A dollar bill might not be worth a lot, especially these days. But it's still a very complicated piece of legal tender. So, it's a sure bet that there are a lot of fun, interesting and downright weird facts about the dollar bill that will surprise you. If you're running out of trivia for cocktail parties or the water cooler, click through to see conversation-worthy dollar bill facts.

Martha Washington was once on the bill

Did you know that Martha Washington, America's first first lady, once graced the $1 silver certificate? These days, the bill could be worth a nice chunk of change — even more than $1,000, depending on its quality.

The first dollar didn't feature George Washington

The first legal tender $1 note, which was issued during the Civil War, did not feature George Washington. Instead, it featured Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury at the time, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The dollar bill has remained the same for a long time

In the past decade or so, the Federal Reserve has redesigned the $5 bill, the $10 bill, the $20 bill and the $50 bill. But the $1 bill? Nope.

Unlike the $10 bill that's expected to get a makeover, the $1 bill's design has remained unchanged since 1963, reported The Atlantic in 2014. The main reason is "because the $1 note is infrequently counterfeited," according to the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The $1 bill is the most common bill

In 2016, there were 11.7 billion $1 bills in circulation, according to the Federal Reserve System. That compares to:

• 11.5 billion $100 bills

• 8.9 billion $20 bills

• 1.9 billion $10 bills

• 2.8 billion $5 bills

The $2 bill had the fewest in circulation at 1.2 billion bills.

The dollar bill costs only 5.4 cents to make

Yes, we know it's worth the least of the bills in circulation. But the dollar bill is also the least expensive to produce, costing only 5.4 cents per note — the same cost to produce a $2 bill, according to the Federal Reserve. The $50 bill is the most expensive at 19.4 cents a bill. The $100 bill costs only 15.5 cents per note.

The dollar bill is not made of paper

We might call it paper money, but it's not actually paper. In fact, currency paper in the U.S. is 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen, according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

A dollar's life is short

A one dollar bill falls out of circulation, on average, after 5.8 years, according to the Federal Reserve Bank. That's compared to the $10 bill's low 4.5-year lifespan and a high of 15 years for the $100 bill.

The dollar bill is dirty money

In 2002, a study by the U.S. Air Force found that 94 percent of 68 dollar bills that were tested had bacteria on them. The bacteria included some that could cause pneumonia and other infections, reports the Scientific American magazine.

It's also drug money

Bacteria is not the only bad stuff residing on dollar bills. Ninety percent of paper money in U.S. cities hold traces of cocaine on it, reported CNN in 2009. In fact, cocaine showed up 100 percent of the time in the following cities: Detroit, Boston, Orlando, Miami and Los Angeles.

Three-quarters of a bill equals $1

If you thought that a mutilated, torn or even incomplete dollar bill is worthless, think again. You can tape two halves of a dollar bill together and a bank will replace it, reports TIME Money. In fact, as long as you have three-quarters of the bill, you should be able to exchange it for a whole $1 bill.

You can track your dollar bill

Want to know where your dollar bill has been? It could be possible, thanks to a site called Where's George. You enter the serial number of your bill and the site tracks it. To date, there have been more than 270 million bills entered.

The great seal took years to approve

It took six years for Congress to agree on and approve the design of the Great Seal of the U.S., which is featured prominently on the back of the dollar bill, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

War and peace are represented on the $1 bill

Look at the eagle on the back of your $1 bill. The arrows in the eagle's left talon represent war, while the olive branch in the proud bird's right talon represents peace, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The Latin around the pyramid speaks to American exceptionalism

"Annuit Coeptis," which is written above the pyramid, means "Providence Has Favored Our Undertakings." Below the pyramid, the words "Novus ordo seclorum" means "A New Order of the Ages," which refers to our historic form of government.

Thirteen is an important number of the dollar bill

Remember those arrows in the eagle's left talon? There are 13 of them. On the Great Seal, there are also 13 stripes and 13 stars to denote the original 13 colonies. There are also 13 "steps" on the pyramid.

The eagle on the bill was almost a turkey

Benjamin Franklin advocated for the national bird to be a turkey because he thought it was a "more respectable bird," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He and Jefferson wanted the seal to include an Egyptian pharaoh, too.

The Roman numeral MDCCLXXVI has meaning

At the base of the pyramid on the back of every dollar bill are the roman numerals MDCCLXXVI. That is the symbol for 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

You can tell which federal reserve bank issued your bill

On your dollar bill, there are serial numbers with two letter and eight numbers. The first letter (which will be between A and L) indicates which bank issued the bill. The letters stand for:

• A = Boston

• B = New York

• C = Philadelphia

• D = Cleveland

• E = Richmond

• F = Atlanta

• G = Chicago

• H = St. Louis

• I = Minneapolis

• K = Dallas

• L = San Francisco

Is it an owl or a spider?

Grab a magnifying glass and check out the top right corner of a dollar bill. Just to the left of the top of the "1" there is what appears to be either a tiny spider or owl in the "webbing" pattern.

The ghost in the machine

Look very closely at the fourth row of the pyramid on the back of the dollar – it might require a magnifying glass. You'll see what appears to be a smiling face, somewhat ghostlike. Was it purposely designed or not? We might never know.

一美元或许并不值什么钱，尤其是在当今时代。但它在美国的货币体系中仍然扮演着十分复杂的角色。围绕着1美元纸币也必然有很多有趣和离奇的故事，可以给你在酒桌饭局上或办公室里增添不少谈资。

玛莎•华盛顿曾是1美元的“封面女郎”

你知道吗，美国国父华盛顿的妻子、美利坚合众国的首位第一夫人玛莎•华盛顿的头像曾出现在1美元的银元券上。现在这些银元券可值大钱了，品相好的可以卖到1000美元以上。

第一张1美元纸币上的人物并不是华盛顿

据费城联邦储备银行介绍，首批1美元纸币是在美国内战期间发行的，这批1美元纸币上的形象并不是乔治•华盛顿，而是时任美国财政部长的萨蒙•蔡斯。

1美元纸钞已经很久没有改版了

过去十几年，美联储重新设计了5元、10元、20元和50元的纸币，但1美元的钞票依然还是老样子。

据《大西洋月刊》报道，现版1美元纸钞自1963年设计定型后就一直没有改版过。美国财政部称，这主要是由于“1美元纸币很少被仿造。”

1美元纸钞是最常见的纸币

据美国联储邦储备系统称，2016年，处于市场流通状态下的1美元纸币有117亿张，相比而言：

• 100美元面值的纸币有115亿张

• 20美元面值的纸币有89亿张

• 10美元面值的纸币有19亿张

• 5美元面值的纸币有28亿张

2美元面值则是流通得最少的，只有12亿张。

制造成本仅为每张5.4美分

美联储表示，1美元纸币是所有流通的美元钞票中面值最低的，同时它的制造成本是所有面值中最低的，每张的制造成本只有5.4美元，和2美元面值纸币的制造成本持平。制造成本最高的是50美元面值的纸币，达到每张19.4美分；而百元大钞的制造成本则只有15.5美分。

美元并不是用纸做的

虽然我们将它称作“纸币”，但它并非真是用纸做的。据美国铸印局介绍，美钞的材料是75%的棉和25%的麻混合而成的。

1美元纸币的寿命很短

据美国联邦储备银行介绍，每张1美元纸币平均流通5.8年就会报废，略长于10美元面值的4.5年，远远低于百元大钞的15年。

它是名符其实的“脏钱”

据《科学美国人》杂志报道，2002年，美国空军进行的一项研究显示，在68张被测试的纸币上，94%含有多种细菌，其中一些细菌甚至能导致肺炎和其它感染。

它也是名符其实的“毒资”

1美元纸币上不只有细菌，更有毒品。据CNN电视台2009年报道，在美国各大城市流通的90%的纸币上，都能检测到微量的可卡因痕迹。在底特律、波士顿、奥兰多、迈阿密和洛杉矶等城市，更是100%的钞票都能检测出可卡因。

有四分之三张就算1美元

如果你手头有一张破损的残币，千万不要急着把它扔了。据《时代金钱》报道，你可以将两张只剩一半的残币粘在一起，银行照样会接受。即便你的美元钞票破损得只剩下四分之三，你也能够拿去兑换一张完整的1美元。

你可以追踪你的1美元纸币

想知道这张1块钱的纸币之前都去过哪里吗？有个名叫“Where’s George”的网站让这成为了可能。你只需要输入钞票上的序列号，该网站就会追踪它。到目前为止，已经有2.7亿张钞票的数据被输入到了网站的数据库中。

美国国玺历经多年才获通过

据费城联邦储备银行介绍，美国国会花了足足6年时间，才同意并批准了美国国玺的设计，这枚国玺就盖在1美元纸钞背面的显眼位置。

1美元纸钞上体现了战争与和平

如果你手头有1美元的纸币，可以看看它的背面。据费城联邦储备银行介绍，白头鹰左爪里的箭代表战争，右爪里的橄榄枝代表和平。

金字塔旁边的拉丁文宣扬“美国例外论”

金字塔图案的上方有一行拉丁文“Annuit Coeptis,”意为“上帝保佑吾人基业”。金字塔下方的拉丁文“Novus ordo seclorum”，意思是“时代新秩序”，指的是美国政府的历史形式。

“13”对1美元纸钞是个重要数字

还记得白头鹰左爪子里抓着几支箭吗？总共是13支。在美国国玺上，也有13个星星和13个条纹，代表北美大陆上最初的13个殖民地。金字塔上也有13级“台阶”。

老鹰险些变火鸡

开国先贤本杰明•富兰克林曾大力主张将火鸡定为美国国鸟，因为他觉得火鸡是一种“更值得尊敬的鸟”。另外他和杰弗逊还曾经打算在国玺里画上一位埃及法老。

罗马数字MDCCLXXVI大有深意

每张1美元纸币背后的金字塔下方都有一串罗马数字：“MDCCLXXVI”，它代表的是1776，也就是《独立宣言》签定的年份。

你能看出是哪家联邦储备银行发行了这张钞票

每张1美元钞票上，都有由两个字母和八位数字组成的序列号。首字母（从A到L）代表了发行这张钞票的银行，其中：

• A代表波士顿

• B代表纽约

• C代表费城

• D代表克里弗兰

• E代表里士满

• F代表亚特兰大

• G代表芝加哥

• H代表圣路易斯

• I代表明尼阿波里斯

• K代表达拉斯

• L代表旧金山

猫头鹰还是蜘蛛？

如果你拿放大镜仔细看看1美元钞票的右上角，在数字“1”的左上方有一个阴影，其轮廓既像一只结网的小蜘蛛，也像一只猫头鹰。

机器里的鬼魂

如果你仔细看钞票背面金字塔的第四行——最好拿上放大镜看，你会看见仿佛有一张笑脸，似乎是个鬼影。这是故意设计成这样的吗？或许我们永远不会知道了。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎