History of American Paper Money

Author: Lucas Eaves
Published: 24 Nov, 2012
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Updated: 17 Oct, 2022●
1 min read
Using dollar bills is today part of our daily lives but it has not always been true. American paper currency has a long history and went through multiple changes before becoming the bill that we know today.
Did you know the Dollar was chosen as the monetary unit of the United States by the Congress in 1785?
That the size of today's bills was decided in 1929 to lower the costs of production, resulting in 25% reduction from the prior size?
That the first appearance on a bill of "in god we trust"l dates from 1957?
Learn more about the history of American Paper money with the following infographic, created by Credit Season.
Credit: Credit Season
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