The color of our money is so iconic , the parole “ dark-green ” has become synonymous with stacks of John Cash . But that ’s hardly standard for currency around the earth — in fact , many of thepaper notes used abroadmake ours search rather dreary in compare . So how did the hue stop up on our Federal Reserve note in the first place ?
The first evidence of the coloration green being used in federal currency dates back to 1861 . Before then , the Continental Congress had experiment with issuing notes ring “ continentals ” to fund the Revolutionary War , but they were print at a such a gamy volume that they quickly lost their time value . These newfangled green notes were printed for a alike reason , but this time it was the Union side of the Civil War that necessitate funding .
Private , United States Department of State - chartered banks had been distributing their own paper money for ten , which head to a want of cohesion in terms of the appellative and design in circulation . so as to keep the unexampled posting from being photograph for counterfeit purposes , their back sides were printed with immature ink said to be made frompalm juice(the cameras of the era could only snap in mordant - and - whitened ) . This earn them the nickname “ greenbacks , ” and made the U.S. dollar bill instantly recognisable .
The green coloring persevered all the way until 1929 when the politics began institute standard shapes and designs for currentness . The sizing of the bills was reduced to snub manufacturing costs , and when deciding on unvarying designs for each of the denomination , they stuck with the authoritative gullible chromaticity across the board .
The decision to keep the original coloring was largely a practical one . fit in to the U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving , the ink was abundant andhighly resistantto chemical substance and strong-arm changes , and the color itself was a smart convulsion because it stand for stability . Green also signifieslife and growth — two qualities a nation would n’t mind masses connect with their economy .
