t i m e f o r k i d s . c o m

Do you have damaged money? The U.S. government can replace it.

CASH BACK

M A R C H 2 0 2 0 ● M O N E Y ● V O L . 10 ● N O . 17 E D I T I O N 2

REMAKING MONEY

HEAR THE STORY READ ALOUD IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH AT TIMEFORKIDS.COM.

MONEY

Power Words

In 2018, BEP handled about 24,000 claims. Each claim is handled by a single examiner.

Water is one of the most common causes of mutilated currency. Bills harden and stick together.To do their job, BEP examiners use simple tools to separate damaged bills.

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2 Time for Kids March 2020 3

Imagine you’ve been saving money to buy a new scooter. Finally, you’re ready to make the purchase. But your envelope of cash is missing. Then you make a shocking discovery. Your brother accidentally put the envelope through a paper shredder. Your cash is confetti.

Don’t panic. The U.S. government can help

“It’s a painstaking job,” Walsh told TIME for Kids. “Some of these cases are just giant jigsaw puzzles.”

Patience Pays OffWater and fire are the most

common causes of mutilated pieces of currency. “The toughest cases are the burnt ones. The notes shrink and look like Monopoly money,” Tina Barnett says. She’s a BEP examiner. Her job is to work with damaged bills.

To make sure a bill is real, Barnett uses a microscope to read its fine print. She also uses special lights.

you get your money back, Eric Walsh says. He works for the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), in

Washington, D.C. The BEP is the government office that prints paper money. Walsh works for the BEP’s Mutilated Currency Division. His team figures out the value of mutilated money. Then BEP repays the person who sent it in.

Otherwise, the job is “pretty low-tech,” Walsh says. “Examiners go through each note and piece it together by hand.” They use simple tools, such as tweezers, glue, and tape.

The hard work is worth it. “For some of our customers, this is their life savings,” Walsh says. “So it’s very rewarding to be a bright spot in people’s lives.” —By Jaime Joyce

mutilated adjective: seriously damaged

note noun: a piece of paper money

painstaking adjective: taking great care and effort

THE MONEY FACTORYThe U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing

has a nickname: the Money Factory. Why? Each year, it prints billions of dollars’ worth of paper money. It was founded in 1862, in Washington, D.C. Public tours are available. But don’t expect to see nickels or dimes. Coins are made by the U.S. Mint.

GET MORE AT TIMEFORKIDS.COM.

MONEY

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TIME for Kids Edition 2 (ISSN 2156-9169) is published weekly and mailed monthly from October through May, except for a combined December/January issue, by Time USA, LLC. Volume #10, Issue #17. Principal Office: 3 Bryant Park, New York, NY 10036. Periodical postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. © 2020 Time USA, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Subscribers: If the postal authorities alert us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no obligation unless we receive a corrected address within two years. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to TIME for Kids, P.O. BOX 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508. Subscription queries: 877-604-8017. TIME for Kids is a registered trademark at Time Inc. Mailing list: We make a portion of our mailing list available to reputable firms. If you prefer we not include your name, please call; write to P.O. BOX 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508; or send an email to tfkcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com. For international licensing and syndication requests, please email syndication@meredith.com or call 212-522-5868.

Each bill features two SIGNATURES. The one on the left is that of the treasurer of the United States. The one on the right is that of the secretary of the treasury. Both play an important role in the country’s financial matters. Every U.S. bill

features the face of a leader. The $1 bill shows GEORGE WASHINGTON, our nation’s first president.

Each bill includes a SERIES DATE. It tells you the year when your bill’s design was made.

Every bill has a unique SERIAL NUMBER. It’s made up of numbers and letters.

THE NUMBER 1 appears as a numeral and as a word. How many times do you see 1 and one on this bill?

THE GREAT SEAL of the United States has two parts. On the left, we see a pyramid. It stands for strength. On the right is our national bird: the bald eagle.

Look at a U.S. dollar bill. What do you see? A dollar is full of numbers, symbols, seals, and other features. Everything on a bill means something. Let’s decode the dollar!