USD | American Dollar

• The American Dollar has been used as a currency since 1690.
• The average “lifespan” of the coins is 25 years, however, the banknotes wear off more quickly. A 1-dollar banknote may be used for a period of 22 months on average, while the same figure for 5-dollar note is 16 months, for a 10-dollar note it is 18 months, for a 20-dollar note it is 24 months, for a 50-dollar note it is 55 months and for a 100-dollar note it is 89 months on average.
• The American Bank Note Company accepts and exchanges damaged banknotes if half of the banknotes remain undamaged at least.
• According to a research carried out in 2009, 90 percent of the examined banknotes is contaminated with some of the components of cocaine.
• American Dollar notes are made of a mixture of linen and cotton.
• No 2-dollar note has been issued since 2003. Some people say that the 2-dollar notes bring bad luck, but bad luck is relieved if one of the corners of the note is torn.
• Until now, there were only two female portraits printed on American Dollars: the picture of Martha Washington on the 1-dollar coin issued between 1891 and 1896 which was convertible to silver, and the portrait of Pocahontas on the group picture printed on the 20-dollar note in circulation between 1865 and 1869. In 2020, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the US constitution granting voting rights to women, another female portrait will be illustrated on American banknotes: the portrait of anti-slavery crusader Herriet Tubman.