Visit the Money Factory at Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas

Most of you may not be aware of the fact that the U.S. currency is printed at only two places in the entire world. The first place is Washington DC, our nation's capital. And the second place is at the Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. I had an opportunity to visit this second facility, which is located at 9000 Blue Mound Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76131, last week. I was amazed to see the various stages involved in printing the currency, quality and security checks employed at all the stages and the amount of the currency printed in one single day. Can you imagine that currency worth $202.9 million is printed here at the Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth every single day?

We left our home, situated in the city of Plano at around 10 am in the morning and reached the giant money factory in Fort Worth at around 11.30 am. While we were parking our car, we could listen to various security announcements made by the facility staff. As per that, we were asked to leave our cell phone, any type of electronic items in the car only. We entered the building and went through the thorough security check. As soon as the security check was over, a very luxurious bus transferred us to the visitor's center of the facility. We were welcomed at the visitor's center and each of us was issued a yellow sticker, which indicated that we belong to yellow tour, starting at 12.30 pm. As we had some time left, we moved around both the floors of the visitor's center to observe all the specimens displayed in the lobby. Many photographs and the newspaper cuttings exhibited the detailed history of the US currency. Our tour guide took us exactly at 12.30 pm for the 45 minutes free educational tour of the facility. The tour started with the stacks of papers received from the paper supplier. Though, the papers looked white, it was not so. When the paper was put against the light, the dark green color was evident in it. The US currency is printed using three types of inks on a single off set printer, which itself is extremely rare. The printing presses used here were working at the pressure of 20000 lbs/square inches.

The tour showed all other sections like printing, cutting, and the final numbering and the security marks placing on each currency note along with the strictest quality checks done at all the stages. We were lucky to see millions of dollars stacks on that day. The final stage of making the bricks of the printed currency was really very exciting. We were surprised to learn that the paper on which the currency notes are printed can hardly be called a paper but it is more of a fiber cloth. That is the reason why these notes can be used again after drying even if it goes in to washing cycle along with clothes. There are in all 850 employees working at the facility. Out of this, 450 employees are working in the production department. The 80 % of the currency printed here is for the replacement purpose. The currency notes are taken out of circulation in case the notes get crimpled or torn. The maximum currency notes printed are for $1, which comprises around 43% and the remaining are for the other denominations. The second-generation currency notes have been already introduced for $1, $5, $10, and $20, which incorporate many new watermarks, adding to more security. This step would make it extremely difficult to counterfeit our US money. Each currency note printed here at Fort Worth facility has small letters FW written on the right hand bottom or the top. The currency notes printed at Washington DC are not having any type of markings. Hence, one can easily know the origin of each currency note. The Federal Reserve Bank issues the order to both the money factories in the USA and the printed notes are delivered to them by both these facilities. There is a movie theater here at the visitor's center, which shows the film explaining all the stages of the printing of currency notes giving all the technical details. This 15-minute film should not be missed at any cost during your visit. There is also a souvenir shop here at the ground floor of the visitor's center, which sells many types of the souvenir items like pens, key chains, tee shirts, shredded rejected currency notes, uncut currency notes, and the unique $2 bills.

This unique facility can be visited on any weekdays from 9 am to 2.00 pm. The last tour starts at 2.00 pm. You can book your tour in advance if you are having a group of more than ten people by contacting on phone number 817 231 4000. The facility works all 24 hours a day for 5 days a week. It remains closed during weekends and the major USA holidays. We all immensely enjoyed our unique visit to Western Currency Facility and it gave us positive feelings that we saw something unique in our life. I would strongly urge all my readers to visit this unique facility either at Fort Worth or Washington DC.