So Much for "Cash is King"

Anyone who is older has seen it coming for some time, the young ones (not the brit comedy) has only known a world with this as a reality. That reality is the extinction of physical currency.

A friend owed me money and he paid me in hundred dollar bills. I put them in my wallet because it always has been a habit of mine to keep a bit of cash on hand.

My credit card has become old and worn and it has begun to cause problems for the card reader and recently one just would not read it so I pulled out the hundred to pay and was told 'we don't accept bills over 50'

So I left and went to another store and decided to pay cash out of curiosity and sure enough the next 3 stores would not accept a 100 dollar bill.

So much for 'legal tender for all debts public and private' and 'cash is king'

First checks and credit cards, now electronic transfers and apps. My young daughter never uses cash. I give her allowance in cash which sits in a box and when she wants something she gives it back to me and has me buy it on the card.

As an historian and numismatist I do mourn not just the diminished role, the nigh extinction of physical currency, but the diminished quality of the artistry and craft of coins that began...well around the time I was born. There are few coins I find interesting after 1970 maybe, with some exceptions, but that might just be me...

I guess one still needs to have physical currency but I can see a time when they just won't bother. A friend postulated that maybe in the future we will all be issued account numbers at birth like social security numbers and all transactions will be digital.

I also must admit I rarely use cash any more this the reason why my card was so worn.

 

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I don't agree with your statement. I think cash still has a huge place. The problem is that you were trying to pay with 100's. Most places don't accept them because either:

1) They don't want to use up all their smaller bills making change for one large one.
2) They don't want to take the risk of getting a fake bill and losing that money.

Break those hundreds into smaller notes and you would have absolutely zero problem using them anywhere. Guaranteed.

 

So true. There is a furniture store near us. My wife found something she liked but they wouldn't take credit cards or a check - only cash. That was different, but we didn't buy from them. My wife and I were bowling in a league. Two HS age boys on the other team. They couldn't keep score because this lane didn't have automatic scoring. To add 9 pins to 15 they had to use their fingers. Yes, it is strange. Ask @paddyman98 how it is he gets so much FOG. The kids don't know how to use cash or count it out to accumulate it. Sad times coming for the next generations.

 

And whose fault is that? You can't blame the younger generations who weren't taught by the boomers... Same way boomers blame gen X'ers for always needing a trophy for everything...well who were the ones that gave those kids trophies for everything to begin with?
The responsibility/fault lies with them.

 

Then there is Murphy's Law. Twice we went to Walmart and bought something that should be about $100. So, just give them a $11 bill and get some change. Both time the cost was just over $100. I think most stores and Doctor offices have sensors that scan how much you have.

 

If you tried to give them an $11 dollar bill you should've been arrested for theft

 

I wonder if the younger generations would catch that? Would they have to count on their fingers? I should feel offended and you should get a trophy.

 

Ok, Boomer

 

We have the self checkouts at a lot of the stores. Those machines are always stocked with cash to make change for $100 bills.

 

Worse than that: how about counterfeiting??

 

Is it counterfeit if it doesn't exist to begin with? I wasn't sure, so I went with theft.

 

I didn't know that. Generally I use small change, literally, my wife gives me in the self checkout lane.

 

I only take cash. In my area, checks aren’t worth the paper they are printed on (depends on who writes them) and I don’t take cards do to the fees. If you say small bills will be accepted anywhere, please tell me what hotel/motel will take it? This is becoming more prevalent in some other businesses.

 

I always use those machines to make change for large bills. Most gas stations won't take large bills. So, when I pay for gas I have smaller bills from the auto bill changers. Works like a charm. Except for normal utilities I use cash for everything. I bought a washer and dryer through the self checkout with a stack of $100s. It can be done.

 

Cash is freedom. The new generation thinks convenience is king. Nope.

 

There are hotels that will take cash, they also rent rooms by the hour.

 

I generally get $50's when I withdraw from the bank.
As for the bowling score, I learned that when I was very young. And part of the
problem why kids today can't do it, is this common core math garbage, which
has nothing to do with math. Stop trying to fix things that don't need it.

 

I stand corrected! I usually sleep more than an hour at a time.

 

Perhaps I was too "harsh"; how about
IMPOSTURE, FRAUD, SHAM, FAKE, HUMBUG, COUNTERFEIT mean a thing made to seem other than it is.

 

I gotta be honest; ever since the replacement of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar in 1948, I think the quality of our coinage design has gone nowhere but downhill.