Today I visited a free museum and learned a few things about money from the exhibits, but mostly from talking to a guy working there:
- Old coins are melted and used again to create new coins
- Worn out bills are shredded in all 12 federal reserve districts and 33 other facilities
- The Chicago Federal Reserve Bank shreds $23 million a day. In April and November (for summer traveling and holiday shopping), it shreds up to $28 million each day. In January, it typically shreds $11 million each day.
- Federal reserve bills are made with linen and can be folded 3,000-4,000 times before ripping.
- In 2013, it cost 1.9 cents to make a penny
- It costs 10+ cents to make a nickel
- We will unlikely be able to redesign these coins because companies that produce coin readers (used in buses, toll counters, etc.) will have to redesign these machines
- Someone once stole $180,000 worth of nickels from the Reserve. The institution got the money back – 80,000 nickels from Coin Star and the remainder of the money buried in someone’s backyard.
- What $1 million looks like
