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Posted By: pauluk The Color of Money - 06/27/03 04:24 PM
Not really related to electrical subjects directly, but of passing interest -- Except for anyone who doesn't like to receive cash! [Linked Image]

It looks as though U.S. bills have now gotten something other than gray/green in them for the first time:
http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney/

At least the new design looks quite restrained compared to the garish colors on some foreign notes.

Has anyone come across the new $20 bill yet?


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 06-27-2003).]
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: The Color of Money - 06/27/03 05:10 PM
I really wish they would colour-code our money.

I hate that putrid green-gray tone.

Other countries have real pretty bills....pink, blue, light green, purple, etc.

It would help a lot when you're handling a lot of bills, especially when you're in a rush -- that way someone doesn't mistake a 20 for a 10 and an argument ensues at the counter.
Posted By: pauluk Re: The Color of Money - 06/27/03 09:38 PM
Something like these notes Sven?

The new Euro notes are all different colors too.


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 06-27-2003).]
Posted By: sparky Re: The Color of Money - 06/27/03 10:33 PM
[Linked Image from moneyfactory.com]
man, i gotta invest in a good printer... [Linked Image]
Posted By: Jim M Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 01:12 AM
Trumpy,

I wish that the US bill were more like the NZ or Austrailian dollars. We washed one accidently, it looked good as new and still couldn't be torn. Nice design on the artwork too.
Posted By: Trumpy Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 01:39 AM
Jim,
But, man can you get a really good paper-cut, if you're not careful!. [Linked Image]
Yeah, I must say that our notes are a wee bit different to others, around the world.
Posted By: Hutch Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 02:45 AM
Australian notes have to be seen and felt to believed. They're plastic with clear windows in them. Impossible to tear and they wash up beautifully!

The Isle of Man experimented with plastic notes in the late 70’s I think but they had a tendency to loose their ink. They even had a 50p note for some time! – couldn’t give up on the old ten bob note (10/-).

I am glad that I am just old enough to remember the old UK LSD system which died in 1971 – I was running the grade six shop at the time and had to be conversant with both the old and new decimal systems. For our American members, LSD was not UK banking psychedelia, but rather Pounds (Libra as in lbs), Shillings (Solidus) and Pence (Denarius as in a 4d nail). There were 20 shillings in the pound and 12 pennies in the shilling - thus 240 pennies to the pound!

The pound sign ( ₤ ) is an ‘L’ with the currency lines through it. Where I come from “#” is called ‘hash’ and it means ‘number’, it is not a pound sign! Until 1953, the penny could be divided into quarters (fourths) called farthings, the ha’penny or half penny lasted until almost the end. School math(s) thus looked as follows:-

Add up the following:-

₤/s/d
2/13/11 ½
-/5/2 ¼
1/18/10
4/-/3 ¾
-------------
?

Answers on a post card to …..

Sparky, during the Second World War, the British five pound note – a very valuable financial instrument in its day – was printed in black and white on one side of the paper only. Just imagine what you could do with a Xerox copier and time machine!!!


[This message has been edited by Hutch (edited 06-27-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Hutch (edited 06-27-2003).]
Posted By: sparky Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 02:48 AM
indeed Hutch...
Posted By: rat4spd Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 03:03 AM
Those Australian $2 coins are a bummer. You can plunk them down like quarters and blow through a load of cash in no time without realizing it. I must say they are neat though.
Posted By: Electric Eagle Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 04:33 AM
I do like the currency of other counties, but the good old American Green Back is a classic. It's recognized and accepted all over the world. I hate to see it change, but I think it needs to to prevent counterfieting. I think the new $20 is very sharp and will help.

Now the $1 bill needs to just go away though, to be replaced by a coin. At the same time the penny needs to stop circulating and all bills should be rounded to the nearest nickle. On our invoice, we round down to the nearest dollar.

[This message has been edited by Electric Eagle (edited 06-28-2003).]
Posted By: Trumpy Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 06:32 AM
Electric Eagle,
I certainly know what you mean with regards to the $1 notes, mind you, it could often make a poor man look rich, with a big wad of notes.
What is a penny worth in the US?, also a dime and a quarter?
Just wondering. [Linked Image]
Posted By: pauluk Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 08:59 AM
I have to agree with Eagle about the good old American greenback. O.K., for people used to the currency in other currencies it's easy to criticize it for all denominations being the same shape, size, and color, but it is a really nice design -- It just looks like the solid, reliable currency that it is.
They hadn't introduced the new $5 and upward designs when I left the States, but I've used some since, and found them quite acceptable. They somehow managed to modernize them a little but still retain that traditional feel. (For any of ECN's foreign members who don't actually know what the bills look like, go here . The older >=$5 bills were more like the $1 with the picture smaller and central, and more "frills" around the edges.)

Trumpy,
Penny, nickel, and dime are official names for U.S. coins of 1 cent, 5 cents, and 10 cents respectively. The quarter (25 cents) is also known colloquially as "two bits" -- Not sure how that name originated.

Quote
Add up the following:-

₤/s/d
2/13/11 ½
-/5/2 ¼
1/18/10
4/-/3 ¾
-------------
?
I make that £8.18.3½ [Linked Image]
Posted By: Trumpy Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 11:09 AM
Hey Paul?,
Is the pound metric these days?.
As in 100 pence to the pound?.
Just wondering, as I was reading an article in a UK electronics magazine, recently and it made me sort of wonder, with the wording of 110p. [Linked Image]
How long has this been around?
Posted By: SvenNYC Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 04:45 PM
Electric Eagle said:

Quote
Now the $1 bill needs to just go away though, to be replaced by a coin.

Yes. I have been saying this for YEARS. A coin will cost more to stamp in the beginning. But they last for years. I still see 20-30 year old nickles, dimes and quarters and 50-cent pieces circulating and they're in fine shape!!

I go out of my way to get and use dollar coins.

Canada uses a dollar coin. They also have a 2-dollar coin (just like we have a 2-dollar note). Why? [Linked Image]

I think a coin is much more sanitary - and you can wash them if you're obsessively concerned about germs (or if, like me, you're in the habit of picking up pennies and nickles off the sidewalk). Have you noticed how bills STINK? UGH!!!

Then he said:

Quote
At the same time the penny needs to stop circulating and all bills should be rounded to the nearest nickle. On our invoice, we round down to the nearest dollar.

While I'd LOVE to see the .99 and .94 prices go away, I still wouldn't be thrilled about the fact that I couldn't be able to collect pennies from the sidewalk, toss them in a pickle jar and spend a few relaxing evenings after work just rolling the suckers up. [Linked Image]

I've paid for lunch with penny rolls (50 cents per sleeve), after I've exchanged them in the bank, of course... [Linked Image]
Posted By: rat4spd Re: The Color of Money - 06/28/03 08:19 PM
"Two Bits" comes from the "old" west when a silver dollar was cut into 8 pieces ("bits"), hence two "bits" equals 25 cents. Must've been a lack of smaller coin or something. Of course, back then, there was one dollar worth of silver in a one dollar coin, so cutting it didn't diminish its value.
Posted By: pauluk Re: The Color of Money - 06/29/03 01:10 AM
Ah.. Thanks for that explanation. I've always associated the term with old westerns, so I guess that's why!

Quote
Hey Paul?,
Is the pound metric these days?.
As in 100 pence to the pound?.
Just wondering
Yes -- We changed from LSD to decimal money in 1971, with 100 "new pence" to the pound. Thus one new penny was equal to 2.4d (old pence). They've been messing about with the denominations and sizes of the coins ever since. [Linked Image]

I was 5 at the time of the change, so I'd just learned how to count money and then they changed it all!

I still have a card game called Snip-Snap, which was issued at the time to help people learn the new money. The cards depicted various combinations of coins, and you played it like the kids' game snap, saying "Snip" or "Snap" if you got either matching LSD or matching decimal coins, and "Snip-Snap" for LSD and decimal cards of equivalent value (e.g. 2/- and 10p.).


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 06-28-2003).]
Posted By: pauluk Re: The Color of Money - 06/29/03 01:32 AM
Oh yes.... I came across these images of current-style Swiss bank notes while I was browsing.

Somebody, please tell me that these are a horrible joke inflicted upon the good citizens of Switzerland.......... [Linked Image]

[Linked Image from about.ch]

As for the reverse side, I can only assume that it's the result of some horrendous bug in their printer software:
[Linked Image from about.ch]

UGH!


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 06-28-2003).]
Posted By: Electric Eagle Re: The Color of Money - 06/29/03 02:28 AM
pauluk, it looks like the designers of Swiss money have been using some of that LSD you were talking about.
Posted By: ThinkGood Re: The Color of Money - 06/29/03 02:39 AM
SvenNYC:
Quote
Have you noticed how bills STINK?

Don't sniff them too much...

Euro version [Linked Image]
Posted By: Bjarney Re: The Color of Money - 06/29/03 03:03 AM
Maybe it's just me—but folded in sweaty leather near THAT body part?
Posted By: Hutch Re: The Color of Money - 06/29/03 03:18 PM
Interesting trivia regarding the origin of ‘two bits’ from Spanish pieces-of-eight can be read at http://www.nctimes.net/news/2001/20010318/aaaa.html . For a concise history of currencies used in the US from its earliest days try this: http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/northamerica.html .
Posted By: Trumpy Re: The Color of Money - 07/01/03 04:43 AM
Just an aside,
Is it just me or is money the world over becoming more and more valueless?.
The reason I ask this, is because, when I was growing up in the 70's, you very seldom ever heard the figure "$million", used very often, but these days, it seems everything is counted in millions (or Billions, for that matter), or has the price of everything sky-rocketed that much, over this time!(take the price of houses, for example).
What are your thoughts on this?.
Posted By: C-H Re: The Color of Money - 07/01/03 06:08 PM
Trumpy,
normally the inflation and economic growth will mean that people will have more money each year. The only exception I know of is Japan, where prices and wages go down.

By the way, few million liras don't make you a rich man. Italians have had a hard time getting used to money being worth something since they changed from the Lira to the Euro. The exchange rate is 1940:1, if my memory serves me. The Turkish lira is worth even less.

Some countries have chosen to delete a few zeros from the bills and coins, just to make the currency look like it is worth something.

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 07-01-2003).]
Posted By: ThinkGood Re: The Color of Money - 07/01/03 08:33 PM
[Linked Image from 65.108.216.53]
Posted By: Electric Eagle Re: The Color of Money - 07/01/03 11:57 PM
Trumpy, the answer is inflation. On average prices in the US rose just over 4% per year from 1950 to today. This means that $799 dollars today is worth what $100 was in 1950. $125,000 in 1950 would buy what $1,000,000 will buy today. If you want to be as rich as a 1950's millionaire, you now need 8 million, so keep working.
Posted By: pauluk Re: The Color of Money - 07/02/03 10:24 AM
Inflation really took its toll here in Britain in the 1970s when prices just went crazy. These days though, its probably house prices which are the biggest problem. In many areas, young people just setting out in work and trying to get a "starter" home just have no chance whatsoever. [Linked Image]

To add to the images, here are the current English bank note designs introduced fairly recently, images from the Bank of England website. Our notes seem to change with alarming regularity these days:
[Linked Image from bankofengland.co.uk]
[Linked Image from bankofengland.co.uk] [Linked Image from bankofengland.co.uk]
[Linked Image from bankofengland.co.uk] [Linked Image from bankofengland.co.uk]
[Linked Image from bankofengland.co.uk]


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 07-02-2003).]
Posted By: pauluk Re: The Color of Money - 07/02/03 10:35 AM
There are different designs of Scottish bank notes .

And here are the designs of all the old Irish bank notes: http://www.centralbank.ie/notesandcoins.asp

Their "A" series design seems to have lasted a very long time -- From 1928 (a few years after independence from the UK) right up until the 1970s! [Linked Image]

As an aside (and perhaps getting back on topic a little [Linked Image]), for any of you who do small jobs and accept payment in cash, will you accept foreign currency?
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