Anatomy of a Bill: The Currency Paper The Paper ... When held up to transmitted light these varying tones form a clear image—and in the case of the new $100, a second image of Ben Franklin.

If Congress took the step to modernize our one-dollar currency from a note to a coin, the American government - and the taxpayers who support it - would save up to $13.8 billion.

Do we need paper money to keep the economy humming along? There isn’t necessarily an economic reason that dictates a need to keep paper money. It’s more that it’s what people want, Skinner said.

According to Liang, a CBDC would be legal tender, convertible one-for-one into other forms of central bank money — reserve balances or paper currency — and would clear and settle nearly instantly.

The fiver was not the first paper money that the Great Emancipator graced. In the 19th century, he also appeared on a 50-cent fractional bill and a $100 gold certificate.

A US Senator wants to replace Andrew Jackson, who kept scores of slaves at his Tennessee plantation, on the front of the $20 bill with abolitionist Harriet Tubman. But Jackson isn’t the only one ...

When the researchers realized that Notre Dame housed paper money bills dating to the early colonial days of North America, the team decided to take a closer look. They examined about 600 paper notes.

Franklin was a strong advocate of paper currency from the start. For instance, in 1736, he printed a new currency for New Jersey, a service he also provided for Pennsylvania and Delaware.