Why aren't US Notes made w/ Round Corners ( = less wear)?

I hear that's at least one reason why coins are round or circular - to last much longer, which probably became standardized by convention from eons ago, then in more modern times further propagated by the vending machine industry so as to not turn back (though it's probably going to transition to more and more plastic / card based vending).

Anyway, why don't they simply round out the corners to create less wear for US notes, or make the note (even slightly) oval shaped? It probably won't look as good to make it oval-shaped (at least IMHO), but what about rounded corners? Would such changes not have any significant effect to paper notes' durability? And, I'm sure there would be push back by the TPGs due to commercial reasons for new modern notes.

Maybe the better question is, where do notes experience the greatest amount of wear, if not the corners?

 

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I am actually not sure. Maybe it makes them easier to pack?

 

The machine can't cut and stack round corners. Besides, the elderly would not be able to mark the corners with ink , like I'll be doing someday.

 

I haven't quite yet received the Elderly User Guide, how/why are notes marked?

 

But if round corners would yield a significant minimum increase in paper notes' durability (a big IF, since that's what I'm asking about), then why not transition to different machines that are capable of cutting and stacking round corners? Or, are you saying that it's not possible or extremely difficult for machines to work with rounded corner notes?

 

That would cost WAY too much money. It probably would not be worth it.

 

W.C. Fields once said something like "When I first started playing poker I couldn't tell one card from another, but I stayed up one night and marked them with a pen"

 

I can see that point, but if the machines ever needed a rehauling...

Though, the challenge with that would be waiting for the chance occurence that all of the machines broke down all at once. Though, if repair costs are significant enough, then maybe a rehaul would make sense. And, I can see fewer and fewer paper notes getting printed in the future, so fewer machines would need to takes it place (and conversely, there would be less of a desire to invest in new paper note machines).

 

The chance of the machines all breaking down would be, to say the least, nearly impossible and disastrous. The machines are well taken care of, and so the chance that even one of them would break down is insanely small. Besides, by the time this would happen far in the future, we would be entirely digital

As for the change, my thought is that the $1 bills would be changed first. Since this is the most used paper denomination, it wears the fastest and consequently would probably need round corners for less wear.

Or, possibly there would be a change in larger bills, maybe the $100. Since these are used less, there would be more time for the U.S. to change the bills without there being a shortage.

 

The elderly mark the corners so they can see the value. Easier to do now with the change in the bills but on the greenbacks they had trouble. Have you ever seen a Red Seal $5.00 bill with torn corners. Same thing.

 

Interesting. I did not know that.

 

This is the government you're talking about. It always boils down to money.

 

Yep, always.

 

I think the premise is flawed. Rounded corners would still get creased. And who cares if a current bill gets corner creases or tears? Other than collectors.

 

That would make sense with notes - color is easier to identify at the corners than to pull out the notes and try and see what the notes read as, especially if one has far-sided or overall worsening vision. Age consumes us all.

Yes, but less prone to damage, no?

Wouldn't a rounded "corner" exhibit far less wear than a sharp right angle corner?

Hence, the titled premise, "Round Corners ( = less wear)".

And, if the corners cause a cumulative degradation of the note's condition, thereby creating a significant loss of longevity to notes, then the notes can stay in circulation for longer = less cost to make notes. That's what I was getting at with the first post - if it would be significant enough to affect the durability of the notes and if the corners should be the primary area of focus for wear reduction. If it's not significant enough a change after conducting experiments, then that would be a good reason why the corners should remain as-is. And, "significant" can be defined and calculated by the BEP/government's cost savings as fewer notes experience turnover.

 

It's not my experience that this is true.

 

I think you will find that coins are circular because that is how metal flows when it is compressed by a die.

Paper money has right angle edges because that is the way straight blades cut. Curving blades or using dies to cut paper other than straight leads to greater expense in the manufacturing and maintenance of the machines.

 

Most of the worn out notes I've seen have been because of folding, not corners.
Repeated folding leads to weakening the note to tearing.

 

The process to make a curved cut verses a straight cut with paper, requires totally different machines and cutting blades. The stresses put on the paper are also totally different. Straight cuts use a large blade that cuts through the paper at an angle, similar to how you saw through wood but in one stroke. Curved cuts are cause by a die with the proper radius. The pressure comes directly from the top down. This type of cut also puts stresses on the paper from multiple directions which can easily buckle the paper and therefore create more waste and jamming of the equipment. The straight edge blade only puts stress from one direction and that can be countered with blocking guides. Practically no waste. So you would need two machines to complete a bill with rounded corners verses one machine. You double the expense from equipment, manpower, handling, set up and on down to the additional waste of product. That is expensive. Bills that are pulled from use have a lot more wrong with them than just the wear on their corners.