with friendly tax rates and low cost of living, making them attractive alternatives to American retirement havens. [More]
Utah Makes Scrooge McDuck Money Bins A Possibility
By 5.23.11
Those who dream of constructing giant towers filled with gold and silver coins in which to swim, and doing so with the knowledge that their coins are as good as cash, may want to look at moving to Utah. The state has pushed through legislation that makes gold and silver coins legal currency. [More]
Rising Cotton Costs Make Paper Money More Expensive To Print
By 3.8.11
Even though it’s referred to as “paper” money, most of the material used to produce U.S. banknotes is actually cotton. And with raw cotton costs at a 140-year high, it’s costing more money to print money. [More]
Rogue, Penny-Abolishing Dunkin' Donuts Is No Longer Rogue Or Penny-Abolishing
By 11.2.10
Remember just a few days ago when we wrote about that visionary Dunkin’ Donuts franchise that had started a voluntary no-penny policy? Well it didn’t last long, as NPR has learned from Dunkin’ HQ that the penny-abolishing policy has since been abolished. [More]
A Lone Dunkin' Donuts Sort Of Abolishes Pennies
By 10.29.10
One donut shop is taking a stand against the bacteria-ridden zinc disks of suck that are pennies. Reader Tom sent us this photo from a store he recently visited. In a policy change that was probably born during an 8 AM rush, this franchise appears to be are rounding customer totals up or down to the nearest five cents, and only providing pennies to those annoying people who actually want them. [More]
Homegrown Currencies Are Popular Right Now, But Do They Work?
By 7.20.10
Remember the Downtown Dollars that Ardmore, PA sold to its citizens this year? Sara Lepro at American Banker looked at that and other “homegrown currency” experiments happening across the country, which are intended to stimulate the local economy and take advantage of “a growing ‘localism’ movement.” [More]
Town Prints Its Own Money To Get Locals Shopping
By 6.7.10
Last month, a business improvement group in Ardmore, PA issued $15,000 in local currency, which citizens bought at half the face value and which can be spent like real money in stores and restaurants in the downtown area. Strangely, despite the 50% savings promised only $2,900 of it has been spent so far, with thrift stores receiving more than any other type of business. The group is going to launch another money printing campaign in November to try to boost holiday sales, preferably of new things. [More]
$100 Bill Redesigned, Now Has Hidden Images
By 4.21.10
Today the Treasury Department will reveal a redesigned $100 bill. The new design brings the bill in line with the smaller denominations that are already in circulation, and it adds a fancy new anti-counterfeiting measure called Motion that uses special threads to “create an optical illusion of images sliding in directions perpendicular to the light that catches them.” [More]
U.S. Mint Redesigns Penny
By 2.18.10
Here’s the new design for the back of the 2010 penny. Instead of the Lincoln Memorial there’s now a shield, or maybe a tiny badge that you can flash whenever you want to announce, “I have jurisdiction over your pocket change.” No, I’m pretty sure it’s a shield. [More]
