10 March 16

Today we're celebrating "U. S. Paper Money Day." The first official U. S. paper currency was produced on this day in 1862. Those dollar bills ($5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1000) became known as "greenbacks" because of the green ink used for printing. There had been paper money during the Revolution, but it became so distrusted and worthless -- "not worth a Continental" -- that only coins had been minted through the federal government. Economic fears caused people to hoard the precious metal coins, and so "United States Notes" were created as a wartime commercial necessity. You can read more about the history of our money at the Web site for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which has the unusually wonderful Internet address "moneyfactory.gov": http://www.moneyfactory.gov/uscurrency/history.html