"Jeff R." wrote in message
u...

"note.boy" wrote in message
...

I would not be surprised if the USA was the last country to coin "real"
money as they have the most backward coin and papermoney on the planet.

...

Why are all the notes the one colour and size regardless of denomination
as this must make the sorting of notes difficult.

Why do the notes have little in the way of security features which makes
forgery easier.

As the congresscritters for the answer. Billy

Tend to agree, Billy.
Judging by the responses over the years, in this NG, to the proposal that
the 1¢ be dropped, I'd suggest that our US cousins would tend to be a
little more conservative (read "ornery", "stubborn"...) than most of the
rest of the globe, particularly in terms of "fixing something what ain't
broke!"

I doubt we have a monopoly on that view. We've actually never been
challenged recently to accept a significant monetary "fix". We've always
been left with multiple options.


The degree of being "broke", of course, is debatable. (As is the relative
virtue of this character trait.)

I'm guessing here, but maybe too many 'Merkins have fond memories
(anecdotes, stories) of "what Granpaw did with that penny" (etc. etc.) for
them to allow that tangible piece of history to be summarily eliminated.
(And rounding will result in runaway inflation for decades to come.)

I'd prefer to think that most 'merkins simply don't care about the look or
their money. When there's a design change, there's a buzz for the first
year, then no one cares anymore. The American public has not clamored for
or had to deal with a significant change in coin denomination since the half
cent, two cent and three cent coins were discontinued. The 20¢ coin wasn't
around long enough to create a fan base. The history of those coins remains
for anyone who wants to own (or even spend) one. When silver dollars were
eliminated few were using them anyway



To give them their credit, they are making a half-hearted, and wishy-washy
attempt to introduce some colour (sorry: "color") into their notes. Too
little, too late, too slow.

The more colors, details, frequent changes, the harder it becomes for a
merchant do detect a counterfeit. But by the same token, the more familiar
the design, like with our US currency, the more the merchant tends to become
oblivious to the design. Either way may work or not for a given country.


I kinda like the vignettes on some of their notes, 'though: The spooky
pyramid and eye on the $1, the founding fathers on the $2. The
architecture lessons on the others get a bit dull.

Making them all the same size has got be a bit silly.

We've grown to like them all the same size. Easier to count and spot the
denomination on the corner. None get lost or hidden in the wallet. I will
say that on my last trip to the UK, after a few days I go used to arranging
the bills according to size in my (too small) wallet. I especially liked
the one and two pound coins. I could pick them out of my pocket change by
feel after a few days. I'd like to see a thick dollar and/or two dollar
coin like that here instead of what we've got.

Bruce