How the dollar has changed over the years

The capital was needed to finance the military during King William's War, the North American arm of the War of the Grand Alliance (aka the Nine Years' War). 

As the first colony to mint its own money, Massachusetts had a reputation for innovations in currency.

These notes were typically expressed in Spanish reales as well as in British shillings, pounds, and pence. The reason behind this was that colonial North American commerce was conducted with foreign coins, as few coins were minted in the colonies.

However, by 1763, the British deemed colonial currency illegal. 

Franklin is known for his quotes about money, such as "A penny saved is a penny earned," and "The use of money is all the advantage there is in having it." 

He began printing paper money in 1728, first for New Jersey and then for Pennsylvania and Delaware. 

It wasn't until 1765 that Franklin proposed a universal paper currency. He was tasked, as a diplomat, with determining a way for the British to increase colonists' taxes to fund the Seven Years' War. His preliminary plan, modeled upon banking in Pennsylvania, dictated that the British would operate the colonial land bank — a system grounded in accruing interest from loans rather than generating revenue through additional taxes. 

However, between retaliation against the Stamp Act — which introduced the first direct, internal tax on American colonists — and the Pennsylvania Assembly's orders that Franklin stop the British from infringing upon colonial money-issuing privileges, he needed to enact a different strategy. His solution: legal tender that did not rely on commodities (i.e. gold and silver) that were controlled by Britain. 

His face has adorned the 100 dollar bill since 1914 — a year after Congress passed the Federal Reserve act.

Just like today's US currency, Continentals were singularly valued on purchasing power. With no backing in gold or silver, the notes could be easily counterfeited — so it didn't take long for them to become devalued. 

Another name for government-issued legal tender that is not backed by a physical commodity is fiat money. 

Although Congress called for the creation of the first national mint in 1792, the Constitution only granted authority with respect to coins.

As outlined in Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, Congress could create and regulate coin currency — both foreign and domestic. But there's no specific reference to paper money. 

Therefore, private banks could issue paper currency that competed with government notes. 

In 1861, to finance the Civil War, Congress sanctioned the issuance of paper currency known as demand notes. The name referred to the fact that the currency, which was available in denominations of $5, $10, and $20, could be redeemed in coin "on demand." 

Colloquially, demand notes were called greenbacks — a nickname for US currency that we still use today. 

The large-format bill featured a portrait of Salmon P. Chase, who served as US Secretary of the Treasury during the Civil War.

Washington adorns the bill to this day. 

The red floral design around the words "Washington, DC" was an 1880 addition. 

Martha wasn't the first woman to be depicted on federal paper currency. Between 1865 and 1869, Pocahontas appeared on the back of the $20 bill. The image, which illustrates her baptism, is based on a painting that hangs in the Capitol Rotunda.

It has taken more than a century, but the Treasury Department announced in 2015 that women will again grace paper money. In 2020, abolitionist Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill, while opera singer Marian Anderson will appear on the back of the $5 bill. Anderson, who performed at the Lincoln Memorial, is one of several people whose historic appearance at the landmark will be honored by the new $5 note. 

In the 1890s, an era of increasing innovation and industrialization, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing — the government agency responsible  for the design of US currency — sanctioned an aesthetic upgrade for paper money. 

Nicknamed the "Educational Series" thanks to the title that appears on the $1 denomination ("History Instructing Youth"), these notes are distinguished by their illustrations. The images are based on paintings by the allegorical artists Edwin Blashfield, Will H. Low, and Walter Shirlaw. 

Each note features a female personification of a different cultural value. While the lady on the $1 bill symbolizes History, the women on the $2 and $5 notes respectively represent Science and America herself.

Establishing the Federal Reserve System as the central bank of the United States, the Federal Reserve Act created 12 different Federal Reserve districts across the country in cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco. 

The goal of the system — which designated the Federal Reserve note as the new national currency — was to prevent banking panics and increase the use of the dollar worldwide.

Measuring 6.14 by 2.61 inches, the notes — whose smaller size was likely to reduce production costs — were characterized by a blue treasury seal on the front. With a reverse side that lacked symbolism or any official government emblem, they earned the nickname "funnyback" among collectors. 

The Great Seal, with its recognizable pyramid and eagle motifs, was not added to the dollar bill until 1935 at the suggestion of Henry A. Wallace, Franklin D. Roosevelt's agriculture secretary and eventual vice president. 

The motto first appeared on US coins during the Civil War to reflect a national increase in religious sentiment.

Repealing the Silver Purchase Act of 1934, which allowed the US government to augment its monetary base by buying silver, Congress rendered $1 silver certificates obsolete in 1963. The certificates were replaced with $1 Federal Reserve notes, the paper currency Americans use to this day. 

The Secret Service was founded in 1865 with the aim of reducing counterfeit money.

According to Dustin Johnston, director of currency at Heritage Auctions, consistency is key when it comes to anti-counterfeiting measures.

"The human brain is trained at recognizing differences in facial features," Johnston said, explaining that it's easier for us to distinguish if something is off about a face — like George Washington's portrait — rather than other details of an image.

With the sheet-fed system, it takes 72 hours for each side to be dried and cured. 

Ultimately, the web press was retired after four years since it couldn't handle sustained long printing runs, and the Bureau returned to the sheet-fed method.

The yearly currency order for the 2018 fiscal year includes 2.2 billion $1 notes.

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