Did I miss out on a grand joke until just now?

True Definition of Funny Money.

22 Very rare and old banknotes of U.S. dollars

From: http://wahfunny.com/

Very interesting collection of old and rare banknotes of U.S. dollars.

If you don’t wake up, you lose your money

From: http://uberhumor.com/

The Net Worth of the U.S. Presidents: From Washington to Obama

By Douglas A. McIntyre, Michael B. Sauter, and Ashley C. Allen
From: http://www.theatlantic.com/

The richest and poorest heads of state in American history

If you were curious about how much President Obama makes, or what Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, or Reagan made, or for that matter what sort of annual salary U.S. presidents have been paid over time, it's all a matter of accessible public record. If you want to understand what our 44 presidents have really been worth, however, the answer is at once less straightforward and, historically, a lot more telling.

1st :: George Washington (1789-1797)

Estimated net worth: $525 million

His Virginia plantation, "Mount Vernon," consisted of five separate farms on 8,000 acres of prime farmland, run by over 300 slaves. His wife, Martha Washington, inherited significant property from her father. Washington made significantly more than subsequent presidents: his salary was two percent of the total U.S. budget in 1789.

Wikimedia Commons

To figure the comparative net worth of the U.S. presidents, we took into account hard assets such as land, estimated lifetime savings based on work history, inheritance, homes, and money paid for services -- which includes anything from a salary as collector of customs at the Port of New York to membership on a Fortune 500 board. We also took into account royalties on books, along with ownership of companies and yields from family estates.

The resulting values vary widely. George Washington was worth more than half a billion in today's dollars. Several presidents went bankrupt.

Of course, the fortunes of American presidents are vastly dependent on the economy at the times when they lived. For the first 75 years after Washington's election, presidents generally made money on land, crops, and commodity speculation. A president who owned hundreds or thousands of acres could lose most or all of his property after a few years of poor crop yields. Wealthy Americans occasionally lost all of their money through land speculation -- leveraging the value of one piece of land to buy additional property. Since there was no reliable national banking system and almost no liquidity in the value of private companies, land was the asset likely to provide the greatest return on investment, if the property yielded enough to support the costs of operating the farm or plantation.


Because there was no central banking system and no regulatory framework for commodities, markets were subject to panics in ways unknown today.

The panic of 1819 was caused by the deep indebtedness of the federal government and a rapid drop in the price of cotton. The country's immature banking system was forced to foreclose on many farms. And the value of the properties that were foreclosed on was often low, because land without a landowner meant land without a crop yield.

The panic of 1837 caused a depression that lasted six years. It was triggered by a weak wheat crop, a drop in cotton prices, and a speculation-induced leverage bubble in the value of land. These factors caused the U.S. economy to go through a multi-year period of deflation.

As a result of such factors, we see sharp fluctuations in the fortunes of the first 14 presidents.

Beginning with Millard Fillmore in 1850, the financial history of the presidency entered a new era. Most presidents were lawyers who spent years in public service. They rarely amassed large fortunes and their incomes often came almost entirely from their salaries. From Fillmore to Garfield, these presidents were distinctly middle-class. They often retired without the money to support themselves in anywhere near the fashion they were accustomed to while in office. Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, and Garfield had almost no net worth at all.

The rise of inherited wealth in the early twentieth century contributed to the fortunes of many presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and both the elder and younger Bush. Another significant change to the economy was the advent of large, professionally organized corporations. These corporations produced much of the oil, mining, financial, and railroad fortunes amassed at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. The Kennedys were wealthy because of the financial empire that Joseph Kennedy built. Herbert Hoover made millions as the owner of mining companies.

The 20th century also saw the stigma of making money as a retired president begin to disappear. Calvin Coolidge made a large income from his newspaper column. Gerald Ford, who had almost no money when he was a Congressman, made a small fortune from serving on the boards of large companies. Clinton made millions on his autobiography.

We analyzed presidential finances based on historical sources. Most media evaluations of the net worth of presidents have come up with a very wide range, a spread in which the highest figure was often several times the lowest estimate. Most sources provided no hard figures at all. Largely, we have focused on the analysis of recent chief executives -- because it is much easier to calculate figures in a world where assets and incomes are a matter of public record.

One of the most important conclusions of our analysis is that the presidency has historically neither depended on nor assured wealth. Several U.S. presidents brought huge net worths to the job. Many lost most of their fortunes after leaving office. Some never had much money at all.

Click here to see each Presidents Worth: http://www.theatlantic.com/

George Washington Never Looked So Good

posted by: Scotty Trigg

from: http://www.icanhasinternets.com/

Granted not all of these are 1$ bills, but for the most part they are. For my buck these masked bills are worth much more than a single dollar. My favorite is probably the Ronald McDonald or the Howard Stern one. Who would you like to see George transformed into?

Click the gallery to view them all

Stimulus Writ Small: Tiny California Town Prints Its Own Currency

Written by: Keith Wagstaff

From: http://utopianist.com/

Josh Freeman of North Fork, CA sure took President Obama’s talk about providing help to “Main Street, not Wall Street” seriously. The tiny town of 2,400 people, located near Yosemite National Park, sits in a county with a staggering 15.7 percent unemployment rate. Seeing his town struggle, Freeman did what any red-blooded American would do: create his own currency. North Fork Shares, emblazoned with pictures of a butterflies and hummingbirds, are worth $12 per share, and are available in half and quarter shares.

This idea actually isn’t new; Ithaca, NY has its own currency, Ithaca Hours, which it launched way back in 1991. There are plenty of other local currencies around the United States: BerkShares in Massachusetts, the Plenty in Pittsboro, N.C., etc. The idea is to keep money in the community by encouraging spending only at local vendors who accept the money, like Disney Dollars, except less evil. Freeman explains his motivations to the L.A. Times, stating that ”In a small town, you tend to look out for each other …. With the changes in economy, the more we support each other in positive ways, the better the quality of life is for everyone.”


It’s not exactly a revolutionary idea, but it’s definitely a smart way to keep things local. If you had, say, a wallet full of $6 North Fork half-shares and you were trying to decide between the local coffee shop and Starbucks, chances are you would head over to the local coffee shop to spend your cash. Each bill is legal and printed on washable, synthetic paper called yupo.

Will North Fork Shares help revive the local economy? Only time will tell; if anything, the residents of North Fork will have undertaken a community building exercise and in this economy, hey, anything is worth a shot.

The Life and Death of a $1 Bill

Posted by: Dutch Mechanic
From: http://topcultured.com/

Nothing gets around more than your average dollar bill! Here are some interesting facts brought to you by Online Finance Degree on the typical life span each one holds, and the illegal powdery substances it comes in contact with every day. What is this piece of green paper actually worth?


Via: Online Finance Degree

10 Artworks Made of Money

See the masterpieces these artists created from currency

By Brynn Mannino

from WomansDay.com

We all know the image of the poor, starving artist, but the reality is, it can be costly to create art. Whether for supplies, workspace or even classes, most artists are constantly throwing money

into their passion—but there are a select few who do it literally. These creative minds take cold, hard cash and turn it into art. So read on for 10 masterpieces made of money.

“Money Dress” by Dave Cole

Made of 1,000 unused single dollar bills, which Cole cut into raw materials, this 66" x 30" x 14" dress was displayed in the 2007 Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting exhibit at New York City’s Museum of Arts and Design, which was devoted to “using fiber in unexpected and unorthodox ways.” Photo courtesy of Clayton Parker via Flickr.com.

“Money Boat” by Qinyi “Raymond” Yu

This 3’-long x 4’-tall boat—currently on display at Yu’s Mandarin Island Chinese Restaurant in Mission Hill, California—showcases traditional Chinese paper art. According to Bob Nienhuis’ website dedicated to Traditional Chinese Paper Arts, Yu used over 20,000 modular units to create the structure, which took approximately six months to complete. Photo courtesy of WestWorld.com.

“Absolute Power” by Justine Smith

The London-based artist built this 7.5" x 5" x 1.5" handgun sculpture out of U.S. dollar bills and plastic in 2005. She says her work “examines our relationship with money in a political, moral and social sense, while also taking advantage of the physical beauty of the notes.” Photo courtesy of Justine Smith.

“Washington” by Justine Smith

Smith, whose work is currently featured in the collections of the British Council and the UK Government Art Collection, created this 3.5" x 15" x 9" model of a dog in 2005 using multiple U.S. dollars along with resin and leather. Photo courtesy of Justine Smith.

“Obama vs. McCain” by Theodore Stanke

Brooklyn-based Stanke created this mosaic in the month leading up to 2008 presidential election. Created from adhesives and chopped-up American coins—Obama from pennies and nickels, McCain from quarters, dimes and dollars—the mosaic was intended to depict the distribution of wealth backing each candidate. The piece took 10 days to create and is currently for sale at Bunga’s Den in Manhattan. Photo courtesy of Ted Stanke.

“One Dollar Koi” by Won Park

Famed Japanese origami artist Won Park is known for using the U.S. dollar bill to create his detailed designs. Won even shares the secrets of his trade in a step-by-step video tutorial on his blog “Have Paper, Will Travel.” Photo courtesy of Won Park.

“One Dollar Camera” by Won Park

Park also created this tiny camera out of a “Won” dollar bill, as he refers to it, using the same unbroken folding technique showcased above. Photo courtesy of Won Park.

“Carpenter’s Tools” by Stacey Lee Webber

These three tools, constructed out of pre-1992 copper pennies, are part of Webber’s “The Craftsmen Series.” The artist hand-cut the pennies and soldered them together to create hollow, 3-D replicas of existing hand tools. She has said that they are synonymous with house construction and money is the reward for hours of labor and sweat. Photo courtesy of Stacey Lee Webber.

“Queen Elizabeth II” by Unknown

This paper portrait of the Supreme Governor of the Church of England displays “money-gami” at its best. Though a simple concept, constructing a leader out of his/her region’s currency produces impressive results. Photo courtesy of Close the World via Flickr.

“Paris Skyline” by Unknown

Each bill in this artist’s collection depicts a cut-out of a skyline or famous landmark, all instantly recognizable. In this example, we love the jutting Eiffel Tower beside the famous Arc de Triomphe. Photo courtesy of Spluch via Flickr.com.