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paper or cloth?

April 8th, 2009 at 05:16 am

Are dollar bills paper or cloth?

Discuss.

We call our money paper, but not many pieces of paper survive the washer or can be folded 4,000 times before the paper disintegrates. Not too many pieces of paper have 25% linen fibers in them. There now are synthetic blue and red fibers in currency "paper"; some old formulations contained silk.

But somehow thinking of dollar bills as cloth is weird. So I'm torn.

Paper or cloth?

5 Responses to “paper or cloth? ”

  1. whitestripe Says:
    1239164987

    our bills in AU are good old fashioned plastic Big Grin

  2. frugaltexan75 Says:
    1239169143

    That is a good observation. It would be fun to look up the history of how it came to be called 'paper' currency.

  3. creditcardfree Says:
    1239198779

    Aren't they a mix of paper and cloth? Now I have to look it up!

    Okay from the treasury wedsite: "The bills in this series are still printed on cotton and linen rag paper, with the traditional red and blue fibers."

    Now we know! Or do we?

  4. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1239202590

    I think I would would only call it cloth if the fibers are woven or knit.

  5. baselle Says:
    1239218223

    whitestripe - step away from the debit card Big Grin But I did think of the
    Text is Amex card dress and Link is http://www.smh.com.au/ftimages/2007/01/31/1169919383965.html
    Amex card dress from your comment.

    interesting y'all - I was thinking strictly on what the fibers were (linen, cotton, silk) which comprise cloth. I usually think of paper as wood pulp, but Joan brings up an interesting point - paper is made by pressing and drying the fibers together vs. cloth made by weaving and knitting.

    And then something else to think about - since paper is more condensed, seems to hold a much more intricate print. Couldn't imagine a yard of intricate engraved loops.Smile

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