It's only been two days and I've already had enough.

[alowlypotato]

And yet someone always hangs on to a 50 or 100 more ancient than any 1 or 5 I've ever seen. >.<

Well...well...they're cool!

I have a $100 bill from 1934 that I just can't part with. It's vibrantly green, and the paper has a slightly glossy finish, and it says "Will pay to the bearer on demand" under Ben Franklin's portrait. It's AWESOME. I look at it and I think of men in bowler hats getting up to shenanigans.

...I'm a dork.

[Gibbo]

"I am sir, you're forgetting about that forecourt you went to in Minnesota."

Also, gloves? What for? This is the first I've heard of stations having gloves.

We have latex gloves in the shop. We are supposed to leave them in the dispensers on the forecourt but people tend to be rather liberal with the amount they take so we have to keep them behind the counter to make sure we have enough for anyone who wants them. It must be a British thing.

[XCashier]

Also our notes are a bit more colourful than yours;

We're starting to catch up!

[TheMike]

Oh, darn, you mean that old currency I saved as a souvenir from my 1982 trip to London is no good anymore?

Heck, that money might be worth more to a coin collector... maybe in a few more years anyway.

[SongsOfDragons]

We're starting to catch up!

(image of shinies above)

Ooooh!! They are shiny. I've only ever seen the $1 and $2 and get sucked in by old cartoons printing pictures of George Washington in green ink...

Though neither of us can take on Australian notes. They're JAZZY.

[XCashier]

Though neither of us can take on Australian notes. They're JAZZY.

I used to work at a coin shop. I've seen notes from other countries that are amazingly colorful. I'm a little sad the US took so long to catch up, to be honest.

Then again, we still can't get a dollar coin into general usage, so...

[PatchO'Black]

While it is true, U.S. currency may seem a tad bland compared to other countries, we rarely have it confused with Monopoly money!

I kid, of course. If a country decides they like their money to be bright and colorful, more power to them!

[Magpie]

While it is true, U.S. currency may seem a tad bland compared to other countries, we rarely have it confused with Monopoly money!

Only in the US does it not look like toy money . I had to buy some from the bank recently (I didn't trust my credit card not to gouge me if I used it at the conference). The lack of security features is most of it, the fact that it's so plain (yes, I know, that's a lack of security features) is the other part. That and it all looks the same, no matter what it's worth. I ended up with a lot of $1 bills, because I didn't know what I had in my wallet. (Anyone want to give tips on how to keep track of this stuff when you can't tell by looking?)

[Gibbo]

We get the new Bank of Scotland notes all the time and they look like toy money to me.

[LadyAndreca]

Ooooh!! They are shiny. I've only ever seen the $1 and $2 and get sucked in by old cartoons printing pictures of George Washington in green ink...

Though neither of us can take on Australian notes. They're JAZZY.

If you've seen a $2, that's more than a lot of Americans have. They're pretty rare to find in circulation - to the point where every couple of years a story seems to crop up about someone getting arrested for trying use them because no one in the store has even HEARD of them. Most people who have one seem to have been given them by a relative and keep them because of the rareness rather than spend them.

[Bloodsoul]

From what I understand, half the reason $2 bills are rare is because people think they're rare and collect instead of spend.

[LadyAndreca]

From what I understand, half the reason $2 bills are rare is because people think they're rare and collect instead of spend.

Possibly. I think it's also the fact that, like the 50-cent piece, it's considered awkward to deal with. In some places, they're considered unlucky, so you can't spend them because the individual cashiers won't take them.

What it all means is that I can count on one hand the number of times I've recieved a $2 as part of a payment in the last ten years working retail. And I've owned maybe 3 in my life.

[XCashier]

While it is true, U.S. currency may seem a tad bland compared to other countries, we rarely have it confused with Monopoly money!

When the color bills first came out, I heard lots of old fogies complaining that "they look like Monopoly money!" Funny, I don't see a train anywhere on them...

If you've seen a $2, that's more than a lot of Americans have. They're pretty rare to find in circulation - to the point where every couple of years a story seems to crop up about someone getting arrested for trying use them because no one in the store has even HEARD of them.

Like this story.

From what I understand, half the reason $2 bills are rare is because people think they're rare and collect instead of spend.

Yep, same with the dollar coin.

[LadyAndreca]

When the color bills first came out, I heard lots of old fogies complaining that "they look like Monopoly money!" Funny, I don't see a train anywhere on them...

Like this story.

Yep, same with the dollar coin.

The dollar coins aren't rare around here. Twice this week I've had someone pay me for a $30 order all in dollar coins, and another cashier says she has this week too. One of my two was making some sort of attempt to get back at us because his card declined and he had to go to the bank for cash, but I was far from upset. In fact, I was happy about it--I swapped in some Susan Bs I had in my pocket and got Tyler, Polk, and Taylor out of it.

(For those not in the US, Susan B. Anthony was on the silver dollar coin from 79-81 and in 99. From '99 to the present, there were Sacagawea brass dollar coins. And starting in '07, they started minting a Presidential brass dollar series as well.)

[Becks]

I have a $100 bill from 1934 that I just can't part with. It's vibrantly green, and the paper has a slightly glossy finish, and it says "Will pay to the bearer on demand" under Ben Franklin's portrait.

Sounds rather like a silver certificate.