# The truth about the $3.00 bill
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 13, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504 "2022-09-13T16:07:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 7
### Author:  [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/121 "2022-09-17T17:32:58Z")
> [@DPRK](#):
>
> What is more interesting about your story is that the central bank was involved in a private transaction—is that usual? Can I even open eg a current account at the German central bank or French central bank?
You can’t, but private banks hold accounts with the central bank and can write checks drawn on them. I suppose this client wanted to get cash from his private bank and was sent to the central bank with a check for the desired amount, which they debited to his account with the private bank.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/122 "2022-09-19T02:01:50Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> This is why I like living in a country where ALL parties saw the logic of eliminating the dollar bill,…
What nation is that?
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/123 "2022-09-19T02:36:56Z")
Australia eliminated the dollar note in 1984. Canada in 1987. New Zealand in 1991.
They all just did it.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/124 "2022-09-19T02:56:24Z")
Making the dollar notes uncommon wealth.
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### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/125 "2022-09-19T03:04:35Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> As a cashier, I have had people occasionally purchase over a thousand dollars worth of goods from us and pay in cash.
My first thought was, “That’s a lotta caviar.”
My second thought was, “That is an absolute shitload of milk, eggs, bread and toilet paper.”
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/126 "2022-09-19T03:37:02Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> This is why I like living in a country where ALL parties saw the logic of eliminating the dollar bill, and if you wanted to vote for a party that promised to keep it, you’d end up voting for the “Monkey Purple Dishwasher Party”…
I’m working on the lawn signs as we speak…
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/127 "2022-09-19T04:08:20Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#):
>
> Making the dollar notes uncommon wealth.
\< Golf Clap \>
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/128 "2022-09-19T10:18:58Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#):
>
> > [@Broomstick](#):
> >
> > As a cashier, I have had people occasionally purchase over a thousand dollars worth of goods from us and pay in cash.
>
> My first thought was, “That’s a lotta caviar.”
>
> My second thought was, “That is an absolute shitload of milk, eggs, bread and toilet paper.”
Yep.
And more commonly the later than the former. There are, apparently, some large families in the area that only shop once a month or something. Actually, I don’t really know. As long as the payment method is legit we don’t really care.
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### Author:  [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/129 "2022-09-19T13:07:34Z")
> [@DPRK](#):
>
> He said he felt paranoid walking out of the bank branch carrying that much cash (though I am not sure if having it in $1000 or $10000 bills would have helped much).
Well, the shoebox is a pretty obvious target of opportunity. Reducing the size of the contain by a factor of 10 or 100 would make it less obvious. But I’d be nervous in all three cases myself.
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### Author:  [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/130 "2022-09-19T13:23:50Z")
I look forward to agitation to bring back “fractional currency”.
> **[1874–1876 25 Cents Fractional Currency Note Very Fine | GovMint.com](https://www.govmint.com/1874-1876-25-cent-fractional-currency-note-vf?ad=700PM&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsIGT6fig-gIVEY7ICh2N_AUVEAQYAiABEgLq4_D_BwE)**
>
> These bank notes actually have denominations of 25 cents! Get an 1874–1876 25 Cents Fractional Currency Note in Very Fine condition at GovMint.com!
> **[Postage Currency — Mystic Stamp Discovery Center](https://info.mysticstamp.com/this-day-in-history-august-21-1862/)**
>
> On August 21, 1862, Postage Currency was issued to make business transactions easier during the Civil War.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/131 "2022-09-19T13:36:41Z")
He did not walk out of the bank branch with the shoebox (or Halliburton Zero attache case 🙂 ; it went in a backpack. However, as noted, the transaction had to be arranged in advance, potentially marking him as more than a random target, if you want to get really paranoid.
In any case, it went smoothly, he made it to the airport and the rest of his trip, and is now the owner of a nice beachfront apartment (I don’t know anything about the specific seller, or why an international wire transfer was not feasible, but apparently this is one of those countries where large cash transactions are normal, or at least were at the time).
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/132 "2022-09-19T14:17:30Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#):
>
> I look forward to agitation to bring back “fractional currency”.
How about irrational currency? I, for one, would like to see a \$\sqrt{2} note.
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### Author:  [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/133 "2022-09-19T15:42:53Z")
Good luck on waiting for exact change.
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/134 "2022-09-19T16:18:23Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> How about irrational currency?
I’m quite familiar with imaginary currency.
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### Author:  [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/135 "2022-09-19T16:31:47Z")
You can always mint a $(1-sqrt(2)) coin to deal with the change issue.
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### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/136 "2022-09-19T16:32:07Z")
Don’t you think finance is complex enough already?
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### Author:  [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-the-3-00-bill/971504/137 "2022-09-20T20:02:40Z")
I am going to try to get this thread back on the original topic of three dollar bills.
Many private bank notes were issued by banks, canal companies, railroads, etc. prior to the civil war and circulated widely, often at a discount. There are numerous examples of three dollar denominations of these private bank notes. Use of these private bank notes was effectively ended in 1863 when Congress imposed a 10 % tax on the notes.
Prior to the Constitution of 1789, the United States issued paper currency commonly referred to as Continental Currency. In an earlier post, **DPRK** showed us an example of Continental Currency in a denomination of three dollars. Although **DPRK** ’s example is styled “United Colonies”, there are similar later issues styled “United Sates”, some with a denomination of three dollars.
Many will say that the first paper currency issued by the United States under the Constitution of 1789 are the Demand Notes of 1861. Neither the United States government nor any Federal Reserve Bank has ever issued a note or certificate in the denomination of three dollars in 1861 or any year thereafter.
However, this may not be the entire story. Under the Act of February 24, 1815, Congress authorized the issuance of Treasury Notes and the Treasury subsequently issued notes in various denominations including three dollars. See this link for a picture of one: [Market Analysis: 1815 Treasury note leads Heritage sale of Coltrane offering](https://www.coinworld.com/news/paper-money/market-analysis-1815-treasury-note-leads-heritage-sale-of-coltrane-offering). Although the original intent of these notes was for the federal government to borrow money, they were receivable for debts, duties, and taxes owed to the federal government. Therefore, they began to circulate among the public and were widely accepted as currency. However, they were not legal tender for private debts. What do you all think? Do the three dollar Treasury Notes issued pursuant to the Act of February 24. 1815 count as a three dollar bills issued by the United States governmant under the Constitution of 1789?
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