27 Surprising Facts About The World's Money

Did you have any idea banknotes can play records, legal Pokémon coins actually exist and nickels are more expensive to mint than dimes? Blow your mind with our pick of weird and wonderful facts about money.

0:00 Intro
0:10 Pound sterling is the world's oldest currency still in use

0:24 The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing will sell you $10,000 (£8k) for $45 (£36)

0:42 The motto on the first US coin was “Mind Your Business”

1:01 UK coins can be combined to reveal a secret shield design

1:24 Only 8% of the world's currency is in cash

1:38 Global debt is now almost 2.5 times greater than the world's total stockpiles of money

1:59 No trees are cut down to make our banknotes

2:11 Star Wars, Pokémon and Frozen coins are legal tender on the island of Niue

2:29 The new English £5 note can play vinyl records

2:56 The new Australian $5 bill can also play your vinyl collection

3:16 The new English £5 note contains traces of animal fat

3:34 Australian and Canadian banknotes are also made with animal fat

3:51 24 countries use tallow-containing polymer in their banknotes

4:10 Each US penny costs more than double its face value to manufacture

4:27 Nickels are more expensive to produce than dimes

4:45 A $1 bill lasts just 18 months

5:04 The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing uses 9.7 tons of ink a day

5:18 The average European banknote is home to 26,000 colonies of bacteria

5:36 There are more germs on a £1 coin than a toilet seat

5:50 Most dollar bills are teeming with bacteria

6:09 Polymer banknotes are three times cleaner than regular bills

6:26 More Monopoly money is printed in the US than real cash

6:45 Pocahontas was the first woman to grace US dollar bills

7:03 Queen Elizabeth II features on the most coins and banknotes

7:17 Living people are banned from appearing on US coins or banknotes

7:29 A massive $1.48 trillion (£1.18trn) is currently in circulation worldwide

7:50 The world's least valuable coin is worth next to nothing

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