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Like the rest of the United States currencies, the one dollar bill is composed of 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton, with red and blue synthetic fibers distributed throughout the paper. The notes weigh one gram each and are 2.61 inches in width and 6.14 inches in length, with a thickness of .0043 inches. The United States one dollar bill is worth one hundred United States cents.

The United States government spends 4.2 cents to produce a single dollar bill and dollar bills are printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, also known as the BEP. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produces well over than sixteen and a half million one dollar bills every day, and most of these notes are used to replace older and worn out dollar bills which are no longer deemed fit for circulation. The average dollar bill has a life span of about eighteen to twenty-two months, depending on frequency of usage, and wear and tear. The United States Treasury estimates that there are billions and billions of one dollar bills which are circulating the globe to date.

The first one dollar bill was issued as a Legal Tender Note back in the year 1862. These early one dollar bills featured the portrait of Salmon P. Chase, who was the Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln. Only until the year 1869, was the portrait of George Washington used on the one dollar bill, and this remains the case until today. A vignette of Christopher Columbus sighting land was also featured to the left of the note during this time.

In 1886, the picture of Martha Washington, who was also the original first lady and wife of George Washington, was featured on the one dollar silver certificate, making her the first women ever to appear on any United States currency. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S Grant are also amongst the few to have been featured on the United States one dollar bill, although this depictions dates to 1899. The designs on the one dollar united states note and silver certificates were more streamlined and standardized beginning 1923, with minor exceptions such as color and ink.

In the year 1929, all United States currency changed to the standard and current size we now see, although various designs and depictions continued to be featured throughout the years after. In the 1957, the one dollar bill became the first piece of United States currency to bear the legendary motto ‘In God We Trust’. The current design of the one dollar bill was finalized in 1969 and has remained the same ever since, and no plans to redesign the one dollar bill has been proposed to date, even though higher denominations from five dollars onward have been redesigned to curb counterfeiting.

The United States one dollar bill is also the most experimented and tested bill in the nation’s history. In 1933, a test was conducted to determine the different ratios of cotton and linen used in the paper of dollar bills. Another well-known test was done in 1942 during World War Two to test alternative types of paper that paper currency can be issued in. This was a precautionary measure in case the current type of paper supply ran out. In 1992, the one dollar bill was again put under the microscope when the Bureau of Engraving and Printing began testing a web-fed press, to facilitate the production and issuance of more dollar bills.

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Currently, the largest denomination of all Unites States currency, which remains of legal tender, is the one hundred dollar bill. These bills have been in full circulation since 1969 following the termination of the larger five hundred dollar, one thousand dollar, five thousand dollar, ten thousand dollar, and one hundred thousand dollar denominations. One hundred dollar bills are said to comprise of up to 7 percent of all United States currency produced today.

Delivered by the Federal Reserve Banks in mustard-colored strips, the average life span of the current one hundred dollar bill in circulation, according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, is approximately five years or sixty months, before it succumbs to general wear and tear.

The obverse side of the one hundred dollar bill features the famous inventor, diplomat, and U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin. The bill is also one of two of United States legal tender denominations today which does not feature a President of the United States of America. The other note is the ten dollar bill, which depicts the image of Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury.

The reverse side of the one hundred dollar bill is printed with the illustration of the United Sates Independence Hall. Interestingly, the clock on the building appears to show the time of 2:22 or 2:23, although some currency enthusiasts argues that its actually showing 4:10 instead. Another inconsistency is the numeral four on the clock face which is written as “IV”, whereas the real Unites States Independence Hall shows “IIII” instead.

The first one hundred dollar bill was issued in 1862 as a large sized United States Note, and featured the Bald Eagle on the left side of the obverse. Before showcasing Benjamin Franklin on the Federal Reserve Note in 1914, the one hundred dollar bills produced in prior to that year featured other prominent figures such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and even James Monroe.

In 1928, the smaller standardized sized one hundred dollar bills began its circulation. These smaller bills were also made out to be consistent in design, making all variations of the one hundred dollar bills from then on to carry the same portrait of Benjamin Franklin, the exact border designs on the obverse and reverse, and the vignette of the United States Independence Hall.

Some of the many nicknames one hundred dollar bills have been given are a “Benjamin,” a “Benjie,” a “Frank” or “Franklin”, a “C-note”, a “Century Note”, a “bill”, a “Big-face”, a “Large”, a “Charlie”, and even a “Big one”.

Late in 2008, newer and more secure one hundred dollar bills with enhanced designs and features are expected to be released. One of the state-of-the-art fixture that will grace these notes is the new Crane & Company security feature called Motion™, which consist of up to 650 thousand micro-lenses, which are embedded in the notes during the printing process. This will allow for selected images on the one hundred dollar bill to shift when the note is seen at a certain angle, making it almost impossible for counterfeiters to replicate.

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First issued in mid-1860’s, and actively used between the years 1882 and 1933, the Gold Certificate was issued as a form of paper currency here in the United States. Generally, a gold certificate acts like a certificate of ownership that gold owners hold instead of actual gold.

Because of the fact that the Gold Certificate was a type of paper currency intended to represent actual gold coinage, the practice of its redemption for the precious metal was ceased in 1933 by the United States Government, and until 1964 it was actually deemed illegal for anyone to possess these notes. This prohibition was lifted in 1964 though, as to allow currency collectors to legally own it. This resulted in the issue being converted to the standard legal tender, without its initial correlation to gold.

The issuance of the Gold Certificate was actually officially discontinued in 1928, before the termination of the Gold Standard by the United States Government in 1933, ultimately ceasing its circulation altogether. The permanent suspension was also largely due to the public’s fear that the notes would become obsolete and invaluable over time.

The Gold Certificate was approved under the Act of March 3, 1963, which is also the same act authorizing the issuance of the United States Notes. The actual year of print is said to vary between the years 1963 and 1965. This was probably because it doesn’t carry a printed series date, as this information was hand-dated upon issue. It is also said that the first few series of the Gold Certificate had the identification of each gold depositor, in lieu of payment.

The first issues of the Gold Certificate has a vignette of an eagle, and this was evenly featured on all the denominations it comes in. Later issues, like series 1870, 1871 and 1875, had depictions of various historical figured printed on it, with abstract designs featured on its reverse.

With the exception of Series 1888, 1900, and 1934, which was only issued to specified gold depositors, Gold Certificates from Series of 1882 and onwards was made payable to the bearer, making it transferable and redeemable for its equivalent value in gold.

Just like all other United States currency, the Gold Certificate was produced in two sizes; large and small. The larger sized Gold Certificates were put into circulation between the years 1865 and 1928, and the smaller sized ones between the years 1928 and 1934. The reverse side of all these notes were printed in orange, with the exception of the 1928 series, which were in green and more similar to the Federal Reserve Notes in design.

Along with the $5000 and $10000 notes from the Series of 1888, all of the notes from Series of 1900 have been redeemed and no longer carries the legal tender status. Most of these notes have already been destroyed, and the remaining, which was at kept in a box in a post office near the United States Treasury in Washington D.C., during that time, has a tale with an interesting twist to it. It was said that during a fire in late 1935, employees of this post office threw burning boxes out into the streets, including the box containing the only remaining notes of series 1900. This box was said to have burst open and it contents snatched up by the surrounding people gathered near the building. Unfortunately though, these notes were already deemed worthless at that time. Today, this series of Gold Certificates carries only a few hundred in numismatic value amongst collectors.

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