I stayed in Minnesota, America for 4 weeks this summer. I enjoyed staying with my host family. My host family took me to many places. I paid in cash when I went to some groceries with them, but they paid by credit card. Japanese often use cash, but Americans often use their credit cards. Though Americans seldom use cash, there are seven kinds of bills (one dollar, two dollars, five dollars, ten dollars, twenty dollars, fifty dollars and one hundred dollars) and four kinds of coins (quarter dollar, one dime, five cents and one cent), and these money are printed famous people and regions’ character.
The United States dollar is the official currency of United States of America and its overseas territories. The United States dollars is the currency which is most used in international transactions and is one of the world’s dominant reserve currencies. Some countries use it as their official currency. For example, the U.S. dollars is used in Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Guam, Federated States of Micronesia, El Salvador, Republic of Zimbabwe and so on. In Japan, we can use U.S. dollars in the facilities of United States Forces Japan. We can also use it some stores, especially in Okinawa.
Do you know what thing is figured on dollars? One dollar bills are printed George Washington. He was the first President of America and one of the Founding Fathers of United States. Great Seal of the United States is designed on the back of one dollar bills. Two dollars bills are printed Thomas Jefferson, who was also the Founding Fathers and the maker of the Declaration of Independence. The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America is printed on the back. Five dollars bills are printed Abraham Lincoln, who was the 16th the President and Great Emancipator. On the back of five dollars bills, Lincoln Memorial which is to commemorate him is printed. Ten dollars bills are printed Alexander Hamilton. He was the draftsman of Constitution of America. The building of the Department of the Treasury is designed the back of them. Twenty dollars bills are printed Andrew Jackson, who was the 7th President. The backs of them are printed the White House which is the official residence and principal workplace of the president. Fifty dollars bills are printed Ulysses Simpson Grant, who was the 18th President and the general of Civil War. The United States Capital is figured on the back of them. One hundred dollars bills are figured Benjamin Franklin in the front, and he was a politician, a diplomat, an author, a physicist and a meteorologist. Independence Hall of the world cultural heritage is printed on the back.
Next is small changes. One cent is called penny. The bust of Abraham Lincoln has been on the penny since 1909 which was the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. Since 1959, the reverse on the penny has been an image of the Lincoln Memorial. It commemorated the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth and is found in Washington D.C. Five cents is called nickel. Since 2006, the image of Thomas Jefferson has been on the nickel. Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States and the first Secretary of State. He is the author of the Declaration of Independence and an advocate of the separation of church and state. The back of the 2006 nickel features Monticello, Jefferson’s home. Ten cents has another name, dime. The dime shows a portrait of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was released on his birthday the year after he died. The dime was a good choice because Roosevelt supported the March of Dimes, a program that raised funds for research to find a cure for polio. Roosevelt contracted the polio virus when he was 39 years old. On the back of the dime is a torch signifying Liberty, with an olive branch on the left, signifying peace, and an oak branch on the right, signifying Strength and Independence. A quarter is 4/1 of a dollar or 25 cents. Each year since January 1999 a new quarter is issued by the US Mint every 10 weeks. The quarters commemorate the 50 states. The quarters are issued in the same order in which the states were admitted to the Union. On the back of the quarter, George Washington, the first president of the United States is printed. The date at the bottom of the quarter tells the date that the coin was made at the mint. The second quarter to be released in 2005 commemorates the State of Minnesota, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” Minnesota became the 32nd state admitted into the Union on May 11, 1858. The design features a tree-lined lake with two people fishing, a loon on the water, and a textured outline of the state surrounding its nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”
Not only Japanese currency but also American currency is shown the famous people and buildings. For America, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson are very important people because they made American basis. I learned American history when I was high school student and now, but I didn’t know who is printed on the currency. Before I went to America, I didn’t know how many there were kind of small changes. I got small changes in America, but I didn’t know which changes were how much. Therefore, when I exchanged yen for dollars in Japan, I was very interested. The people who I have seen in the world history’s textbook are printed. We can see each countries’ currencies when you use them and also can know own countries’ history, culture and nature. American often doesn’t use cash, so they don’t have times which they see cash. In America, to have much money in cash is very dangerous because the robberies often brake out. However, to use credit card miss opportunities that people know own country’s history, I think. The currency is the nice means to study the country’s history. I would like to search other country’s currency to get knowledge of history, culture and nature.1030
No comments:
Post a Comment