The last Lincoln penny was recently struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. Its removal from circulation marks just one of many changes that American currency has undergone since 1792, when the dollar was officially established as the monetary unit of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln is one of 40 deceased presidents who have appeared on U.S. coins, yet only a baker’s dozen has been featured on paper notes.

The story of American money is rooted in the colonial era when a patchwork of foreign coins and early colonial issues circulated throughout the colonies.

Because England forbade the colonies from minting coins, early settlers relied mainly on British pounds and Spanish dollars in commerce, the latter serving as the principal tender. To make change, the Spanish coin was divided into

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