Why is money green?

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Have you ever looked at money and wondered “why green?”. Green makes sense, right? After all, the color is associated with health, trust, and envy; however, the psychological relationship has little to do with the answer. In fact, it’s the result of a well-timed cocktail consisting of a Canadian bank, the American Civil War, and rampant counterfeiting.

To find the answer, we’re going back over 160 years the mid 1800’s, more specifically 1857.

At this point in time, counterfeiting throughout the U.S. and Canada is widespread and well-known. A majority of the paper money circulating throughout North America is printed by private banks, resulting in paper bills of all sizes and denominations. The paper notes were one-sided and printed in black ink.

How was the money being counterfeited?

Without a uniform, national currency, counterfeiters were able to exploit the system through a couple of methods.

• Photography: Considering photographs were black and white and the notes were printed in black ink, counterfeiters were able to reproduce more notes using photos of real money.

• Engraving and Printing: Skilled engravers with a high level of craftsmanship created plates that were then used to print fake notes.

• Chemical Alteration: Counterfeiters altered the denominations on bills to remove and modify the ink. However, this was risky and often resulted in poor-quality notes.

Legitimate money printing operations eventually moved to colored inks. However, those efforts proved wasted as counterfeiters learned to remove the color portion, take a picture of the note, and add the colored ink back in during the reprint.

The next strategy? Find a color that is impossible to remove.

Welcome, Dr. Thomas Hunt

Dr. Hunt, an American chemist and teacher at Laval University in Québec, was hired by the President of the City Bank of Montreal to invent an anti-counterfeiting ink. At the time, the Canadian bank was struggling to survive against the counterfeiters, so they passed the task to Dr. Hunt, a well-respected chemist. After some experimentation with chemicals, Hunt landed on his new ink. The ink emerged a shade of green, and adequately resisted better to chemical and physical attempts at removing the ink from paper.

Because Dr. Hunt was American and no longer a part of the British Empire, he wasn’t authorized to patent his invention. So, Canadian chemist George Matthews, who worked for the Montreal City Bank, filed the patent on Hunt’s behalf.

Moving to America

Despite Dr. Hunt’s struggle to sell the ink in Canada, U.S. printing companies were impressed with his work, foreseeing the opportunity to use the ink on American money. American printer Tracy Edson got to the coveted green ink first, purchasing the license from George Matthews.

Even though America was in the midst of the Civil War, it proved good timing for Edson and his company. The U.S. government desperately needed to print more money to fund the war, but also fight back against counterfeiting.

With the new ink ready to go, it was time for Congress to make a change and unite the countries’ currency once and for all.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Congress introduced the Legal Tender Act in 1862, allowing the government to print money, money that would serve as the official currency of the United States. Edson capitalized on this and struck a deal to become the main currency printer for the Federal Reserve. This contract would last all the way until 1877.

The new money, now green on the back side of the bills, was publicly coined “greenbacks”.

Why is money still green today?

As printing money grew to a bigger operation, the government decision to remain green proved simple for several reasons:

• Green ink was in large supply

• Green ink provided more protection against fading and chemical changes

• The addition of green ink proved vastly more difficult for counterfeiters

• Congress believed people identified the green with trust and a strong and stable credit of the U.S. government

And there you have it. Now you know why money is green. Next time you are out with some friends, test them to see if they know this interesting piece of history that we take for granted every day.

Quick Money Facts

• The shekel is accepted as the oldest currency in the world, dating back to its use by the Babylonians around 3000 BC.

• The oldest currency still used today is the British pound, introduced to the world circa 800.

• The dollar sign was first used in 1785 as an adaptation of the Spanish symbol for pesos.

Trivia

What is the largest bill ever issued in the US?

1) $1,000

2) $10,000

3) $100,000

4) $1,000,000

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Money Visualized

Answer:

Trivia- $100,000. Printed in 1934, the bill featured President Woodrow Wilson and served as a gold certificate currency, although it was never intended for public use.

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