Weekend What If: What If… You Were in Charge of the U.S. Mint?

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It's Sunday, which means one thing—it’s time once again for some very big-picture thinking again! On Day 14 of Financial Literacy Month, FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ introduces a new round of “What if…?” This time kids will imagine they are in charge of the U. S. Mint and have many decisions to make, including designing and making money.

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 You’re the Boss!

Explain to kids that today, they are going to picture themselves in charge of the biggest “money maker” we know of—The U. S. Mint. “What If You Were in Charge of the U.S. Mint?” is the leading question for this fun-filled discussion.

What do you think the person in charge of the U. S. Mint does all day?

What kids of decisions does this money boss have to make?

What happens to money once it is printed?

What could cause the Mint to run out of money?

Why is some money made of paper and other money is made of metal?

What kinds of questions would you have if you were in charge of the U. S. Mint?

 Describe It!

Older kids can actually create a simple job description for their job for the day. What kinds of education might be needed. This is a good way to c those word problems of today to a big future career.

Younger kids might not be ready for such a big description so focus on the details of designing money. Remind kids about the special characteristics of American paper currency—all the design features that make a bill unique, such as the serial number, Federal Reserve number and seal, the face of the president on the bill, the Department of Treasury seal, and so on. For an in-depth refresher, they can visit the blog post about the five-dollar bill.

Design It to Spend it—and Protect It!

All kids can step into the role of currency designer at the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Tell kids it’s their task to come up with a new bill. They should choose whatever denomination they would like—whether one that already exists, like the five- or twenty-dollar bill, or a new bill, like a seven-dollar bill. Stress that making change is trickier, though, with such denominations.

 Kids can even come up with a new name for their currency—for example, animal lovers might dream up “Zoobucks” with a specific animal on each denomination. Kids can then draw and label their designs with an explanation for each feature on the bill.

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Video Inspiration

Kids stumped or not feeling those creative juices flowing? This fun video might help. The U.S. Currency Education Program video looks at the special features of U.S. currency by comparing them to five unusual creatures. What does a twenty-dollar bill have in common with an armadillo, for example? Nope, not its color. Like an armadillo’s bumpy exterior, U.S. paper currency has a distinctive rough texture. What other unexpected comparisons will you discover? This video can help guide kids in creating their new currency.

Visit Us Every Day in April 

Tune in again tomorrow as we continue Financial Literacy Month post on personal finance and economics in honor of tax day.  

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.