It’s All About the Benjamins!

History 6 Minutes

Today is Ben Franklin’s birthday ( born in 1706) so I decided to search for things we might not know about the $100 bill on which Franklin appears.  This article from gobankingrates.com does just that!

From gobankingrates.com:

You probably know the $100 bill is the largest note currently produced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. You’re also likely aware of which Founding Father is on the $100 bill — politician and inventor Benjamin Franklin. There’s a lot more history behind this bill, however.

The $100 bill is more than just a way to pay for bigger purchases — it contains a great deal of fascinating American history. Take a few minutes to discover these interesting facts about your money.

It’s the Highest-Circulated Bill

The $100 bill is the most circulated form of U.S. currency. As of Dec. 31, 2022, there were 18.5 billion Benjamins currently in circulation, according to the Federal Reserve Bank. The $1 bill is second with 14.3 billion, followed by the $20 bill with 11.5 billion. In 2017, there were only 12.7 billion $100 notes in circulation.

It’s the Second-Most Printed Currency …

The Federal Reserve gave approval to print up to 8.7 billion currency notes in 2023. Nearly 1.5 billion of them will be $100 bills, second only to the $1 denomination.

… But Most $100 Bills Aren’t in America

Our $100 bills are very popular internationally. In 2018, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago issued a paper that estimated that as many as 80% of the $100s in circulation were being held outside the country. The report attributed that to “economic and political instability” abroad.

The International Popularity Benefits the Economy

Thanks to that, up to 80% of the $100 bills being circulated reside overseas. They act almost like an interest-free loan for the economy since most of that currency won’t return stateside.

It Costs 8.6 Cents to Produce

Every $100 bill comes with a production cost of 8.6 cents, according to the Federal Reserve. Print costs cover essentials such as paper, ink, labor and overhead costs to print. The $100 bill is the most expensive U.S. currency to print because of its security features. Printing cost of a $1 bill is just 2.8 cents each. The $100 bill includes components such as a 3-D security ribbon that changes from bells to 100s when moved, and a bell that seems to appear and disappear within the inkwell.

The First $100 Bill Was Printed in 1914

Even though the first $100 “Interest-Bearing Notes” were issued in 1861, the first $100 Federal Reserve Notes — aka money as it’s currently known — were printed with Benjamin Franklin gracing the front, just like it is today.

Benjamin Franklin Has Been on It for Over 100 Years

Although many people think there is a $100 bill with a president’s face, the truth is that Benjamin Franklin’s face graces this note — and has since 1914. Since then, the currency has gone through several re-issues, but it has remained the Benjamin Franklin $100 bill.

The Franklin Association Is Uncertain

If you’re like many Americans, you might be wondering, “Why is Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill?” After all, he was never president like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. The truth is, there’s a lack of credible information for the reason his portrait graces the currency. It likely has something to do with Franklin being one of the Founding Fathers, alongside Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe.

It’s Had Three Major Redesigns

The $100 has featured Benjamin Franklin since its inception over a century ago, and there have been tweaks through the years. The note has had three major redesigns to incorporate updated security features, however, coming in 1990, 1996 and 2013.

“In God We Trust” Started Appearing in 1966

The phase “In God We Trust” was adopted as the official motto of the United States back in 1956 — beating out “E Pluribus Unum” — but it wasn’t always featured prominently on currency. The first record of the phrase appearing on paper currency (the one-dollar silver certificate to be exact) was in 1957, making its debut on the $100 bill nine years later.

The 1996 $100 Bill Was the First to Get a General Seal

Before new release of the $100 in 1996, each bill contained the seal of a specific Federal Reserve Bank. In 1996, individual seals were replaced with a general seal denoting the entire Federal Reserve System.

The 2013 Version Was Two Years Late

The most recent release of the $100 bill was originally planned for 2011 but was delayed two years because of new security features that caused the notes to crease during printing. The end result was that some of the bills were filled with blank spaces.

The Ink in the New $100 Can Change Color

Your mind isn’t playing tricks on you — the newest (2013) redesign of the $100 does, in fact, change color. The lower right corner has the capability to shift between copper tones to traditional green when in the light. According to Esquire, this is thanks to the ink containing microscopic metallic flakes that reflect various wavelengths of light.

The Time on the Clock Was Changed on the New Bill

If you have an eye for detail, you might have noticed that the time on Independence Hall’s bell tower clock on the back of the old $100 bill read 4:10. It was changed to 10:30, however, on the newer ones. No one seems to know why either of these times was chosen, but both images — the north and south views — were engraved by J.C. Benzing in the 1920s. It is assumed that he took pictures of the building at different times of day, which would explain the clock discrepancy.

The Paper Is Unique

Though it might seem like it, our money isn’t printed on paper at all — at least not in the traditional sense. Whereas books and newspaper use wood pulp for their pages, Federal Reserve note paper is composed of 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton, which gives it its trademark rich texture. It also has red and blue security fibers built in.

Crane & Co. Has Made the Paper Since 1879

Crane & Co., which got its start in Massachusetts, has been producing the paper for the $100 bill and all other American notes since 1879. In 1844, the company became the first to embed silk threads in banknote paper, according to its website. Crane & Co. has also created several anti-counterfeit measures, including advanced security threads, watermarks, planchettes, security fibers, special additives and fluorescent and phosphorescent elements. Spotting the fakes in distribution is a huge problem, but sometimes keeping your money away from criminals is just as hard.

It Has a Cue for the Visually Impaired

Chances are, you’ve noticed the large gold 100 on the back of the $100 bill, but it’s not a flashy design touch. The 100 was put in place to help people with visual impairments distinguish the bill from other denominations.

Benjamin Franklin’s Shoulder Is Rough to the Touch

If you’ve ever run your finger over Benjamin Franklin’s shoulder on the $100 bill, you might have noticed it’s rough to the touch on the left side. This is not a flaw unique to your particular bill; it’s actually caused by the enhanced intaglio printing process used to produce the portrait.

It Has a Longer Lifespan Than All Other American Bills

The $100 bill has an average lifespan of 15 years, according to the U.S. Currency Education Program. In comparison, the $1 bill lasts an average of 6.6 years, the $5 bill averages 4.7 years of use, the $10 bill gets 5.3 years, the $20 bill lasts 7.8 years and the $50 stays strong for about 12.2 years. The $100 bill is held more by its owners than lower-denomination bills, which pass from one hand to another frequently. Therefore, it will last longer before wearing out, per the program.

The Portrait of Ben Franklin is Off-Center

After the latest redesign of the currency in 2013, Benjamin Franklin was removed from his portrait frame and placed off to the side for the first time in the bill’s history.

There’s Two Ben Franklins (If You Look Hard Enough)

The 2013 redesign of the bill featured a plethora of new security features — one of which was a second portrait of Ben Franklin when held up to the light. The watermark of Franklin looks fuzzy, thanks to the linen content featured in American currency. If money was printed on all cotton, there wouldn’t be a bleed.

Same Building, New View

The $100 bill has long featured a depiction of Independence Hall, which is a huge factor in Franklin’s lore. The newest 2013 redesign also features a new engraving that shows the back of Independence Hall instead of the iconic front.

It Features a Top-Secret Ribbon

To improve security, the U.S. Department of Treasury rolled out new plastic ribbons as part of larger currency to help deter counterfeiting. Even though the most recent $100 bills look as though the plastic ribbon was interwoven into the very fabric of the bill, it wasn’t — according to Esquire, the bill is actually created around the ribbon itself in a top-secret process.

Be Sure to Check the Extremely Fine Print

If you check near Franklin’s collar, you’ll find an engraving present on the latest edition of the bill — and it harkens back to an original portrait painted of the Founding Father by Joseph Siffred Duplessis in the 1780s.

The 2013 Design Uses a Feather to Draw It Together

The newest redesign also features another icon that is integral to Franklin’s tale — a feather quill. The quill, along with its companion the inkwell, were drawn by artist Brian Thompson.

SOURCE: GOBANKINGRATES.COM

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Published by pat frederick

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171 thoughts on “It’s All About the Benjamins!”

  2. Kimi Raikkonen after crashing out of Rally Bulgaria, Borovets, July 9, 2010

    Embedded in the marble steps of the Galleria Colonna is this French cannonball, fired during the Siege of Rome [1849].

    Liked by 1 person

  3. More details:

    RedState: “The jury in the two-week defamation trial between a former military veteran and Mid-East contract evacuation expert, Zachary Young, and news network CNN has returned its verdict. CNN has been found liable for the defamation of Young, and the jury further found that the network acted with malice in its reporting on Young. 

    In finding CNN liable for those counts, the jury returned two compensatory damages awards. They find that Young is entitled to $4 million in damages due to the economic impact on his ability to work, and $1 million in emotional damages. The court has taken a recess for the time being and will enter into Phase 2 of the trial, which will concern what is probably the bigger determination: that involving the punitive damages. 

    This is where the impact on the network could be really significant, as it concerns a financial burden that is intended to curtail future misbehavior. The pretrial hearings concerning this aspect became contentious at times, as the network was not only hedging on revealing the revenue it generated but the financials of the parent company Warners-Discovery were also called for and the stated figures were said by the defendants to be opaque or unknowable. These hollow claims did not please the court at the time.

    During this past week, there has been stirring drama within this case, as numerous figures from CNN were on the stand including reporters Alex Marquardt and Katie Bo Lillis, as well as producers from the network. There was also video testimony presented from Jake Tapper. Tapper delivered some risible moments on video, where he tried to say he was not really sure what his official title is at the network (it is listed on the bio page for him at the network) and then said he was completely unaware what his ratings are for his shows. This last nugget was disproven as Fox News found multiple examples of Tapper crowing about his audience figures on social media.

    Things did not bode well for the network when the jury questions were disclosed. As Nick Fondacaro, from MRC-Newsbusters, has been reporting from the courthouse, the jury questions asked of the reporters, Marquardt and Lillis, were rather challenging and revealed the jury leaning towards the belief they had been culpable of defamatory behavior. In contrast, following testimony by CNN’s senior editor Thomas Lumley – who was among the CNN staffers who expressed the Marquardt report was lacking in factual structure — the jury had no further probing.

    As it stands right now CNN is bearing a shame that may be bigger than that incurred by Fox News following that network’s out-of-court settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Following that settlement, many in the press – and Jake Tapper specifically – were heavily critical of Fox News, covering the decision with derisive language and denigrating the network as less than a journalistic source. 

    It has been said that Fox deciding to settle was an admission of guilt that it had lied, despite no such admission or ruling being made. Somehow for years, CNN has incurred no such similar scar, despite it settling out of court with Nicolas Sandmann over its coverage of the young man. Here now we have CNN in a court of law found to have been fabricating a news story, and doing so with a clear act of malice. One could argue that this is a finding that bears more weight than the Fox settlement. We now await the second phase of this defamation case to see if results in a higher level of financial punishment.”

    Liked by 1 person

  5. “Exposing The School Sex Crime Epidemic”

    Libs of TikTok, Jan 17, 2025

    “Schools are supposed to be a safe place where children are safe to learn and thrive. Teachers are the ones responsible for their safety, but confidence in the country’s school system is failing… and for good reason. Over this past week, we reported on a near-record number of teachers who are part of a growing trend of child predators infesting the nation’s educational institutions.

    To start it off, we reported that in just the last few months, 6 staff members from Clark County Schools in Las Vegas have been arrested on charges relating to child sex crimes. Six from just one district!

    Image

    Unfortunately, it just gets worse from here…Richard Craig Harrison, a teacher at Grantsville High School in Utah, was sentenced to a year in jail after he pleaded guilty to the forcible sexual abuse of a minor student.

    Image

    What makes it even more disturbing, is that multiple teachers showed up to court IN SUPPORT of Harrison, despite his admission of guilt. The entire school should be investigated. Speaking of investigations…

    Lawrence Grigg, another high school teacher at the Abilene Independent School District in Texas, was indicted for allegedly meeting up with a student at least 10 times at local hotels for sex.

    If you thought 10 was a lot, just wait until you see this next one…

    Yesterday, Utah police announced that Ricardo Prins, a teacher at the Rockwell Charter School in Eagle Mountain, is wanted on 42 counts of criminal sexual misconduct with a juvenile.

    Image

    However, Prins has not been arrested since he FLED THE COUNTRY to Brazil.

    Though teachers like Prins have yet to be caught, some teachers were not caught soon enough. Laura Caron, a teacher at Middle Township Elementary School in NJ, was arrested after she allegedly raped one of her students over several years, resulting in her becoming pregnant with the student’s child. The student was 11-YEARS-OLD when the sexual relationship began.

    Image

    The student along with his siblings were routinely living with the teacher after the parents befriended her. She kept the child a secret for years.

    Children in our schools are constantly being subjected to sexual horrors. Pornographic books are being distributed in school libraries, curriculums are pushing radical gender ideology, and numerous teachers are being revealed as pedophiles.

    There is a massive epidemic of child predators in our schools and it needs to be exposed. I mean, who is even vetting these people?? Hopefully Trump succeeds in SHUTTING DOWN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. The entire education system needs to be shut down and rebuilt from scratch.

    Have a great weekend” -LoTT Team

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I had a long discussion with my Sis earlier – we were reminiscing about our childhood and I found out that Mom originally wanted my a-Mom/Dad to take her, not me. Maybe because my a-Mom was Sis’s sponsor – my a-Dad told my a-Mom: “She’s too old. She’s already ruined.” That should give you an idea of where he was coming from! She told me that my a-Mom saw her riding by the house one afternoon on a horse, bareback, going hell-bent-for-leather. She waved and hollered out, “Hi, Winnie!” as she flew by and she told Sis later “I thought ‘oh, my goodness, what would I do with that????” So they took me instead – I was still young enough to be malleable.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Well, at least I learned how to act like a “lady” when I needed to! LOL – but you can see why I was ready to move heaven & earth to get the hell out of their house! Which is why I went ahead with my 1st marriage even tho I knew I wasn’t preggers. They wanted me to cancel it and I flat-out refused.

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  7. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

    1. those are pretty! wow! we couldn’t even keep a carnival goldfish alive for 2 days when the kids were younger. and it changed them. neither of my kids have fish…in fact my son won’t even EAT fish…lol

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you. They fit right in.

        🤣😂🤣😂🤣. Wow… well they explain it better now and give you better chemicals to keep them going once they’re new.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. LOL.
          well that’s good. i did happen to keep 2 Furbys alive–still have them.
          confession: they are in their boxes, which i then wrapped in a thick towel and locked them in a box. they give me the creeps!

          Liked by 1 person

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