Someone sent me a link to this article recently, which seems to be written by a conspiracy theorist who claims that the changes being made to the currency is to block Americans from “trading” their US currency in to foreign currency.
The article can be found here:
http://www.321gold.com/editorials/droke/droke100903_currency.html
2 questions,
What exactly is the article talking about?
Can the new 20 dollar bills be traded in to a foreign currency?
I read the article, and so far as I can determine, the thrust seems to be:
The new $20 looks different, so no foreigners will want it.
The accuracy of this conclusion is highly suspect.
In fact, the new $20 is just as tradable as the old $20, and, indeed, the even older $20 for foreign currency.
Great, now I have to get a new BS meter, my one just got an overload and exploded.
I can’t answer your questions, but I don’t see the motivation in closing the US currency. Doesn’t sound right to me.
No, no, he’s right. Those 20s? Worthless in Canada. But as a uh… special service… I can exchange your new 20$ bills straight across for Canadian currency. I can only handle so many of them though, so hurry everyone! 
That article is the most amazing BS. The US dollar is weakening against other currencies, and will probably continue to do so until the US sorts out its trade and govt deficits. No big deal. The colour/design of the bills is irellevant.
Zheesh. This is silly on so many levels. First of all, you’re not really “trading” currency. More accurately you sell your greenbacks for the local currency (or another currency) at whatever rate the changer offers you. Rates vary from place to place, and in some countries, the black market rates (via private currency speculators) can be 5 to 10 times higher than official bank rates. In a country where currencies fluctuate very much or are experiencing rapid inflation, investment in hard currency (usu. Euros or Dollars) is a way to protect against these things.
Anyhow, I was in Europe in 1996 when one of the newer bills came out (I think it was the $20. Not the colored one like now, but the first new-style bill. It also might have been the $100, but I can’t remember for sure.) What did happen is that some banks (in England) were hesitant in changeing the bills because they had not been adequately educated on the new bill. This usually meant the teller would ask for a supervisor who would confirm that, yes, indeed the bill was genuine.
This is the only way I can see there be any problems in selling your funky new twenties. If you’re changing with some guys on the street, they might not be familiar with the new bill quite yet, so they won’t buy it, but most of your banks should be sufficiently forewarned.