Segment from On the Money

What Would Ben Franklin Think?

Ben Franklin designed currency with emblems and not individuals. So, what would he think about people like Harriet Tubman or himself on the faces of American money?

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

Easy As Printing Your Own Money

When the Patriots needed money to raise an army, they decided to print their own – the Continental.

00:05:18

What Would Ben Franklin Think?

Ben Franklin designed currency with emblems and not individuals. So, what would he think about people like Harriet Tubman or himself on the faces of American money?

00:06:35

Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems

Early currency wasn’t printed by the government, it was printed by individual banks. The banks could print as much money as they liked – even if they didn’t have the reserves to back it up. This made life easy for counterfeiters.

00:10:01

The Gold Standard

Primitive people used precious metals as currency because it was seen as having an intrinsic value. Naturally, when the country switched over to paper money, Americans were suspicious of it and unsure if it had actual value.

00:09:27

Whatcha Gonna Do With All That Cash?

BackStory listener Eric from Seattle wonders if the government wants us to hoard our money or spend it.

00:04:53

The Wonderful Wizard of Silver

Back in the 1960s, a teacher named Henry Littlefield used the Wizard of Oz to explain populism. BackStory producer Kelly Jones asked Ranjit Dighe, an economic history professor, to rely on the L. Frank Baum classic and explain populist economics for our listeners.

00:08:22

No Love For The Single

Brian talks to Thomas Hipschen, the lead engraver of the 1990s currency redesign, when all of the bills were redesigned except for the $1 bill.

00:04:26