General Discussion

n2doc

(47,953 posts) Tue Apr 21, 2015, 12:04 PM Apr 2015

$100 bills close to becoming most commonly circulated currency

Washington and Jackson may be lining your pockets, but Benjamin's been making a run for the border.

One-dollar bills and hundreds make up the vast majority of U.S. currency, according to the 2015 World Almanac. There are 10.7 billion ones in circulation, and 9.7 billion hundreds.

Twenty years ago, hundreds made up only 14 percent of the bills in circulation, now they're more than a quarter. The other common denominations have all dropped in frequency, except twos which still make up 3 percent of bills.

Hundreds made up around three-quarters of the total value of U.S. currency in 2014, or $968 billion of the total $1.3 trillion in circulation at the end of the year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

But not all of that money is making you rich at home. Around half of the total value of U.S. currency is abroad, according to a 2011 Fed estimate. Foreign nationals and companies buy U.S. dollars for their secure value and some use it as a medium of exchange. Among hundred-dollar bills in circulation, the portion held overseas jumped to 71 percent in 2011, from 49 percent 20 years ago.

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http://www.cnbc.com/id/102602582

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$100 bills close to becoming most commonly circulated currency (Original Post) n2doc Apr 2015 OP

As I recall, Kelvin Mace Apr 2015 #1

Get rid of pennies, start using coins instead of bills for $1, and print a $200 bill. DanTex Apr 2015 #2

"In U.S." is incorrect. Should say "in world" And that is why there are so many $100 bills. yellowcanine Apr 2015 #3

Benjamin Franklin Is My Spirit Animal... MineralMan Apr 2015 #4

Kelvin Mace

(17,469 posts)

1. As I recall,

Reply to n2doc (Original post)

Tue Apr 21, 2015, 12:16 PM

Apr 2015

we were shipping them by the pallet-load (and losing them) to Iraq.

DanTex

(20,709 posts)

2. Get rid of pennies, start using coins instead of bills for $1, and print a $200 bill.

Reply to n2doc (Original post)

Tue Apr 21, 2015, 12:21 PM

Apr 2015

Also, make stores post prices including tax.

Yes, I know this is not what the thread is about....

yellowcanine

(35,699 posts)

3. "In U.S." is incorrect. Should say "in world" And that is why there are so many $100 bills.

Reply to n2doc (Original post)

Tue Apr 21, 2015, 12:22 PM

Apr 2015

The hundred is the preferred bill in other countries by far.

MineralMan

(146,308 posts)

4. Benjamin Franklin Is My Spirit Animal...

Reply to n2doc (Original post)

Tue Apr 21, 2015, 12:23 PM

Apr 2015

(stolen from a very bad ad for a tax preparation company)

When I used to be in the business of selling mineral specimens to collectors, I attended several large mineral shows each year. All had exhibitors and vendors from all over the planet. The $100 bill was pretty much the only way to pay for your purchases at those shows. No checks. No credit cards.

At one major show in Tucson every year, I carried a wrapped bundle of brand new $100 bills. $10,000. When I left the show, I had a van full of mineral specimens that would become my stock to sell. I was a very small player at those shows. In the week the show was on, millions of dollars, all in $100 bills, changed hands. What always surprised me is how few security folks were around. Everyone at the show as a buyer, had at leas $10,000 in a jacket pocket.

It made me nervous sometimes.

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