Whether we choose to admit it or not, money is the single most important element in life. Without money you couldn't eat, you would have no home, no clothes and sadly, very few friends. Money is what drives us to get a college level degree and a well paying job. But how is money created?
Of course, the treasury isn't just printing cash all day; if they were, the government debt would be zero. In most countries, money is created as a form of debt. Banks create loans for people and businesses, who in turn deposit that money in their bank accounts. Banks can then use those deposits to loan money to other people-the total amount of money in circulation is one measure of the Money Supply. The term "money supply" commonly denotes the total, safe, financial assets that households and businesses can use to make payments or to hold as short-term investment. The money supply is measured using the so-called "monetary aggregates", defined in accordance to their respective level of liquidity.
Now, how is money manufactured? The production of modern US paper money is a complex procedure involving highly trained and skilled craftspeople, specialized equipment, and a combination of time-honored printing techniques merged with sophisticated, cutting edge technology. While most newspapers and books are made of wood pulp, US bills is composed of 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen-with the security thread and watermark built in.
Offset printing is the first stage of production. The colored background design is duplicated on a film negative, and is transferred to a thin steel printing plate with light-sensitive coating through exposure to ultraviolet light. Next, engraved plates, representing each denomination, are mounted on the press and covered with ink. A wiper removes the excess ink, leaving ink only in the recessed image area. Paper is laid atop the plate, and when pressed together, ink from the recessed areas of the plate is pulled onto the paper to create the finished image. The green engraving on the back of US currency is printed on high-speed, sheet-fed rotary intaglio presses. Back-printed sheets require 72 hours to dry and cure before moving to the face intaglio press, where special cut-out ink rollers transfer different inks to specific portions of the engraved designs. Black ink is used for the border, portrait and Treasury signatures, color-shifting ink for lower right portions of 10 dollar note and higher-denomination notes, metallic ink for freedom icons on 10, 20 and 50 dollar bills, and color-shifting ink for the freedom icon on 100 dollar notes.
The manufacturing and creation of currency is much like our basic need for money-adjusted, but never fully altered. For example, with advances in monetary security, these processes are always being modified, but never completely changed from the original money printing techniques.
