June 17, 2008: Pretty Money

[xoxoxoBruce]

Let's face it, as popular and sought after as it is, the U.S. Dollar isn't very pretty. As a matter of fact, it's an embarrassment.
You can save yourself the embarrassment by putting all yours in the Cellar tip jar.

Would I lie to you, my oldest and dearest friends?*






* if it doesn't involve sex.

[Sundae]

Wow - very old pound note on there. I'd forgotten they were green.

We no longer have one pound notes, but the other colours remain as follows:
five pounds blue, ten pounds brown, twenty pounds purple and fifty pounds red
There's more variation in them now though.

Oh and look at all the other notes with the Queen on!
Australia, Mauritius, Solomon Islands.
I all seems quite obscene now.

[spudcon]

Yeah, we should take a clue from all those others in your rogue's gallery. Put a crown on Lincoln, an organ grinder's monkey hat on Washington, and tie-dye the bills with day-glo colors.

[Kagen4o4]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA $1 NOTE FROM AUSTRALIA!! havent seen one of those in many many years. our money is much prettier now.

[spudcon]

Proposed pretty money for U.S.

[glatt]

I've got one of those NZ Sir Edmund Hillary $5 notes. I was just looking at it a month or so ago and thinking how much our money sucks in comparison.

The US $20 bill with all the bees on the back swarming around the White House looks ridiculous.

[Imigo Jones]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Let's face it, as popular and sought after as it is, the U.S. Dollar isn't very pretty. As a matter of fact, it's an embarrassment.

Familiarity breeds contempt. Our money has a certain quiet dignity, Bruce. Serene classicism. A stodgy yet assuring symmetry with George still.

"Rogues gallery" indeed, spudcon. I suspect a sizable percentage of the bill honorees have had statues to themselves toppled since they had the bills printed up.

This spring I was at a hardware store / gift shop in Lindsborg, Kansas,
"Little Sweden, U.S.A.,"
a cute and perhaps surprisingly popular tourist destination, but 20 miles south of I-70 and just off I-135 (Salina-Wichita).

Anywho, under the glass on the countertop at the cash register was a similar gallery from around the world. It had even more bills, which were not so neatly lined up. Many of them were very old, but many other designs were very nonstandard, like the Cook Islands hula dancer riding the hammerhead shark. "Wow, you get people from _____ in here?!" I enjoyed looking at them and talking with the owner for like 5 minutes. "You ever get that hula dancer from the Cook Islands in here?"

[glatt]

I read a few weeks ago that a federal appeals court ruled that the US bills discriminate against blind people because you can't tell them apart by feel. Many other countries have bills of different sizes to denote different values. In the US, blind people have to rely on others to help them prepare their money in special ways so they can keep track of the various denominations.

So we may see some significant changes to the US money relatively soon.

[rasafrasit]

as popular and sought after as it is

Come again? The dollar has sunk to an all time low against most major currencies, inflation has continued to erode its domestic value and some banks in several European countries are refusing to accept dollars...all of which are indications that the dollar is neither popular nor terribly sought after, at least on the currency exchange market.

[Cloud]

all money is pretty if it's yours.

I really like the Cook Island one!

[OB]

I say we switch to the original Zelda's rupees - not in dollar form, just the little crystals you can get from whacking bushes and monsters. Then all other countries will be embarrassed they didn't think of it first!

[wolf]

Originally Posted by glatt

I read a few weeks ago that a federal appeals court ruled that the US bills discriminate against blind people because you can't tell them apart by feel. Many other countries have bills of different sizes to denote different values. In the US, blind people have to rely on others to help them prepare their money in special ways so they can keep track of the various denominations.

So we may see some significant changes to the US money relatively soon.

Other than the attack of the Monopoly money, I don't see that happening. Come on, we can't even switch over to a dollar coin here. I do suspect a conspiracy involving the vending industry ... which would also block the differently sized bills. I already have enough trouble getting vending machines to accept bills!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Welcome to the Cellar, rasafrasit.
Tell you what, the money you don't line your bird cage with, you can send the tip jar. Or any of 20 million illegal aliens would be glad to help you divest yourself of it. Hell, I can think of 300 million people that would help you out.

[classicman]

If he/she is givin it away - I'll be glad to help out.

[spudcon]

Here's some money that's no longer worth anything.
Top, ten cents, U.S. Military Script used in Viet Nam during the 60s
Middle, five pesos from the Marcos years in the Philippines
Bottom, 100 piastres, from the 60s also, Viet Nam.