I know a lot of you probably don't carry much currency and use credit cards instead, but for those that still use cash in this country isn't it time we make a change in our diminished value currency?


On July 14, 1969, the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve System announced that currency notes in denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 would be discontinued immediately due to lack of use. Although they were issued until 1969, they were last printed in 1945.

According to inflation calculator it will take $376 of todays dollars to equal a $50 bill in 1969, or $773 of today's to equal a $100. Conversely today's nickel would be worth just over 1/2 of a 1969 penny, and today's penny would be worth 1/8 of a 1969 penny.

Considering that in 1969 we got by fine w/o 1/8 and 1/2 cent coins I believe we should just eliminate our worthless penny and nickel and start with dimes. OTOH todays $100 bill isn't even worth what a $20 was back then so isn't it time to bring back $500 and $1,000 bills?

It would be nice to pay for a tank of gas with a single bill.

I rarely carry cash, and even then it's usually just a couple $20s.

Won't be long that hard currency will vanish, the youth of today have been programmed into e-payments, Zelle, Vinmo, Apple and Google Wallets,

I'm betting 90% don't reconcile bank statements either, can you imagine having to reconcile 400 transactions each month because you buy Startbutts, Gum, McDonalds, a coke and candy bar at 7/11, beer at a ball game, all digitally.

Good thing is if you do, then you could actually see 100% where every penny goes, then again, your bank will see it all, the government will see it all no more hidden cash transactions..

I don't even like carrying $100 bills. I definitely wouldn't carry $500 or $1000 bills.

And can you image the nightmare it would be for businesses to make change? Lots of places are reluctant to accept $100 bills unless the total is nearing $100, since making change would drain their register drawers. So how often are you buying something in cash that's nearly $500 or nearly $1000?

I think it's significantly more likely for them to do away with the penny than it would be for them to reintroduce $500/$1000 bills. And even that is not that likely currently.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Won't be long that hard currency will vanish

Exactly. Compared to cash, electronic funds are easier to use, easier to budget with, impossible to misplace/damage/destroy, and much less likely to be stolen.

There’s not much chance of the revival of higher denomination notes. Some countries have eliminated theirs and I’ve seen talk of even getting rid of the $100 note here. The supposed reason is to make it less convenient to conduct illicit cash transactions, in drug trafficking, for example. I like to use cash whenever possible, though, and am finding that a $50 bill is useful more and more.

Canada eliminated the penny in 2013 and it was no big deal. In 2021 $1000 bills ceased being legal tender. The government does not want the people to have large denomination bills as they feel it makes things too easy for currency smugglers. I believe all Western nations subscribe to this same theory. We are moving towards a cash free society and it is about control.

So I've long pondered the advantages of every decade, automatically moving the taxation rate and career politician pay one decimal to the left, while moving the wages/savings 1 decimal point to the right.

Unworkable of course. Chaos, maybe. Like we already have now but without screwing with the pennies & nickles and various cost of currency printing changes.

All cash will go away before they bring back large denominations like that.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I don't even like carrying $100 bills. I definitely wouldn't carry $500 or $1000 bills.

And can you image the nightmare it would be for retailers to make change? Lots of places are reluctant to accept $100 bills unless the total is nearing $100, since making change would drain their register drawers. So how often are you buying something in cash that's nearly $500 or nearly $1000?

I think it's significantly more likely for them to do away with the penny than it would be for them to reintroduce $500/$1000 bills. And even that is not that likely currently.

It's funny how some still think of $100 as a lot of buying power in their pocket when it's simply not. Maybe back in the day some retailers, in the morning especially, preferred not to take $100's but that was then, this is now. A $100 bill is not even worth what a $20 used to be. Consider an average dinner for 3 might cost $120 and filling up your car or truck on the way might cost $75. Heck a cart of groceries that cost $40 in 1970 will now use most of a $500 bill.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
It's funny how some still think of $100 as a lot of buying power in their pocket when it's simply not.

Think of it this way: $100 is roughly half of my take home pay for a day's work. If a $100 bill falls out of my pocket, or goes through the washing machine, or my dog chews it up, that's an entire half day of my time and effort that is gone.

Whereas $100 in numbers sitting in my bank account can't get lost, chewed up, or otherwise mutilated.

I'd hate it even more if an entire weeks' worth of take home pay - in the form of a $1000 bill - ended up getting lost of destroyed.

That's why I don't want to be carrying around paper $100, $500, or $1000 bills.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Heck a cart of groceries that cost $40 in 1970 will now use most of a $500 bill.

Are you regularly going to the grocery store and buying $500 or $1000 worth of groceries at a time?

I'm not, nor is anyone that I know.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Consider an average dinner for 3 might cost $120

Your restaurants up in West Virginia must be significantly more expensive that down here... $40 per person is well beyond the average for a restaurant dinner around here, where it's more like $15-$20 per person. $40 is more than a steak dinner would cost.

Unless you're talking about each person ordering their own appetizer, and their own meal, and their own dessert, and having multiple alcoholic drinks on top. But that's not an "average dinner".

For example, I just went out to eat Thai food with two friends, and the entire total paid was $57. $14ish per person, before tax and a 20% tip.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Maybe back in the day some retailers, in the morning especially, preferred not to take $100's but that was then, this is now.

The vast majority of retail/restaurant transactions are still significantly less than $100. We're talking a $5 coffee here, a $15 meal there, and a $20 knickknack there.

No business really wants to take a $100 bill for a $5-$20 purchase.

They especially wouldn't want to be making change for a $500 or $1000 bill on a $13 purchase.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

When I'm traveling, I always carry a lot of small denominations of USD--$1s, $5s, & $10s. People, like street vendors or servers, who you want to tip or pay for small items, can't break $20s and higher.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Heck a cart of groceries that cost $40 in 1970 will now use most of a $500 bill.

Are you regularly going to the grocery store and buying $500 worth of groceries at a time?

I'm not, nor is anyone that I know.

Even living alone my grocery bill is never under $200 and often over $300.

Huh. I live alone, and my grocery bills every 7-10 days or so are $60-$100, but increasingly trending closer to $100 these days. And I eat good...

My total monthly grocery budget is $400, and I most often come in well under budget. Even in the current inflationary environment.

Then again, I don't purchase many prepackaged/premade foods, which come with an significant markup and tend to be the largest targets of price increases and "shrinkflation". I buy individual ingredients and fresh foods, and cook stuff myself. Even in the era of rampant inflation, foods like dairy, eggs, produce, and pantry staples are still stupid cheap for the amount of food you get. My biggest grocery price increase has been seen in fresh meats, but again we're talking chicken breasts going from $2.50/pound to $4, not $20.

That is all sad as I really like the big bills. Used to carry a stack of hundreds. And I have forever wanted just one $500.00 bill. One has to be very astute with big cash when paying out of pocket. Too many eyes and too many bad guys. I'll just never get used to change. Not even a little bit interested in electronic funds or electric cars. So I am comfortable in my ageing skin.

Fedcoin is coming. Cash is going.

Goobers gotta suppress self-determination, liberty and individualism. Controlling cash is a huge deal.

1000 and 10,000 dollar bills sure would make the illicit drug trade more convenient for the kingpins.

OK. The important question is who will be on the 500 an 1000 bills. Certainly dead white Presidents won't work. Mckinley and Grover Cleveland will not pass the test.

The elimination of cash will be the complete end of freedom. Once the government controls the ones and zeros flowing through fiber optic cables, they have complete control of you.

Want to buy something they don't like? Sorry. Want to disagree with them? What money?

If it ever happens in my lifetime, I'll start my own local currency just like banks used to do back in the day. First National Frank.

quote:

1000 and 10,000 dollar bills sure would make the illicit drug trade more convenient for the kingpins.

I don't know how much has moved there, but I suspect there's a fair amount of that now being done with bitcoin and other cryptos. It's a lot easier to send money to another country over a data line than it is to physically move it. Much less risky too.

A) Yes, we need larger bills.

B) Coins make more sense. They cannot spread disease, and they can easily be automated.