一美元或許并不值什么錢，尤其是在當今時代。但它在美國的貨幣體系中仍然扮演著十分復雜的角色。圍繞著1美元紙幣也必然有很多有趣和離奇的故事，可以給你在酒桌飯局上或辦公室里增添不少談資。

瑪莎?華盛頓曾是1美元的“封面女郎”

你知道嗎，美國國父華盛頓的妻子、美利堅合眾國的首位第一夫人瑪莎?華盛頓的頭像曾出現在1美元的銀元券上。現在這些銀元券可值大錢了，品相好的可以賣到1000美元以上。

第一張1美元紙幣上的人物并不是華盛頓

據費城聯邦儲備銀行介紹，首批1美元紙幣是在美國內戰期間發行的，這批1美元紙幣上的形象并不是喬治?華盛頓，而是時任美國財政部長的薩蒙?蔡斯。

1美元紙鈔已經很久沒有改版了

過去十幾年，美聯儲重新設計了5元、10元、20元和50元的紙幣，但1美元的鈔票依然還是老樣子。

據《大西洋月刊》報道，現版1美元紙鈔自1963年設計定型后就一直沒有改版過。美國財政部稱，這主要是由于“1美元紙幣很少被仿造。”

1美元紙鈔是最常見的紙幣

據美國聯儲邦儲備系統稱，2016年，處于市場流通狀態下的1美元紙幣有117億張，相比而言：

? 100美元面值的紙幣有115億張

? 20美元面值的紙幣有89億張

? 10美元面值的紙幣有19億張

? 5美元面值的紙幣有28億張

2美元面值則是流通得最少的，只有12億張。

制造成本僅為每張5.4美分

美聯儲表示，1美元紙幣是所有流通的美元鈔票中面值最低的，同時它的制造成本是所有面值中最低的，每張的制造成本只有5.4美元，和2美元面值紙幣的制造成本持平。制造成本最高的是50美元面值的紙幣，達到每張19.4美分；而百元大鈔的制造成本則只有15.5美分。

美元并不是用紙做的

雖然我們將它稱作“紙幣”，但它并非真是用紙做的。據美國鑄印局介紹，美鈔的材料是75%的棉和25%的麻混合而成的。

1美元紙幣的壽命很短

據美國聯邦儲備銀行介紹，每張1美元紙幣平均流通5.8年就會報廢，略長于10美元面值的4.5年，遠遠低于百元大鈔的15年。

它是名符其實的“臟錢”

據《科學美國人》雜志報道，2002年，美國空軍進行的一項研究顯示，在68張被測試的紙幣上，94%含有多種細菌，其中一些細菌甚至能導致肺炎和其它感染。

它也是名符其實的“毒資”

1美元紙幣上不只有細菌，更有毒品。據CNN電視臺2009年報道，在美國各大城市流通的90%的紙幣上，都能檢測到微量的可卡因痕跡。在底特律、波士頓、奧蘭多、邁阿密和洛杉磯等城市，更是100%的鈔票都能檢測出可卡因。

有四分之三張就算1美元

如果你手頭有一張破損的殘幣，千萬不要急著把它扔了。據《時代金錢》報道，你可以將兩張只剩一半的殘幣粘在一起，銀行照樣會接受。即便你的美元鈔票破損得只剩下四分之三，你也能夠拿去兌換一張完整的1美元。

你可以追蹤你的1美元紙幣

想知道這張1塊錢的紙幣之前都去過哪里嗎？有個名叫“Where’s George”的網站讓這成為了可能。你只需要輸入鈔票上的序列號，該網站就會追蹤它。到目前為止，已經有2.7億張鈔票的數據被輸入到了網站的數據庫中。

美國國璽歷經多年才獲通過

據費城聯邦儲備銀行介紹，美國國會花了足足6年時間，才同意并批準了美國國璽的設計，這枚國璽就蓋在1美元紙鈔背面的顯眼位置。

1美元紙鈔上體現了戰爭與和平

如果你手頭有1美元的紙幣，可以看看它的背面。據費城聯邦儲備銀行介紹，白頭鷹左爪里的箭代表戰爭，右爪里的橄欖枝代表和平。

金字塔旁邊的拉丁文宣揚“美國例外論”

金字塔圖案的上方有一行拉丁文“Annuit Coeptis,”意為“上帝保佑吾人基業”。金字塔下方的拉丁文“Novus ordo seclorum”，意思是“時代新秩序”，指的是美國政府的歷史形式。

“13”對1美元紙鈔是個重要數字

還記得白頭鷹左爪子里抓著幾支箭嗎？總共是13支。在美國國璽上，也有13個星星和13個條紋，代表北美大陸上最初的13個殖民地。金字塔上也有13級“臺階”。

老鷹險些變火雞

開國先賢本杰明?富蘭克林曾大力主張將火雞定為美國國鳥，因為他覺得火雞是一種“更值得尊敬的鳥”。另外他和杰弗遜還曾經打算在國璽里畫上一位埃及法老。

羅馬數字MDCCLXXVI大有深意

每張1美元紙幣背后的金字塔下方都有一串羅馬數字：“MDCCLXXVI”，它代表的是1776，也就是《獨立宣言》簽定的年份。

你能看出是哪家聯邦儲備銀行發行了這張鈔票

每張1美元鈔票上，都有由兩個字母和八位數字組成的序列號。首字母（從A到L）代表了發行這張鈔票的銀行，其中：

? A代表波士頓

? B代表紐約

? C代表費城

? D代表克里弗蘭

? E代表里士滿

? F代表亞特蘭大

? G代表芝加哥

? H代表圣路易斯

? I代表明尼阿波里斯

? K代表達拉斯

? L代表舊金山

貓頭鷹還是蜘蛛？

如果你拿放大鏡仔細看看1美元鈔票的右上角，在數字“1”的左上方有一個陰影，其輪廓既像一只結網的小蜘蛛，也像一只貓頭鷹。

機器里的鬼魂

如果你仔細看鈔票背面金字塔的第四行——最好拿上放大鏡看，你會看見仿佛有一張笑臉，似乎是個鬼影。這是故意設計成這樣的嗎？或許我們永遠不會知道了。（財富中文網）

譯者：樸成奎

A dollar bill might not be worth a lot, especially these days. But it's still a very complicated piece of legal tender. So, it's a sure bet that there are a lot of fun, interesting and downright weird facts about the dollar bill that will surprise you. If you're running out of trivia for cocktail parties or the water cooler, click through to see conversation-worthy dollar bill facts.

Martha Washington was once on the bill

Did you know that Martha Washington, America's first first lady, once graced the $1 silver certificate? These days, the bill could be worth a nice chunk of change — even more than $1,000, depending on its quality.

The first dollar didn't feature George Washington

The first legal tender $1 note, which was issued during the Civil War, did not feature George Washington. Instead, it featured Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury at the time, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The dollar bill has remained the same for a long time

In the past decade or so, the Federal Reserve has redesigned the $5 bill, the $10 bill, the $20 bill and the $50 bill. But the $1 bill? Nope.

Unlike the $10 bill that's expected to get a makeover, the $1 bill's design has remained unchanged since 1963, reported The Atlantic in 2014. The main reason is "because the $1 note is infrequently counterfeited," according to the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The $1 bill is the most common bill

In 2016, there were 11.7 billion $1 bills in circulation, according to the Federal Reserve System. That compares to:

? 11.5 billion $100 bills

? 8.9 billion $20 bills

? 1.9 billion $10 bills

? 2.8 billion $5 bills

The $2 bill had the fewest in circulation at 1.2 billion bills.

The dollar bill costs only 5.4 cents to make

Yes, we know it's worth the least of the bills in circulation. But the dollar bill is also the least expensive to produce, costing only 5.4 cents per note — the same cost to produce a $2 bill, according to the Federal Reserve. The $50 bill is the most expensive at 19.4 cents a bill. The $100 bill costs only 15.5 cents per note.

The dollar bill is not made of paper

We might call it paper money, but it's not actually paper. In fact, currency paper in the U.S. is 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen, according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

A dollar's life is short

A one dollar bill falls out of circulation, on average, after 5.8 years, according to the Federal Reserve Bank. That's compared to the $10 bill's low 4.5-year lifespan and a high of 15 years for the $100 bill.

The dollar bill is dirty money

In 2002, a study by the U.S. Air Force found that 94 percent of 68 dollar bills that were tested had bacteria on them. The bacteria included some that could cause pneumonia and other infections, reports the Scientific American magazine.

It's also drug money

Bacteria is not the only bad stuff residing on dollar bills. Ninety percent of paper money in U.S. cities hold traces of cocaine on it, reported CNN in 2009. In fact, cocaine showed up 100 percent of the time in the following cities: Detroit, Boston, Orlando, Miami and Los Angeles.

Three-quarters of a bill equals $1

If you thought that a mutilated, torn or even incomplete dollar bill is worthless, think again. You can tape two halves of a dollar bill together and a bank will replace it, reports TIME Money. In fact, as long as you have three-quarters of the bill, you should be able to exchange it for a whole $1 bill.

You can track your dollar bill

Want to know where your dollar bill has been? It could be possible, thanks to a site called Where's George. You enter the serial number of your bill and the site tracks it. To date, there have been more than 270 million bills entered.

The great seal took years to approve

It took six years for Congress to agree on and approve the design of the Great Seal of the U.S., which is featured prominently on the back of the dollar bill, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

War and peace are represented on the $1 bill

Look at the eagle on the back of your $1 bill. The arrows in the eagle's left talon represent war, while the olive branch in the proud bird's right talon represents peace, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The Latin around the pyramid speaks to American exceptionalism

"Annuit Coeptis," which is written above the pyramid, means "Providence Has Favored Our Undertakings." Below the pyramid, the words "Novus ordo seclorum" means "A New Order of the Ages," which refers to our historic form of government.

Thirteen is an important number of the dollar bill

Remember those arrows in the eagle's left talon? There are 13 of them. On the Great Seal, there are also 13 stripes and 13 stars to denote the original 13 colonies. There are also 13 "steps" on the pyramid.

The eagle on the bill was almost a turkey

Benjamin Franklin advocated for the national bird to be a turkey because he thought it was a "more respectable bird," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He and Jefferson wanted the seal to include an Egyptian pharaoh, too.

The Roman numeral MDCCLXXVI has meaning

At the base of the pyramid on the back of every dollar bill are the roman numerals MDCCLXXVI. That is the symbol for 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

You can tell which federal reserve bank issued your bill

On your dollar bill, there are serial numbers with two letter and eight numbers. The first letter (which will be between A and L) indicates which bank issued the bill. The letters stand for:

? A = Boston

? B = New York

? C = Philadelphia

? D = Cleveland

? E = Richmond

? F = Atlanta

? G = Chicago

? H = St. Louis

? I = Minneapolis

? K = Dallas

? L = San Francisco

Is it an owl or a spider?

Grab a magnifying glass and check out the top right corner of a dollar bill. Just to the left of the top of the "1" there is what appears to be either a tiny spider or owl in the "webbing" pattern.

The ghost in the machine

Look very closely at the fourth row of the pyramid on the back of the dollar – it might require a magnifying glass. You'll see what appears to be a smiling face, somewhat ghostlike. Was it purposely designed or not? We might never know.