34 Golden Nuggets About Money and Currency
Three squirrel pelts for your tasty wheel of cheese, please!
![34 Golden Nuggets About Money and Currency](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/7/7/5/985775_320x180.jpg)
Okay, so you put one of your nation’s leaders on a piece of paper. Now what? You throw a number on it, and it just magically has value? Well, secret’s out, currency makers… Things don’t have value. They are given value. By us. The people. And because we value the heck out of this here pen, we’ll trade it to you for that there piece of paper with Benjamin Franklin on it. Deal? Deal!
![More Monopoly money is printed annually than $1 STATES OF bills have been in a decade THIS NOTE IS UNITED LEGAL AND TENDER PRIVATE STATES OF AM PUBLIC FOR ALL DEBTS L 7771 L WASHING 902L SERIES 2009 Eg Since 2008, the US Treasury has printed around 25 billion dollar bills, whereas Hasbro prints 30 billion bills for their Monopoly games CRACKED.COM every year. But to be fair, only 43 million of those are ones.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/1/4/984414.jpg)
![THE VALUE OF ALL THE WORLD'S BANKNOTES AND COINS IS ABOUT $7.6 TRILLION. HOWEVER, THAT IS ONLY 8% OF THE AVAILABLE ACCESSIBLE MONEY. THE OTHER 92% EXISTS *ONLY* DIGITALLY. IT IS IN VARIOUS ACCOUNT BALANCES THAT CAN BE MOVED AND SPENT WITHOUT EVER BECOMING PHYSICAL._ CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/1/3/984413.jpg)
![CRACKED.COM The cost to end world hunger is $30 billion per year -the same amount as drunk Americans spend online annually](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/1/2/984412.jpg)
![GRAGKED.COM AROUND 2/3 OF AMERICAN ADULTS DUNCE CANNOT PASS A BASIC FINANCIAL LITERACY TEST. This shouldn't be shocking when you learn only 17 STATES require a personal finance class to GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/1/1/984411.jpg)
![Bitcoin's rise from $150 to $1000 was probably due to just one person. NON B That's the conclusion of a study that looked at trades happening when the price jumped - t they were done by two bots that didn't even own the BTC they traded. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/9/984409.jpg)
![In 2009, Lily Allen refused to get paid for a concert in 200,000 Bitcoin. She was offered the payment for a virtual performance in Second Life but said no, and later called herself an idiot. If she'd taken it, she'd be a billionaire today. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/8/984408.jpg)
![In 2018, Russian nuclear scientists were arrested for Bitcoin mining on the job. (illustration) Apparently, they tried to use one of the most powerful supercomputers in Russia, at a top-secret nuclear warhead facility, to mine ВТС. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/1/0/984410.jpg)
![The people of Yap used stones that were too big to carry - up to 2 tons. They never moved locations, but were traded via public ceremonies so everyone knew who owned which big-ass rock. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/7/984407.jpg)
![The largest piece of legal tender in the world is 220 pounds. MILLION DOLLA, ILLION DE DOLLA Canada's Big Maple Leaf is a $1 million coin made of about $2 million worth of nearly-pure gold, that somehow reached a market value of $4 million. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/6/984406.jpg)
![The smallest coins ever used, Vijayanger's tara, had a diameter of 4 millimeters. If you didn't have exact change, you'd be carrying around a pocket full of tiny buttons. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/5/984405.jpg)
![Lots of modern money is not vegan. 24 countries' currency uses a polymer derived from tallow (beef fat). NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/2/984392.jpg)
![Some Australian and British notes are so thin and rigid, people figured out they could actually produce sound from vinyl records. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/3/984393.jpg)
![The first US coins said Mind Your Business. MIND YOUR BUSINESS You'll never believe this: it was Benjamin Franklin's idea. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/4/984404.jpg)
![Squirrel pelts were a common currency in medieval Russia. It's speculated that murdering all those squirrels actually helped stave off the spread of The Black Plague. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/7/984397.jpg)
![GRACKED.COM SEITE TEAM UNITED NOVESSAR OF AMERICA DD160755588 Kids earn an average of $4.13 per lost tooth in the US. That's four times the minimum wage per hour in Mexico.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/2/984402.jpg)
![In 43 states, jails and prisons can bill inmates for their stay. The fees can be tens of thousands of dollars, are imposed at the sole discretion of a judge, and are often aggressively collected regardless of ability to pay. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/5/984395.jpg)
![A recent study by Italian economists shows that the wealthiest Florence families from 1427 remain the wealthiest even today, six centuries later. This trend is not exclusive to Italy, similar data was gathered in England and China. CRACKED COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/4/984394.jpg)
![In 2014, the average US worker generated value in the amount of $106.00/hour. For their labor, they were paid an average wage of $24.57/hour. GRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/1/984401.jpg)
![On average, the flu virus can survive outside of the body for about 48 hours... OF tra live on a dollar bill ...it can DEPARTMENT for THE ITAL over 10 days. CRACKED COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/0/984400.jpg)
![In 1923, hyperinflation caused German currency to lose almost all of its value. It became so worthless that people gave it to children to play with or used it as wallpaper. GRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/6/984396.jpg)
![The smartphone industry spends about $10 billion a year on suing over, and buying, patents. 400 430g 440 440g 400 4500 752al 752g 12 75222 al-ri Excition no Au Bulford Basic POLICE NEL Quick Connect DO THE 990 Christina Holano 1130 NG 951-7 on DE 23 MFU tos : 75 251 Screenshot cactur ed 1018 G Touch to WT you a made Emily Clarke 0452 PM Acio Today month or TX it Special 197 00 $ Connected = media devico South to other 153 STORE $54005 ast DE company 75202 7520 75208 75201 POR 450g 450 That money could launch four Mars](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/9/984399.jpg)
![How many pennies are there? There are 130 billion pennies in circulation. In pounds, that's over 716 million. GRACKED COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/4/0/3/984403.jpg)
![Scientists think Bitcoin alone could push global temperatures above 2°C. That could happen by 2033, according to a study that looked at the power efficiency of BTC mining machines, their locations, and the CO2 emissions of those locations. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/1/984391.jpg)
![North Korea's military used Bitcoin to steal over half a billion dollars. They stole it from online trading platforms in 2017 and 2018, and used blockchain technology (the basis of Bitcoin) to be able to do it undetected. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/8/984398.jpg)
![The first real-world Bitcoin transaction involved buying two pizzas for 10,000 ВТС. That happened on May 22, 2010, and it was the equivalent of about $25 at the time -- it'd be roughly $360 million in late May 2021. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/8/984388.jpg)
![Nobody knows who actually invented Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies in general). TROYOZ INTERNATIONAL MJB EUSTER bb ITALYOZ BITCON. NTRAL METALS B MAJIENDO The inventor went by the name Satoshi Nakamoto online, but the person (or group) behind the handle never came forward and has never been identified. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/7/984387.jpg)
![In 2018, 50 Cent realized he had a bunch of Bitcoins (worth millions at that point). When his album Animal Ambition came out in 2014, he became the first artist to accept BTC and received 700 ВТС. 4 years later, that pile was worth $8 million. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/5/984385.jpg)
![BANQUE DU ZAIRE VINGY MIELE ZAIRES 0 0 0 0 17-1991 Nyuhril When dictator Joseph Mobutu was overthrown, Zaire's government cut his face off the currency until they could design and print new notes. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/9/0/984390.jpg)
![SZAZMILLIO SEAZMILLIO SZAZMILLIO SZÀZMILLIÓ B:-PENGO BUDAPEST. 3946 EVI JUNIUS HO 3 AN MAGYAR NEMZETI BANK DITEIRZYZS Gayer ELNOK SEAZMILLED FOTANACSOS IA BANKJEGYHAMISITAST д TORVENY DONTETI The largest-ever legal denomination was Hungary's 100 Million Trillion Pengo. It was worth 20 US cents. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/4/984384.jpg)
![TWENTY SHILL Counterfeit, s DESER Before it said In God We Trust, all US currency came with a handy reminder: TO COUNTERFEIT IS DEATH. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/9/984389.jpg)
![China once accidentally faked out all its ATMs. 100 100 00 10 AA00000001 AA0000000 Their high-roller gold 100-yuan bill contained actual gold. It was such an effective anti-counterfeiting measure that the country's ATMS couldn't recognize them for several days. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/2/984382.jpg)
![China used to trade knife-money. Knife-replica coinage was developed in the regions where knives were commonly used tools, while spade-money hailed from regions more dependent on agriculture than good, honest stabbin'. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/6/984386.jpg)
![Italy has a Fort Knox for cheese. Credito Emiliano accepts wheels of Parmesan as collateral for loans while cheese makers wait for their sources of income to mature. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/1/984381.jpg)
![Canadians trade coupons from a tire company. Lienter CANADIAN TIA CANADARIAS 10c LS CANADIAN TIRE LA SOCIETE CANADIAN TRE LIMITEE I CASH BONUS out B BONI CANADIAN TIRE CARADUAN TIRE CONPORATI ion, LIMITED Canada Tire is so ubiquitous that lots of bars and small businesses an accept their official Canadian Tire Money. Someone was even caught counterfeiting $11 million worth. CRACKED.COM NOW YOU KNOW](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/3/984383.jpg)