INTERESTING CASH FACTS

Paper, bucks, dough, whatever you want to call it, it all means the same- it's cold hard cash. Here are some interesting fun facts about paper money.

* The oldest currency bills known to have existed came from China and the Han and Tan Dynasties. The earliest bills to exist (as in not integrated) come from the Ming Dynasty and were issued between 1368-1399.

* The world's highest denomination note is Hungary 100 Million B-Pengo, issued in 1946. That's 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 Pengo. It was only worth 20 cents in 1946. Hyper-inflation is rough!

* The highest value paper American currency was USD 100,000 gold certificate. Issued in 1934, these notes never made it into circulation but were instead used for transfers between the US Treasury and Federal Reserve Banks.

* The highest denomination currently in circulation is Zimbabwe's 100 Billion note. In the August 1, 2008 currency revaluation, 10 zeros were dropped. However, this note remain legal tender until January 31, 2009.

* The lowest fractional note is Fiji 1 penny, issued in 1942. The old penny, being 1/240 of a pound, is a lower denomination than other fractional notes based on 1/100th of basic monetary unit.

* The largest bill by size is the 100,000 Peso of the Philippines according to the Guinness Book of Records, it's about the size of legal paper.

* In times of war, coins are often in short supply. Gold and silver coins are hoarded for their intrinsic values. Other metals are appropriated for war efforts. Many governments resort to printing small denomination banknotes as temporary substitutes. In 1944, Morocco released into circulation a 50 centimes emergency issue. Measuring only 41mm x 32mm, it;s the world's smallest banknote.

* There are now two notes with the most zeros. One is Yugoslavia 500,000,000,000 Dinara 1993, and the other is Zimbabwe 100,000,000,000 Dollars in 2008. Both notes have 11 zeros printed on them.

* In 180 other countries, differently denominated bills are different in either colour or size or both.

* How did 'buck' become slang for US dollar? The term originated from the Old West when buckskin was a commoon medium of exchange with Indians. Later as currency replaced the barter system, people still refer to a dollar as a buck (short for buckskin).

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