The Penny Retires and a Dollar’s Examined
It seems impossible, but the one-cent piece known as the penny finally became too costly to keep making. At 3.69 cents per penny to mint, math wasn’t on the penny’s side. In November 2025, the U.S. Mint struck its very last circulating pennies. But no worries about spending them, because the ones still in your change jars, couch cushions, and all the other places “pocket change” shows up are still considered money.
With the penny retired, it pays to examine the next everyday piece of currency: the dollar bill. You know what it’s worth, but do you know what it’s made of, and whether its production costs might soon put the bill on the chopping block, too?
Today’s Trivia Question
What material makes up three-quarters of the paper used for U.S. dollar bills?
Bonus if you know the two colors used in the security fibers embedded in the paper.
| A Few More for Fun… |
What is the name of the federal agency that prints all U.S. paper currency?
| A Few More Trivia Questions Before You Go… |
We know the ingredients used to make paper money and have met the manufacturer. Is that the end of the story? There are still some “special effects” to discuss, a movie about money, and even another Washington to meet…
What light makes the embedded security threads in a current-era $100 bill glow pink?
Which first lady appeared on the face of the Series 1886 $1 silver certificate?
In the 1967 film Who’s Minding the Mint?, a worker mistakenly destroys $50,000. How do they plan to replace it?
Answers
| TODAY’S QUESTIONAnswer: C. Cotton. U.S. currency paper is 75% cotton and 25% linen. You might read that and think it is the same blend as a lot of your warm-weather clothing, but you definitely don’t want your next pair of summer shorts to feel like a twenty-dollar bill! Bonus points if you knew the two colors are red and blue. They are mixed into the paper, which makes it tougher for counterfeiters. The material is just the beginning. After all, it still has to be turned into money… | |
| 01 | Answer: C. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The U.S. Mint makes the circulating coins. Paper money comes from the BEP, and they make a surprising array of bills. |
| 02 | Answer: C. $100,000. The Series 1934 gold certificate was used for transactions between the Federal Reserve Banks and never for general public circulation (who would be able to make change?). |
| 03 | Answer: B. Ultraviolet. Hold a modern $100 bill to ordinary light, and you see the thread, but beneath an ultraviolet light, it glows pink. Hopefully, pink is a good color for Ben Franklin. |
| 04 | Answer: A. Martha Washington. Her husband, George, is not the only Washington to have appeared on a dollar. Martha’s portrait appeared on the faces of the 1886 and the 1891 $1 silver certificates. |
| 05 | Answer: A. Sneak back into work and print more. In the comedy, what starts as an attempt to replace the lost money soon blossoms into a much bigger operation. The film makes an accidental “reply all” look like small change! Although the penny has gone the way of the dodo, the rest of the coins are still in production and still just as valuable as ever. In fact, ending penny production makes many of those coins more valuable than they were when pennies were minted regularly! And the dollar bill? That won’t disappear anytime soon, unless you head to the mall. |
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How did you do?
Score 1 point for each correct answer and 1 point for the bonus if you knew it. Perfect score: 7.
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