Talk:United States dollar/BankNotes

Green

Is there any good reason that all the American bills are green? I mean why didn't they use different colours for every bill like in Canada, I mean, like in every other country in the world that I have ever been to (which includes most of Western Europe, pre-Euro). dave 06:02 May 14, 2003 (UTC)

Yeah, tradition. What I remember from school is that U.S. currency is green is because it was extremely expensive to make green ink, then (during the Civil War). But, when I started looking around, there seems to be a lot speculation, but there apparently is no one reason known, but green ink fades much more slowly than other colors. Please don't compare the Almighty Greenback to Western European currency. Seriously, though; if you were comparing it to others from all over, that would be different, but don't group the U.S. in with Western Europe and don't buy that "common culture" crap. We, really, have very little in common with Europe.

No doubt! I don't like this Monopoly money other countries have. Long live the greenback . . . heck, I'm upset that they've added a bit of color to the $20 bill.

Personally, I think all the bills should be in completely different colors. It discourages counterfeiting (as the bills are in different colors, not just green) and it looks nice. The new $20 bill just looks like it's been dipped in dark green paint or something at either end. Oh, and towards the second person, he was talking about the pre-Euro currencies. I wouldn't exactly call it the "almighty greenback" now, seeing as the US dollar is falling against many major currencies. :P

You mean....2? 2 is 'many'? There are only two currencies that are worth more than the US's, and one is for an entire alliance, lol. I think 'Almighty' still works (since our money is used by more people than any other currency) =D -Just a passing soul

Beauty

I know this isn't a truly appropriate question for a Talk page (delete if you must), but why are the Swiss franken so beautiful? Compared to say, the United States Dollar. This blog touched on this question. Even the Zimbabwean dollar is in color. The 50 and 20 bill have some redeeming features, but overall the US currency is very bland. Is there a reason for this? ALTON .ıl 05:07, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Black People On Bills

This is bull. How many years has it been since the White people have been on Dollar Bills? 2008, Abraham Lincolns 5 Dollar Bill is going to get pimped and nothing for the Black People?

Martin Luther King should be on a $ 40.00

Details:

Front, The Picture when Martin Luther King looks at the Camera crossing his arms.

Back, His Family (Coretta Scott King with Denise, Martin, Dexter and Bernice and Dr. Kings Childhood House he grew up in)

Malcolm X should be on a $ 60.00

Front, The Picture when Malcolm X Points at his Head.

Back, The Picture of the Church where He got Shot at (The Ballroom).

Rosa Parks should be on a $ 70.00

Front, Any Picture, we got to vote for one.

Back, Either Her House or The Bus she was sitting in.

There is no strategic reason to create a 40, 60, or 70 note. Black people have been recognized on federal notes. Here is the article, African Americans on Currency. There is possible room for a coin series. They are about to do a "dead president" series of dollar coins, maybe they will do a civil rights and womans suffrage series. Killer Swath 23:15, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

There is, however, a need to utilize $2 bill and $1 coin more. Remove the penny, change quarter to 20 cent, utilize 50 cent fully. It saves your tax money! --ChoChoPK (球球PK) (talk | contrib) 00:23, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

i wouldn't put a black person on a $40. someone would get offended because "40" is slang for 40 ounces and it would be considered racist. if you want a practical solution just remove all pictures and references to people and history. 70.112.50.83 12:35, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Spanish affecting currency??

Spanish appears to be getting so popular in the United States now, meaning that I find it likely that there might be a version of the currency with Spanish words on it. Any opinions?? Georgia guy 21:53, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

I think eventually that might happen, but not for a long time. It's still rare to encounter people who only speak Spanish in northern states. --71.225.229.151 23:56, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

Anything is possible in the future, but I would be highly doubtful that spanish will really become competitive as a common language of discouse with English in the United States. Immigrants speak the language they grew up with. Their children speak that language at home and English elsewhere. Their grandchildren speak English and perhaps the first language secondarily. This has been the historical pattern within the US for as long as there has been a US, and is the pattern even with modern hispanic immigrants more than most people realize. To wit, my maternal grandparents spoke spanish, and I did not learn spanish until my late 20's. My paternal great great grandparents spoke German, Italian, Gaelic, and Polish. My Grandparents spoke english. My first wife was the daughter of spanish speaking parents, and spoke not-quite-fluent spanish. Xenophobic Americans really need not worry any more about Spanish today than they worried about German in the 1800's (which was quite a bit, but still unwarrented).

New & old $20 notes

Reading the bit about the introduction of new coloured bills - for how long will the old ones remain valid? - MPF 16:06, 27 Mar 2004 (UTC)

American currency remains valid at face value forever. - knoodelhed 05:28, 28 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Thanks; got the impression the old style were being withdrawn because of the ease of conterfeiting them - MPF 11:45, 28 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The notes are technically valid indefinitely, but paper currency degrades a LOT with repeated handling. It is likely that the older styles of bill will become more and more rare as time passes. This doesn't, unfortunately, stop the problem of it being possible to create many Series 1990 $20 bills, screw them up a bit and pass them off with the excuse "I just found these" or similar. :( RDevz 22:25, 3 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Rarity of $50 bill

Banknotes Frequently used $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 Rarely used $2

I think the $50 should be added to the rarely used section. It is never given as change, and is not commonly used. The $20 and the $100 are much more common.

Jamesinclair 19:45, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

Now, what is the purpose of separating the bills into frequently used and rarely used?? Georgia guy 19:48, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

I grew up in a place where everything is frequently used. It was surprising to me when I first knew that $50 and $100 notes are not really used in Americans' daily life. --Chochopk 21:06, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

I would also call the 100 frequently used. People get them everytime they cash thier checks, or to go on a trip, or out for the night. Joe I 21:26, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

• I would argue that only the $2 bill (and any historic denominations no longer printed) belong in the "rare" section. 7% of the bills printed are $100 bills; if I got one from a bank, I would not think this a rare event. $50s are not quite as common, but "rare" is still not appropriate. — brighterorange (talk) 19:58, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

I guess my bar is a little different than you guys'. 7% may seem like a high number. But more $100 bills are used internatioanally, relative to smaller bills. Of course, if you go to a bank, you can get $100, $50, $2, $1 coin, and 50 cent coin. But I would still consider them "rare" in terms of daily usage. When an average American wants to buy a piece of electronic that is worth a few hundred dollars from a physical store, is it more common to pay with credit/debit card, or with a few hundred-dollar bills, or with, or with a stack of $20 bills taken from an ATM? Another important factor for higher valued notes for me is whether or not they are given by ATM. I would like to draw an analogy with Icelandic króna, where ATMs dispense 500, 1000, and 5000 króna notes, making 2000 krónur "rarely used". --Chochopk 01:21, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

• I grew up seeing $50 bills commonly, and $100 bills less commonly, but not entirely infrequent. Either way, $50 bills are not an uncommon currency.Dothefandango 19:53, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

In my experience as a cashier, anything paid in cash over about $200 or so is likely to include at least one $50 or $100 bill. Yes, I've seen large numbers of $20's used (just today, I had a customer pay with 37 $20 bills), but it's not as common as using $100's. Of course, most people will use electronic payments for that, but still, I'd say $50's and $100's are not "rarely used", at least among those segments of the population that use cash for large transactions Nik42 09:30, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Although most cash registers do not have a place for a 50, I think it is unwise to say that the 50 is a rare denomination. RSido 03:48, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

If I pay $23 of goods with a single $100 bill, what is the probability that the cashier will return me $50 + $20 + $5 + $2 and what is the probability that the cashier will return me $20 * 3 + $10 + $5 + $1 * 2? May I ask what is your definition of "rare". --ChoChoPK (球球PK) (talk | contrib) 20:57, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

When I work at a cash register, I usually store $50 and $100 notes under the register tray (it is still in the drawer). They are less common because there is usually no need to carry such large notes for common everyday transactions. However, I feel the $50 note is as, if not more, popular than the $100. Why else would it get its security upgrades first? Killer Swath 23:22, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

I've been working retail for over thirty years now. At one time $50 and $100 dollar bills were exotic and seldom to be seen; but this is simply no longer the case. In the course of an ordinary 8-hour shift, I may take in as many as 12-20 or more of these bills. In high-end establishments, the numbers are no doubt far higher. You need to update your information! --Orange Mike 15:13, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Template talk:Infobox Currency has a detail guide line. Just search "Frequent v.s. rare" to get to it quickly. I have a question for Orange Mike. In the same 8-hour shift, how many $20 bills do you take? When you say 12-20, is it a combined figure for $50 and $100? What would you answer for the question that I raised about $23 and change. If the change is $7x (seventy something), how likely is it you give the $70 as $50 + $20 (2 bills), and how likely is it that you give $20 * 3 + $10 (4 bill). IMHO, only if the first combination is higher than 50%, $50 would qualify as frequently used. 2 bills is the only natural choice over 4 bill if $50 is at abundance. If ATMs don't give these denominations, people would have to go to a bank in person to get it. How often do you go to an ATM in a month, and how often do you go to a bank in a month? --ChoChoPK (球球PK) (talk | contrib) 23:26, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

The problem, as it so often does, lies partly in the creation of false dualisms; the old excluded middle. Twenties? 40-70 per shift. The figure is combined for $50 and $100. I'd give them a $50 and a $20, always. I never go to ATMs, and to my credit union about 6/times a month. If I'm getting $100 or more, my C.U. always puts $50s in the mix, and $100s if the sum is big enough. I'd say put the $50 and $100 in neither class.--Orange Mike 00:24, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Are you suggesting putting everything in one row, ambiguating this question? I'd like to hear the opinions of others before making change. If the article (which is a somewhat high profile article) is in this state for a long time, that must mean many editors implicitly approved. --ChoChoPK (球球PK) (talk | contrib) 00:54, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

The $200 bill

Somebody who saw this page appears to think that there was a $200 bill with Theodore Roosevelt. What kind of person says this??

-I don't know, but until the goverment began withdrawing them in '69 there were $500 (William McKinley), $1,000 (Grover Cleveland), $5,000 (James Madison), and $10,000 (Salmon P. Chase) denomination bills issued by the Federal Reserve. I saw a $10,000 bill bookmark today, not the actual thing but just a bookmark made made to look like it, and figured it was some joke because I didn't figure they had ever gone over $1,000 bills (yes, I actually knew about the thousand dollar bill). So I had to get out the old volume M of the World Book Encyclopedia I've got here, 1983 copyright as I don't know if anything newer will still have the pics or any information on these, and looked it up. Page 594 has a picture of the faces of all four on it with a heading on large US bills. They also make up the last sentence of the first full paragraph on page 596. Maybe these actually deserve a spot in this article. -anonymous 10/07/06 edit: Just looked up on the web to see if I could find pics of these four denominations incase someone does want to add a mention of their one time exsistence. Large denomination bills. I did learn that there was a $100,000 gold note with FDR's image on it, but the public never saw it and it's printing was limited to three weeks. Also check the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as it reveals who was on some of these bills during their blue phase.