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why do I keep seeing bills from the 80s and 90s? I work in a convenience store and I see a lot of bills.

I said *much* currency has only an 18-month lifespan. :) Dollar bills and $20s are the quickest to get worn out. Better yet, here's some info from the Fed (courtesy of moneyfactory.com, yes, that *is* the official site of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing!):

        $ 1 .............. 22 months
        $ 5 .............. 24 months
        $ 10 .............. 18 months
        $ 20 .............. 25 months
        $ 50 .............. 55 months
        $100 .............. 60 months

Hm. the $20 lasts longer than I'd expected. And you'll always see the occasional bill that's been lost in a drawer for a while.

Finally, remember that the dates on currency aren't like the dates on coins. Current policy (about the last 20 years or so) are that with every minor design change (or when the Treasurer of the US changes) they change a letter. So Series 2003 becomes Series 2003-A. When there's a major design change, or when the Secretary of the Treasury changes, then the series number itself changes. I think they printed Series 1995 bills well into 2000.

And you'll very rarely see something even older. A couple years back, a co-worker was complaining that he managed to get a counterfeit $10 (was turned down at three places with it, one of which ran a pen across it). I took one look at the bill, gave him $10 for it, and put it in my collection. It was from the late 50's / early 60's, and just looked different enough that nobody would take it. And of course the pen didn't work -- it was 40 years old!

http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/main.cfm/curr ency/aboutNotes

They hardly look all the same color to me.

You make money for a living? Tell me, what kind of technical background is required to work at the Department of Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing?

I don't need to go to a US bank, I can see a picture here. I agree they're the nicest looking US bills, but I think being the best looking US banknote still doesn't put it in the same league as most other countries' currency.

Also, I suspect the clerk used one of those marking pens that shows a different color for fake money. That's known as defacing currency and is also a crime.

Not true. Yes, defacing currency is illegal, but only with the intent of rendering it unfit to remain in circulation. Making a small mark with a marking pen is not going to make the bill unable to stay in circulation, and the clerk certainly isn't intending to mark it for the purpose of getting a real bill out of circulation.

Reference: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing's site

But you can buy uncut currency which most likely have sequential numbers. I don't know if there are any standards about precision of the cuts, but I think it would be cool to whip out a sheet of these ($2 bills would enhance the effect) and use some scissors to cut off what you need right there at the register.

Here are very small pictures of the front and back, and some facts about the notes from the US Treasury, as well as some larger images.

Here are very small pictures of the front and back, and some facts about the notes from the US Treasury, as well as some larger images.

Okay, this makes no sense. $2 bills are legal tender, fine. But why are they still available? What use is it to have bills circulating when lots of vendors have never seen them, and won't be able to recognize the difference between real ones and ones you printed up on your inkjet printer?

In Canada, $1 and $2 bills are still legal tender, but you almost never see them, because they were withdrawn from circulation when the coins were introduced. But in the USA, they're still printing $2's, but hardly any of them compared to other denominations.

If you REALLY want to have fun, you can buy 'uncut sheets' of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 and $50 US currency from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. They come in a 'grid' pattern, but you can then cut them into strips that roll up.

Buy an sheet of 32 $1 bills. Cut them into strips of 8. Bring the strips to the cash register with scissors and cut them off individually to give to the cashier. They ARE the same, official US currency.

It's something to do for fun, but there's a bit of a premium charged for the uncut sheets.

Many years ago, my parents took me on a tour of the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In the building, they had a gift shop where you could buy all sorts of things. One of the things they sold was a sheet of uncut $2 bills. Apparently, you can now buy them directly from the government over the Internet.

In case you're wondering, they are indeed legal currency. I'd personally like to see someone try to pay with an entire sheet.

Many years ago, my parents took me on a tour of the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In the building, they had a gift shop where you could buy all sorts of things. One of the things they sold was a sheet of uncut $2 bills. Apparently, you can now buy them directly from the government over the Internet.

In case you're wondering, they are indeed legal currency. I'd personally like to see someone try to pay with an entire sheet.

Steve Wozniak has his own crazy story about using $2 bills at a Las Vegas casino. True or not, it's hilarious...

After being detained and then asked for photo ID by a Secret Service agent, Woz hands over a fake ID that features himself as a "Laser Safety Officer".

Wearing an eye patch.

For the "Department of Defiance."

It's probably one of the funniest stories I've read this year. Anyway, if you've never actually seen a US $2 bill, the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing has front and back images of $2 bills posted on its website.

www.moneyfactory.com

mint.us.gov just didn't have a ring to it I guess. On that note why is it that it's army.mil and not army.mil.us or army.us.mil? What if other countries want a military home page?

Well how low is low, when I think of low i think 72 DPI. Check out this .PDF posted on themoneyfactory: http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Glossy- face-web.pdf That version is definately not 300 DPI but it's higher than 72, and I'm sure you could do a lot with it if you had such intentions.

If you want better images of both the 20 and the 50, extract them out of the interactive flash files with something like action script editor. You get 866 x 371 bitmaps with no red text that way. I dont know which tools work best, but url action editor works fine with print screen. 50

The technology doesn't limit using images of the bills, but the size of the images. Try getting a larger resolution screenshot from the PDF file:
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Glossy- face-web.pdf

You'll notice that most modern programs won't allow you to paste the screenshot into them (although MSPaint doesn't seem to have a problem). :P

The interactive guides to the 50 and 20 are very good. Excellent use of Flash. This is the sort of thing that Flash is good at - slick, well designed, intuitive, interactive guides that respond to user input immediately without clumsy screwing around with javascript, DHTML, and god knows how many other technologies you'd have to employ to get anything near the same effect.

And it's proeminently visible in the $50 back picture of the new US bills.

Strangely, the image links on this site show the $50 but the PDFs contain the $20.

The PDFs:
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Glossy- face-web.pdf
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Glossy- back-web.pdf
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Bill_gl ossies_white.pdf

The PDFs:
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Glossy- face-web.pdf
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Glossy- back-web.pdf
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Bill_gl ossies_white.pdf

The PDFs:
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Glossy- face-web.pdf
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Glossy- back-web.pdf
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/files/Bill_gl ossies_white.pdf

Not sure if these are exactly what are being referred to, but here are pdf images of the $50 and $20:

$50 front
$50 back
$20 front

Not sure if these are exactly what are being referred to, but here are pdf images of the $50 and $20:

$50 front
$50 back
$20 front

Not sure if these are exactly what are being referred to, but here are pdf images of the $50 and $20:

$50 front
$50 back
$20 front

My company works with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (the folks who print the bills). The Bureau issues transparent vinyl purses and packs for employees to carry their lunch and belongings. This makes it easier to see whether somebody is walking off with sheets of un-cut currency.

We also worked with the US Mint (the folks who mint the coinage). They told a story about metal detectors tied to biometrics that were so sensitive that when a woman became pregnant, the changes in the metal chemistry of her blood (increased iron, etc...) were enough to have to retake the biometric scan. That one always seemed apocryphal to me (but a very cool concept nonetheless).

I saw this in the article and found it Here

nifty info

Hey, dumbass... your new $50 and $20 bills are gonna be Monopoly money. Of course, I wish they'd just stick with the old ones so I could counterfeit them easier.

Not according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing... Origins of the $ sign

Of course, they only report the most popular theory, and do not claim it is proven to be true...

Why, exactly, would the government encourage people to destroy currency? What public policy goal would that serve? (Making people poorer?)

Governments tax their citizens...despite the fact that taxation makes people poorer.

The government does not encourage people to destroy money. They actually have a strong dislike for anyone who dinks with the monetary supply.

In a discussion that involved money getting destroyed in a microwave, I thought I would find a humorous way to bring up the issue that you don't destroy the actual value of a dollar bill if you destroy the dollar bill. If a dollar bill got lost, then it is pretty much the same thing as a dollar in taxes.

You are also right that the mint is pretty much controlled by the federal reserve, and that in an economy where most money changes hands electronically, the Federal Reserve does more to control the money supply through lending to banks than through printing money. The 2003 production figures for the US Mint indicate that the Mint printed a scant $896 Million in change...chump change. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing handle printed currency. I couldn't find a quick list of the number of dollar bills printed, but I am sure it is an equally unimpressive figure. Both the Mint and Bureau or Engraving and Printing seem to encourage collecting.

dropping a dime in a wishing well is pretty much like giving Uncle Sam ten cents (minus production cost).

You are correct in pointing out that in today's economy, more money changes hands electronically than as currency. The Federal Reserve controls the monetary supply through the banking system. However, all the rules that apply to currency are still valid. BTW, I would expect that there's several million people work on their $12.50 collection of quarters. Ten million quarter collections equal $125,000,000 for the government.

That is incorrect. From Bureau of Engraving

"Defacement of currency is a violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code. Under this provision, currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service."

Destroying it completely may be ok, since you have no evidence it happened.

Nope... It's illegal to deface it *in any way*. Look it up for yourself.

Nope... It's illegal to render it unfit for circulation. Look it up for yourself.

The bank will take it back or the "government" will. The Fed has an entire department that's dedicated to identifiying, counting and replacing damaged currency. If you can provide 50.1% of a bill in any state (burned, eaten and digested, water logged, painted, dissolved in acid, etc) they will issue you a new bill of the same denomination.
The service is free (paid for by your tax dollars).
Ironically the person who "nuked" their bills may have to do more damage before they qualify for that program.

Seen that link a few places.

It's only quasi informative as the link apparently contains outdated information.

2003 printings exist, at least in sheet form

What about the serial numbers on each bill? Wouldn't they end up with each bill having different numbers?

Also, in the US, its not the banks that redeem destroyed money, its a division of the bureau of engraving and printing. It's interesting stuff. I'd find it hard to beleive you could pull some kind of scheme with them.

Just imagine the scene at the bank when the intrepid couple goes to replace their cash:

"Umm, I want to replace my 20's because I was dumb enough to burn them in the microwave."

Actually, I'm not sure if banks will take seriously damaged cash. I know that there is a Dept of Treasury office that will replace damaged bills (as long as there is 51% of the bill left), but would a bank take a stack of them since they'd have to turn around and do the replacement? I imagine that the conspiracy couple would just love having to send their money into the government.

The $2 bill isn't just something from back in the days of the silver note.

It was brought back into circulation in 1976, and has at least one other printing since then. They're even less popular/used than the $1 coin, so it's not surprising that you think that they're relics of the past instead of mundane, valid currency.

A picture for your pleasure

If you have more than half a bill, your bank should accept it. However, if it's so bad the bank won't take it, these are the people who might.

I don't think they print $2 bills any more.

Yes, they do. You can even buy uncut sheets of them from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. I'm sure they're not as actively circulated nowadays, but they're definitely still printed. See the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing website for more info.

At any rate, helping yourself to a copy of Photoshop because you need it for a class project isn't "protected fair use"

So, you're saying my teacher should get in trouble for showing us how to download "Photoshop CS," get a thing called a "crack," and make posters that looked like this?

And here is a link supporting the 51% claim.

... but the US Mint only makes coins. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing makes all the bills.

Sean

Or you can just download the images here: http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/main.cfm/curr ency/aboutNotes?CFID=260353&CFTOKEN=33104509#

PART 411 -- COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS OF UNITED STATES CURRENCY
Authority: 18 U.S.C. 504; Treasury Directive Number 15-56, 58 FR 48539
(September 16, 1993)
411.1 Color illustrations authorized.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 25 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, authority is hereby given for the printing, publishing or importation, or the making or importation of the necessary plates or items for such printing or publishing, of color illustrations of U.S. currency provided that:
(1) The illustration be of a size less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half, in linear dimension, of each part of any matter so illustrated;
(2) The illustration be one-sided; and
(3) All negatives, plates, positives, digitized storage medium, graphic files, magnetic medium, optical storage devices, and any other thing used in the making of the illustration that contain an image of the illustration or any part thereof shall be destroyed and/or deleted or erased after their final use in accordance with this section.
(b) [Reserved].

On the Bureau of Printing and Engraving's website, we can find information on Conterfeiting Laws and Reproduction of Currency.

While it's legal to make certain reproductions of currency, I think it's Adobe's right to write code however they want, and it's your right to purchase image manipulation software by other manufacturers. Adobe would be stepping into a messy legal area if the software reported the use of currency images.

On the Bureau of Printing and Engraving's website, we can find information on Conterfeiting Laws and Reproduction of Currency.

While it's legal to make certain reproductions of currency, I think it's Adobe's right to write code however they want, and it's your right to purchase image manipulation software by other manufacturers. Adobe would be stepping into a messy legal area if the software reported the use of currency images.

1. The illustration must be of a size less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half, in linear dimension, of each part of any matter so illustrated; 2. The illustration must be one sided; and 3. All negatives, plates, digitized storage medium, graphic files, magnetic medium, optical storage devices, and any other thing used in the making of the illustration that contain an image of the illustration or any part thereof shall be destroyed and or deleted or erased after their final use in accordance with this section.

OOGG want correct your misinformed view of financial system. Government borrow funds by selling Treasury bonds. Holders of bonds expect paid interest, not imaginary money.

Also, banks, holders of money oppose inflation. OOGG have misfortune of holding caveman stone money, US Confederate currency, many old German marks. (OOGG learn hard way to avoid sovereign credit risk.) Inflation wipe out value of currency. Even US nickel once buy large candy bar. Now, same nickel buy 1/10 candy bar. OOGG need diet, but 1/10 candy bar less value than 1 candy bar. Bank with nickel in reserve lose value just as much as OOGG.

Federal reserve notes are printed by Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Issued in exchange for funds held by Federal reserve. That is, Federal Reserve exchange real electronic money for real paper money.

Summary: every thing you say completely wrong. Even stone age caveman have better understanding of money than a whoabot. Thank you.

Property is inherent in the dollar and money since it has been conceived as an idea and brought to fruition. If you read the Bureau of Engraving and Printing you see the words Confidence. Trust. Value.

Websters defines money as something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment: as a : officially coined or stamped metal currency.

The only question left is the right to be free from theft, and or taxation.

Some might not see the difference.