Features

• Money in the United States comes in two different forms: bills and coins. The coins are as follows: the one-cent penny, the five-cent nickel, the 10-cent dime, the 25-cent quarter, the 50-cent half-dollar and the $1 coin.
  The bills are in denominations of ones, twos, fives, tens, twenties, fifties and one hundreds. There were actually $100,000 gold certificates printed in 1934, but they were only issued to banks, who exchanged gold for those certificates.
  
  

Identification

• In order to keep up with the times and prevent fake bills being sent into circulation, the US Treasury has updated several bills with new watermarks and security features. For example, the new $5 bill features two watermarks. The first is a large 5 towards the right and three smaller number 5s located on the lower part of the bill. These can be seen by tipping the bill up toward a bright light. Other features include glowing text around the whole bill that can only be seen in special lighting. These features have also been incorporated in several other United States currencies.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• If your money is ever destroyed, there may be a way to get it back. If your money becomes soaked, burned, a mixture of both or barely recognizable,you should send it to the Treasury Department. Many banks will take money that is recognizable, so try taking it there if more than 50 percent of each bill is visible.
  
  

History

• The Bureau of Engraving and Printing was created in 1862 with only six employees and has since expanded. Not only has this office printed for the United States of America, but they have loaned their services to other countries like Korea and Cuba.
  The process of creating a dollar bill is a lengthy one with several steps involved. The basic process starts with engraving and plate making, and then moves to printing, examining and overprinting, Overprinting uses special inks and symbols to make sure that every dollar is legit.
  
  

Time Frame

• The amount of time that a bill will last varies, but the most is 89 months with the $100 dollar bill. The least amount of time is 16 months for the $5 dollar bill, and close behind that is 21 months for the $1 dollar bill. The $10, $20, and $50 dollar bills fall in between, ranging from 18 through 55 months.