Last year, a record number of 50-dollar bills were printed, CNN reports.

In total, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing printed 756,096,000 such banknotes. This is the highest nominal value printed in one year for more than 40 years. If you add all these 50 dollars together, it will be about $37.8 billion.

The $50 bill is an unusual and very unpopular denomination. In 2019, only 3.5% of all printed US banknotes were $ 50, in 2022 this figure increased to 8.5%.

So why are there more 50-dollar bills? Surprisingly, this has nothing to do with inflation.

It all started with a pandemic.

The US Federal Reserve Service (FRS) has found that people have started saving cash, and it is easiest to save large bills. After 2020, US citizens began carrying more cash in their wallets, cars, homes and other places. Taking this into account, the Fed ordered a sharp increase in the rate by $ 50.

Before the pandemic, the $50 bill was one of the rarest bills ordered in recent years, with the exception of the $2 bill. But in 2021 and 2022, the Fed ordered more $50 than $10 and $5.

At first glance, the surge in demand for physical money in quarantine conditions does not make sense. But according to analysts at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bureau, the demand for cash and the actual cash payment are two different things. Their data also shows that Americans use less cash in daily purchases, and the amount held by consumers remains elevated compared to what it was before the pandemic.

It should be noted that the printing of various denominations has returned to the normal level this year. This is evidenced by the Fed's printing orders for 2023 and 2024.