# American Cash has a distinctive smell - any reason? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2009, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961 "2009-09-29T10:49:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/1 "2009-09-29T10:49:23Z")
I was just at the bank today exchanging some Yen for dollars and as soon as the dollars hit the table in front of me, I could smell that old familiar scent, even though the bills were a few feet away from my nose I could quite clearly tell that those dollars were American, even without looking at them. It’s quite a strong smell. I don’t know how to describe exactly it but it’s kind of a spicy aroma. I never noticed a particular smell to Australian cash, even back before 1998 when it was, in fact, still paper (now it’s some kind of polymer which has no really distinctive aroma to it). And just now, I pulled out a few Japanese yen notes, made of paper very similar to, if not the same as, American dollars. They have no smell at all. Maybe it’s just that I don’t notice the smells that I’m really used to, and instead pick up on the scents that are unusual to me? So I ask the dopers - Do you also think American cash has a distinctive smell? If so, is it manufactured that way on purpose, perhaps for the benefit of sniffer dogs or some other means of detection? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/2 "2009-09-29T11:12:19Z")
Yes, American paper money does have a distinct smell. Why I don’t know, or whether it’s deliberate or a byproduct of production. Actually, I always assumed it was the smell of the ink, but I could be wrong on that. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/3 "2009-09-29T12:26:30Z")
It’s the aroma of millions of fart hours, filtered through wallet leather. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/4 "2009-09-29T12:30:12Z")
The scent of American currency to me is vaguely pukey. After a few days using it I don’t notice it as much but when I first exchange my Euro for Dollars the aroma is strong. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/5 "2009-09-29T12:58:27Z")
I don’t notice a smell to it. Then again, I’m a bank teller and I work with it 40 hours a week. Perhaps it’s like the guy who works at Home Depot that doesn’t notice the chemical and cedar smell the place has… ---
**Author:** ![Vorpal\_Blade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9de0a6/32.png) [@Vorpal\_Blade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vorpal_Blade)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/6 "2009-09-29T13:07:19Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > …it’s kind of a spicy aroma. Cocaine… ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/7 "2009-09-29T13:46:07Z")
My early memories of smelling money come from the days when most of of my exposure to it came from mom’s purse, kind of a cosmetic smell. These days, my nose ain’t so good. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/8 "2009-09-29T14:03:44Z")
I have noticed a distinctive smell, especially with new notes. Is it the ink? ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/9 "2009-09-29T14:23:00Z")
Now that you mention it, it does have a smell. It smells ‘old’ to me, for some reason. Musty maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/10 "2009-09-29T14:38:30Z")
I had always understood that US notes are made with a very high cotton fiber content, such that they were more like cloth than like paper. They are certainly more durable than Canadian notes, which seem to be more paperlike, and less resistant to the washing machine. I figure the smell of US money is the smell of an unwashed cloth kept in someones pocket for years and handled a lot. I also notice my wallet stinks for week after a trip to the US, so maybe it is more than that. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/11 "2009-09-29T14:42:19Z")
Mmmmmm. . .the sweet smell of success. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/12 "2009-09-29T14:49:22Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I had always understood that US notes are made with a very high cotton fiber content, such that they were more like cloth than like paper. US currency is made from a blend of [cotton and linen](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/moolah/anatomypaper.html) so it isn’t paper at all. According to one of those TV science shows (no cite) it’s recycled cotton fiber, more specifically, recycled jeans. > [@](#): > > It’s the aroma of millions of fart hours, filtered through wallet leather. More than just fart smell. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/13 "2009-09-29T15:00:19Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I had always understood that US notes are made with a very high cotton fiber content, such that they were more like cloth than like paper. They are certainly more durable than Canadian notes, which seem to be more paperlike, and less resistant to the washing machine. I figure the smell of US money is the smell of an unwashed cloth kept in someones pocket for years and handled a lot. > > I also notice my wallet stinks for week after a trip to the US, so maybe it is more than that. Except you notice it most with brand new money. I always assumed it was the ink. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/14 "2009-09-29T16:40:29Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > US currency is made from a blend of [cotton and linen](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/moolah/anatomypaper.html) so it isn’t paper at all. According to one of those TV science shows (no cite) it’s recycled cotton fiber, more specifically, recycled jeans. Actually, US currency paper is made by the Crane Paper Company in Dalton, MA out of 100% brand new virgin cotton fiber. Recycled cotton contains optical brighteners left in from washing with detergents. This is the basis of the low-tech method of checking for counterfeit currency using ultraviolet light to look for fluorescence. ---
**Author:** ![fandango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5ac83/32.png) [@fandango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fandango)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/15 "2009-09-29T17:00:22Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Actually, US currency paper is made by the Crane Paper Company in Dalton, MA out of 100% brand new virgin cotton fiber. Recycled cotton contains optical brighteners left in from washing with detergents. This is the basis of the low-tech method of checking for counterfeit currency using ultraviolet light to look for fluorescence. That’s not a good method considering the number of times I’ve left a $20 in my pocket before the wash, only to discover it in my freshly laundered pants. Are you saying if I tried to spend it someone would tell me its a fake? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/16 "2009-09-29T17:25:27Z")
> [@fandango](#): > > That’s not a good method considering the number of times I’ve left a $20 in my pocket before the wash, only to discover it in my freshly laundered pants. Are you saying if I tried to spend it someone would tell me its a fake? It’s a lot less likely these days, as new currency $5 and up has fluorescent markers imbedded in it that are a lot harder to fake. In the old days simple fluorescence was often used to reject currency. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/17 "2009-09-30T14:25:49Z")
Hmm, from the urban legend that a majority of US bills have contact with /contain traces of cocaine, that would be my first guess. Do you notice the smell when comparing Dollars to Euros? Because Euros (and before, the Deutsche Mark) are also made from cotton, and thus survive a trip through the washing machine. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/18 "2009-09-30T14:32:41Z")
It’s not a cocaine smell. I’ve smelt cocaine before (but I didn’t inhale!) I’ve never noticed any particular smell from Euros. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/19 "2009-09-30T15:09:56Z")
Hmm, just did an experiment. I have a few US bills, a few Euros, Oz and Singaporean in my wallet. So the result? US bills did smell a tiny bit, and yes a recognisable smell. But the Euro had a similar but more muted smell. The Singapore and Oz bills are both plastic. Both also had tiny bit of the smell. The US bills were pretty new, in fact I think the $100 was practically mint. Maybe this is why it was a muted smell. But it has been in my wallet for ages. The smell? To me the overall smell, is maybe the smell of being in a leather wallet. It isn’t the same smell as the wallet, but I wonder if the bills selectively absord some part of the smell. My wallet is a US made wallet. It seems doubtful, but maybe there is some difference to the processes it underwent relative to other countries. Or maybe the US paper absorbs differently, or has some subtle chemical interaction difference. Actually, at least one other bit of paper that has been in the wallet for years also has a bit of the charateristic smell. So that is my theory. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961/20 "2009-09-30T16:14:31Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Hmm, from the urban legend that a majority of US bills have contact with /contain traces of cocaine, that would be my first guess. [It’s not just an urban legend](http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/14/cocaine.traces.money/), but these are incredibly tiny amounts of cocaine and probably not enough to produce any kind of smell. And if the smell is strongest on new bills - which I agree it is - that doesn’t support a cocaine-related explanation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-cash-has-a-distinctive-smell-any-reason/511961.md?page=2)