Now that you have kids thinking about saving for the future, it’s a great time to find out what kids know about money—as in cash, currency, legal tender. We’re talking Benjamins (and Jeffersons, Lincolns, Hamiltons…).
Although they likely use it—or see parents or guardians use it—every day, they probably haven’t thought much about where their money comes from or how it’s produced.
On Day 8 of Financial Literacy Month, brought to you by FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™, we’re exploring fun facts about currency, with a special focus on the five-dollar bill.
First, ask kids what they already know about money:
Where does money come from?
Who makes our money?
Who chooses the designs and why are they so fancy?
What do the numbers and labels on a bill stand for?
Why is some money made of paper and some money made of metal?
Then share these facts with them:
The Federal Reserve System, known as “the Fed,” is the central bank of the United States. In its role as the central bank, the Fed is a bank for other banks and also a bank for the federal government.
Paper currency is labeled Federal Reserve Note because the value of money is backed by the federal government. This means that the paper itself is not worth the amount of money, but it means that the government agrees to “back” this amount of money.
Paper money is designed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Artists at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing choose the design for the bill and then create an engraving. The engraver carves the designs onto metal plates, which transfers the designs to paper—resulting in the paper money we see every day. The Treasury prints billions of notes each year!
Not just anyone can be an artist for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Everyone is carefully screened. Designing and printing money requires a high security clearance. Money designs are complex—by design. The more intricate the design and printing, the less likely it is that money can be counterfeited.
Once money is printed on big sheets of special paper, the money is cut into individual bills, bundled in sets, counted, recounted, and probably counted yet again. There are lots and lots of procedures, every step along the way.
When the money is ready to be released, it goes to the Federal Reserve System, a big set of banks for the country. The Federal Reserve figures out exactly how much currency to put into circulation. There are lots of complex factors involved in making these decisions. It’s a dangerous to an economy to release too little money or too much money. The federal reserve System also oversees all banks to be sure that everyone is following all the rules about money.
Every single bill of every single denomination bill is labeled with a letter and number representing one of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks located around the country.
The letter D stands for Denver, for example.
Learn the Art of Money-Making
Visit the U.S. Currency Education Program’s Art Studio online to learn more about how the artists and engravers at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing put their mark on each bill. Learn what each picture, symbol, and line on a bill stands for, as well as how color and texture come into play. Then kids can take a peek at some real bills and find out how many differences they can spot!
Let’s Take a Look at a Five-Dollar Bill!
Every single part of any bill’s design is purposeful and has meaning. Every part is designed to make it as hard as possible for anyone to copy it and circulate counterfeit bills. This level of detail makes money very beautiful, too. Check out what each design on the five-dollar bill stands for. This bill was put into circulation by the Chicago Federal Reserve.
Are You a Bill Designer?
Now that you know what the parts of a bill do, why not create some money designs?! Even the youngest artists can try their hand at Bill Design. Enjoy these examples. Ask you kids to decide what denominations they’ll want in their treasury. Remind them that it’s tough to make change for a $7-bill!
Visit Us Every Day in April
Tomorrow, tune in again as we continue Financial Literacy Month with some fun and enterprising lemonade stand logistics. We’ll learn about the roles of producers and consumers and discuss how kids can be entrepreneurs with nothing but some lemons, sugar, and financial know-how.
For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ for students in kindergarten through eighth grade or to download any of the 29 sections of the program, please click below.