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34 surprising facts about the world's money

Cash facts
Pound sterling is the world's oldest currency still in use
The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing will sell you $10,000 (£8450) for $45 (£38)
The motto on the first US coin was “Mind Your Business”
UK coins can be combined to reveal a secret shield design
Only 8% of the world's currency is in cash
Global debt is now almost 3.4 times greater than the world's total stockpiles of money
No trees are cut down to make our banknotes
Star Wars, Pokémon and Frozen coins are legal tender on the island of Niue
The new English £5 note can play vinyl records
The new Australian $5 bill can also play your vinyl collection
The new English £5 note contains traces of animal fat
Australian and Canadian banknotes are also made with animal fat
24 countries use tallow-containing polymer in their banknotes
Each US penny costs more than double its face value to manufacture
Nickels are more expensive to produce than dimes
A $1 bill lasts just 18 months
The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing uses 9.7 tons of ink a day
Most banknotes contain traces of cocaine
The average European banknote is home to 26,000 colonies of bacteria
There are more germs on a £1 coin than a toilet seat
Most dollar bills are teeming with bacteria
Polymer banknotes are three times cleaner than regular bills
More Monopoly money is printed in the US than real cash
Pocahontas was the first woman to grace US dollar bills
Harriet Tubman will be the first woman to appear on a US banknote in over a hundred years
Queen Elizabeth II features on the most coins and banknotes
Living people are banned from appearing on US coins or banknotes
A massive $2.27 trillion (£1.92trn) is currently  in circulation worldwide
The world's least valuable coin is worth next to nothing
Non-physical money is worth $1.3 quadrillion (£1.1qdn)
The first Bitcoin purchase was for pizza
A spin in the microwave makes notes work again
Damaged notes are still valuable
Somebody once sued over
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Cash facts

Did you have any idea banknotes can play records, legal Pokémon coins actually exist and nickels are more expensive to mint than dimes? Blow your mind with our pick of weird and wonderful facts about money.
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lovemoney staff

18 December 2016

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