You know, I thought I was going nuts, but confirmation from my friends in retail tells me it’s not all in my mind…
There seem to be less $10 bills in general circulation than in the past. Peer in the cash register of any store when it opens and look how few they have.
Where are they all going? Is this still more proof of an Illuminati conspiracy?
I’ve been thinking that most of the $10 bills I’ve handled recently are looking rather ragged.
Perhaps US B&E is planning to issue the new $10, ala the $20, $50, & $100 bills, and wants to phase the old ones out quicker than the last denominations.
(After 2 1/2 years, there are still ticket machines in the Washington DC Metro System that won’t take the new $20!)
Don’t recall where I heard this but I thought part of the problem was the number of currency “slots” in a cash register, so stores stopped carrying tens. Not that they wouldn’t accept them, but you wouldn’t get them back in change. But maybe it’s a UL.
I think if you went into any bank or similar financial institution, you can probably get a whole wad of fresh sawbucks.
However, since most of us get our cash now from ATMs, we only get twenties.
My experience from working a register is that you go through tens very quickly.
I usually have a Hamilton in my wallet and I try to spend it when I am buying something that costs between $5-10 only. I feel the cashier’s pain.
By the way, this isn’t really relevant to the topic at hand, but the last time I used the ATM, it spit out $50 bills. Maybe the twenty-dollar bill will also slowly fade away.
La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l’on pense, mais à penser tout ce que l’on dit.
H. de Livry
All the ATMs in the DC area spit out $20 of both varieties. Bank of Virginia (13 years ago) used to emit $10’s as well. But I’ve never seen $50’s come out of one.
And to Alphagene, who asked, “A $1 coin? How the hell am I supposed to keep those in my G-string?” Good question! As a former regular at “exotic dance clubs” ( ), I did use $1 bills quite a bit.
When I was in Canada, I did go to topless club, but all their tips came from lap dances at $10. (I didn’t get one, but overheard the price.) But here in Virginia, dancing is strictly on-stage only and no touching. I wouldn’t tip $5+ on a regular basis if $1 & $2 bills weren’t available.