How do you know where american paper money is printed?

To tell where a bill was printed, look for a plate position indicator on the bill's front. It's a letter with a small number to the right and indicates where a particular bill was located on the printing sheet before the bills were cut apart.

If the indicator has a small "FW" to the left of the letter it was printed at Fort Worth. No "FW" means it was printed in Washington. For example

- A bill with the indicator B3 was printed in Washington.

- A bill with FWC2 came from Fort Worth.

MythbustingContrary to popular misconceptions, the US Mint does NOT print paper money; they only make coins. The BEP and Mint are both parts of the Treasury Department, but they're entirely separate operations.