In an effort to keep ahead of counterfeiters, the U.S BOP&E is redesigning the paper currency. Among the changes proposed is the addition of “subtle background colors.”
While I appreciate the need to stay ahead of counterfeiters, I think we could do without a color change. The U.S. seems to have a tradition of having green/black money (the terms “greenback,” “green,” etc.) going back hundreds of years and I would hate to see that tradition broken and have the government hand out bills that remind the public of Monopoly money.
Well, I kinda disagree (though we should keep the ones green!). Name-dropping: I went to school with Larry Summers, who was briefly Head of the Treasury in Clinton’s last months in office. I wrote him a “congrats” note, and added that a) I hated the redesign of the bills, and b) we should do what every other country does, and have the different denominations in different colors. Make things a lot easier. Oh, and c), could he send me some extra money?
I found US money horrendously confusing because of the lack of colour. I was hugely impressed with Australian banknotes; full colour and coated in a washproof, tear-proof plastic of some sort. Monopoly money it may be, but far easier to identify in a hurry. I liked not accidentally handing over high-denomination notes accidentally.
First, it’s not like the U.S. Treasury is planning to make the $20 all purple (even if some of us do think that would be cool). Green is clearly going to remain the predominant theme here.
Second, why does “colour” have to equal “Monopoly money”? Personally I think more colours could make U.S. money look more impressive. What if, say, the Treasury seal was in full colour? Or if they added some colour to the scroll-work? The coloured scroll-work on Canadian currency has always looked good to me. Take a look and see what other countries are doing with coloured currency before you dismiss it.
I knew there were pictures online somewhere…here is an image of a predominantly green bill with “subtle background colors”, namely the Canadian $20. The image isn’t very big unfortunately but you can see what I mean about coloured scroll-work in the background.
I like the green, white and black. I’ve seen other countries’ currency, and while it is ok, I prefer ours. Because…its ours. I don’t want my country’s currency to look like Canada’s, or Britain’s, or Europe’s or Australia’s. Not that I think they are bad. I just think ours is distinctive and good. And I hate the new stuff we got a few years ago. Too boring. Needs more green and more fancy artwork.
Moderator’s Note: I think this is really more of an IMHO thread, so unless someone provides me a convincing argument* otherwise, I’m moving it over there.
*Convincing arguments are currently available in the traditional green and black format, although other colors may become available as early as 2003.
Why does anybody even care if the money looks cool or stupid? That is completely not the point of money. The point of money is to be money. If a change makes it more effective against counterfieting, or cuts down on confusion of bills, that makes it better money. If you want something that looks cool, use your money to buy something that looks cool.
British notes are coloured, but not as garish as the Australian monopoly stuff - £5 is greeny-blueish, £10 is brown. If I was rich and had more notes on me, I could tell you the other colours - they tend to be fairly muted, though
Nothing! Monopoly money is the best currency in the world! Not only is it clearly coloured (although the notes change colour depending on which version you have) but what other currency would allow you to buy Mayfair (Boardwalk) for only £400 :D… best exchange rate in the world…
There was at a least a couple threads on this the past two weeks. (If wanna see what a few other posters had to say, search for one in the Pit; the other was here in IMHO.)
Actually, our notes are polymer, not paper, so they’re not exactly coated.
I like them too. There’s some incredible detail on them – check out the microprint “FIFTYDOLLARS”, “TWENTYDOLLARS”, etc. in the backgrounds. The letters form part of the pictures, but they’re so tiny they look like shading (the letters are just about too hard to spot with the naked eye.)
The best currency I’ve seen is from Oz. I like the little transparent window and the fact that it’s practically indestructible and unforgeable. Here in the UK we’re stuck with grubby, fragile, short half-life paper money. The recent new £5 note was quickly withdrawn when it was discovered that the numbers could be rubbed off.
The sooner we get Oz style plastic money, the better.
The prettiest I’ve seen was from Costa Rica in the 1980’s, when there were about 80 colones to the pound. The notes, left-overs from when there about 10 to the pound, were beautiful miniature works of art in full colour showing scenes of Costa Rican life.
Like many outsiders, I respect the status of the US currency, but I am puzzled by the lack of effort in making the notes hard to forge. This seems an obvious thing to look at if the currency is being changed.
The volume of dollar forgery is notorious outside the USA. This is causing unease among people who do not routinely handle the currency. Many bank branches in Europe now refuse to accept US $100 dollar bills, unless the provenance is known or from an existing customer.
Currency dealers expect the euro to see greater use as the hard currency of preference in many countries. Because the European Central Bank has made a serious effort to make euro forgery difficult, the euro will be perceived as more trustworthy than the US currency. (It also has a large €500 note with good security verification.)
Naturally, this will not happen overnight, but it may have serious long term impact on the strength of the USD, which depends on dollar sales abroad. In effect, the currency is a commodity, being produced in America and sold abroad to foreign users. If the market for it collapses, so will the value of the currency.
With the dollar’s present collapse, the last thing it needs is another downward impulse.
BTW - why are US notes all the same size? It is a source of pain to me, since I tipped a porter ten times the intended amount a few years ago. Strange design flaw.
And of course, the continued use of one-dollar bills is increasingly absurd. All the excuses for the failure of the dollar coins are just plain silly: just yank the dirty, crumpled, cocaine-laced paper from circulation! Even reintroducing two-dollar bills would make more sense, although that can easily be skipped as well, one would think.
I don’t know about making the bills different sizes, as many countries have done, but I wish the U.S. would start using some different color schemes. If not to make the bills harder to fake, then at least to make them more interesting.
And dump the dead politicians. Put some scientists and writers on there for a change. I favor Henry Miller on the $20.
