How much does one US dollar cost to print?

Answer 1

All United States paper currency is produced by the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) which has facilities located in Washington, DC. and Fort Worth, TX.

The sole provider to the BEP of the special paper used to print currency is manufactured by Crane & Co. which for obvious reasons sells the currency paper only to the US Treasury. The currency paper is composed of 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen and has special blue and red fibers embedded in the paper.

According to the latest figures from the Federal Reserve the cost of producing a one dollar bill is 5.4 cents per note. The one dollar bill lasts for about two years in circulation. Worn out, torn or defaced currency is removed from circulation and returned to the Federal Reserve where it is destroyed.

It is very expensive to produce the currency required for commerce. The Federal Reserve which actually places the orders for paper currency with the BEP has budgeted $828 million for 2014 to produce paper currency.

It is interesting to note that the cost of producing each $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 note is about double the cost of printing a one dollar bill.