Did you know that banknotes are not made of paper?

Banknotes are made from a combination of cotton and linen, which makes them more durable and less prone to tearing. There are several reasons why banknotes are not made of paper. If banknotes were made of paper (wood pulp), they would easily get damaged if accidentally washed. Additionally, counterfeiting would be much easier with paper banknotes, whereas the cotton-paper blend is much more difficult to replicate.

Some countries, such as Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, now even use polymer (plastic) for their banknotes. This material not only makes banknotes harder to counterfeit due to the possibilities for complex transparent windows, embossing, and other advanced security features that are difficult to reproduce, but polymer banknotes also last on average three to four times longer than cotton-based notes, reducing their environmental footprint since they need to be replaced less frequently.

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