Challenges of Spending a $100 Bill - The New York Times

I read this short piece in the New York Times last week and wanted to post on CT to share with anyone who may be interested.


The Challenges of Spending a $100 Bill from The New York Times [6/10/2010]

It's not so much an article of stellar journalism as much as a piece of fluff that solicits reader comments, which can occasionally be humorous or downright disturbing. The Times also links to another recent story that may be of interest, “The Merchants That Don’t Take Cash”.


Both articles further illuminate the trend of future paper currency-less and coin-less transactions, heading into the virtual / digital payment format, and the death of circulating paper and coins as a part of our daily lives.

 

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That the new $100 note Chris? I've yet to come across one. Maybe 'cause I have mostly singles in my wallet. (LOL)

Seriously, you do get the raised eyebrow look when you try to pass a note of this denomination. The "magic" pen comes out every time. What bothers me most (Times article) is the fact that more and more businesses are opting to refuse currency's greater than $20. Lordy me, I hate using the "plastic"......

 

Right on. Its either cash or Amex with me. Credit cards can lead to the problem of I'll just pay the rest off later....

 

That is the new $100 as pictured, however, we haven't seen the new $100 notes yet because they will not be released until February 2011.

 

So the one in the picture is counterfeit, right? No wonder folks look at us strange when we try to pass these things...j/k

 

We get hundreds and fifties in pretty good quantities everyday at the store where I work. Nobody gives them a second thought. We do check that they're real, of course.

 

No, that one pictured is not counterfeit from what I can tell. That's the new design that was announced in April 2010 and due for release February 2011.

see newmoney.org

 

My favorite comment:

As always, I'll defer to 30 Rock:

Liz: Oh this is so annoying. I just went down to the ATM to get money and it gave me a $100 bill.
Jenna: So?
Liz: It's like having confederate money. No one's gonna take that.

The ATM's I frequent only dispense $20 bills. I haven't even seen a $50 or $100 in over a year.

 

Every time I go to NYC I know not to bring any 100$ notes or change. I once gave quarters to a hot dog salesman after a great morning at the Mets. He said he wouldn't take any coins ! Same for a gift shop , I wanted to give him a dollar in quarters to unload my pockets, he firmly refused. Now every time I go to NYC I either give my change to the homeless that litter the park benches or simply refuse it myself. I also try to use as much plastic as possible.

 

I think it's horrible that we are getting away from a paperless society....I have never in my life had a bank account or credit card and I never plan on having either...If my cash is not good enough for you I am sure someone else will accept it

 

how do you pay bills and such without a bank account! i couldn't imagine never having a bank account and i am only 22. pay checks also would be a pain. there is this little cigar shop that will cash checks, even personal checks for free! i don't know why they do this, i am sure they have gotten screwed and there is no money in it for them even if everything is good? i guess just to be nice and hope to get business. i never asked, didn't want to push it..

but having anything over a $20 is hard to spend. i guess the small business don't like it because when giving change, it could dry them up. also if they get a few fake $100's, it could be devastating to them.

o well soon enough we will be using our thump print for purchases and identity theft will be cutting some poor guys finger off to access his money.

 

The cashiers at our local grocery store take out the magic pen for 20s!!

So that's the new $100, huh? I guess the previous design wasn't busy enough?

 

A few years ago, the BEP tested one of the pens on some freshly printed notes, and they all came up counterfeit.

Chris

 

I stopped using the pens a while ago. Because we were getting currency from decades back as well as U.S., the pens just weren't reliable. We use the UV light exclusively now.

 

I have over $6,000 in small portrait 100's that my grandfather left in his safe deposit box. On occasion I will take one and spend it at a family owned business. I get funny reactions as some go find the manager or owner to make sure it is real. When they pen the bill, I ask them sometimes to pen the change I get back.

 

That's funny!

 

I live in NJ where everything it seems is fake. When ever I cash my checks I always ask for 20's in return. Having hundreds is just a pain. The only time I use them is for my reserve Mad money for going to shows or emer. spending.


Steve

 

Wow, I take 50's and 100's no problem. I just make sure that either I or my employees confirm them three ways for each one... pen, denomination strip, and watermark. Takes about 5 seconds and can save us hundreds in liabilities. I'll refuse older ones if I'm not comfortable with them, but haven't had that issue yet.

 

I've been in retail for thirty years. My shop has literally taken in tens of millions in cash during that time. We've detected a grand total of two - that's right two - counterfeit notes. A pretty well done fake hundred and an atrocious fake ten.

The damage done to the economy by fear of counterfeit notes dwarfs the damage done by counterfeit notes themselves.

 

Management? I'm sick of retail management after 2 years! I couldn't imagine 30...

Out of curiosity, you're located in Texas? At my old job, I picked out 5 counterfeits in 2 years.