Have you seen the new US money they’re printing? I had gotten used to the 20s but I got a 10 at the grocery store the other day and it really surprised me — it’s totally orange. I miss the green. Bringing things full-circle, my second blog post ever was about meeting the US Treasurer and talking about the new colors. The more things change…
Yeah, the 10s completely catch me off guard everytime I see them. It’s not that I mind them, it’s just so different.
Have you noticed how the only cool URL from the U.S. government is http://www.moneyfactory.gov? Not departmentofprintingandengraving.gov or some such nonsense, but a really slick marketing-type URL.
I haven’t seen the new 10s yet, but then again, I don’t often carry around or get cash either.
Yeah, the first time I got one of those new tens I was totally convinced it was a bad counterfeit. Had I noticed it before I left the store, I probably would’ve demanded a different one.
The first time I got a ten I thought it was pretty weird as well, but I’m kind of getting used to those as well
Wait, you actually use cash at the grocery store? š
You guys with your boring American money…
You need to come downunda and see some really colourful banknotes. Here in Australia, our banknotes are (i) made of plastic; (ii) have a clear window as part of the security features; (iii) are ALL different colours (and sizes). Check ’em out here: http://www.rba.gov.au/CurrencyNotes/NotesInCirculation/index.html.
I am writing this curled under the cozy warmth of a Canadian fifty-eight-dollar-and-seventy-three-cent note, which measures three meters by one and a half meters and is printed on bleached beaver pelts.
Beat that, Richard. š
Heh, I came here specifically to mention Australian bills. I worked at the Swedish National Bank for a while as a “cash manager” – it pretty much meant that I counted money and made sure nothing was counterfeit. I mostly did Swedish bills (coins were handled elsewhere – usually involving forklifts), but I did get to see currency from all over the world.
American dollars were the most boring bills I saw there. Dirt-green like they’ve been dragged in the dirt.
Green and orange, who came up with that combination?
Richard, different colors is all very nice, but different sizes? How did that ever become comfortable?
Word! All the banknotes are made of plastic here in Romania also, with a clear window. Much more durable. But then again, you don’t use cash as much as us.
The current monetary system is a hoax. Every Federal Reserve Note being printed is increasing inflation and thus decreasing the value of the Notes in your wallet, daily. Until US currency is backed by silver or gold, we’re heading for trouble.
I suggest reading “The Creature from Jekyll Island” (http://www.store.yahoo.com/realityzone/creature.html), an excellent book by G. Edward Griffin. Other names to search regarding the fiat money system: Webster Tarpley and Dr. Bill Veith.
Go us aussies
European money is equally colorful š
http://www.euro.ecb.int/en/section/testnotes.html
Richard, your government’s currency department has a horrible, uncool URL. Petition them to change it!
I do think the Australian notes look mucho cool, but even more than Canadian money look like the notes from Monopoly.
Jason, US “fiat” money is backed by all the goods and services in the United States. Tying your currency to a mineral of artificial scarcity makes it impossible for macroeconomic policy to adjust available liquidity and you end up with huge and damaging boom/bust cycles, like we had for the entire history of America until the 70s.
Can you imagine how it is for those of us who grew up in the ’60s left and stateside in the ’70s? We never know what is what anymore except for the net!
That’s supposed to read “and left stateside”! I guess that after being oversease for so long, my backward speech isn’t limited to vocal expression only. lol
Jason: God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and the Gold Standard.
OK, when I said ‘different sizes’ I should have said ‘different lengths’ (wonder if THAT’ll get through the filters…).
It’s really not a problem – they all sit flush in your wallet, and it’s just a little additional cue as to which one is which. I know that when I travel stateside, I often frustrate people as I figure out which note is which when I pay for something.
And hey – can you pay for a cab with a credit card in the States yet? I never pay cash in taxis here. Got caught out by that one running late for a flight in Nashville once…
That is so great! What I hate when visiting other countries is their lack of understanding that distinctive money helps. Like coins which have no numbers, telling what kind of coin it is (Brits, US, ..), or notes, that are of same color. Barf. š
Some of the cabs in New York are equipped with a credit card swiper, but it’s not a standard yet.
“Jason, US “fiat”Ā money is backed by all the goods and services in the United States. Tying your currency to a mineral of artificial scarcity makes it impossible for macroeconomic policy to adjust available liquidity and you end up with huge and damaging boom/bust cycles, like we had for the entire history of America until the 70s.”
Would it be wildly inappropriate of me to post something along the lines of “PWNED!” š
Evidently someone managed not to fall asleep in macroeconomics class – which is quite the challenge…
The moment you remove the value of a currency from something of strict availability (I don’t see how gold is “artificially” scarce), you have no consistent measure of value. Imagine the value of a centimeter daily redefined by experts in macro-metric policy!
A true US Dollar is defined by the Coinage Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinage_Act_(1792)) as 371.25 grains of silver in the form of a coin.
Way back when, as banks began to issue paper receipts for the (heavier) metal coins, paper currency bacame popular. Yet, your paper was still worth the exact amount of precious metal you deposited in the bank. It was a receipt!
After bankers realized they were only issuing receipts for about 10-20% of the actual coins on deposit, they decided they could simply issue more reciepts for money they didn’t have on deposit (and still charge interest on it). Fractional Reserve Banking is born.
The US Fed Note eventually came to be backed by oil (that’s not hyperbole) after Nixon agreed in 1971 to remove the currency completely from a gold standard and agreed with oil producers to only accept US Federal Reserve Notes as payment for oil. Ask Saddam Hussein what happens when you stop accepting US Fed Notes as payment for oil.
I once dated a guy who was actually given 20’s by the bank, somehow, that were from the era when you could (at least theoretically) demand to exchange the banknote for gold. McDonald’s wouldn’t take one of the twenties, so I traded him for one I had. Turned out to be worth quite a bit of money. š
Ladies and gentlemen, the best designed currency (notes and coins) is British.
Scratch that link, folks. This is where you want to go.
I’ve just got some USD for a trip to Kenya, and got brand new notes.
Owen, I’m in UK but will actually argue that Australian Dollars are the best currency.
Oz Dollars are made of plastic and so are water-proof!
My main criticism of USD is that the notes are all the same size, making it impossible for blind users to tell them apart. At least the new colours help the vision-impaired users.
I , personally like the new bills. They are clean, freash, and look WAYY better than the old, green, rotten spinich colored bills.