Today in my ongoing series of photos from my travels over the years: a sign in a cafe in the Vienna airport declaring the 500 Euro note invalid.
This is the most valuable note in the world I'm wrong -- there are Swiss and Latvian notes that are more valuable -- learn something new every day! -- part of the answer to the logistical question of transporting lots of black-market money around, and it's natural that it would end up a counterfeiter's dream. There was
talk of embedding anti-counterfeiting RFIDs in the bills, but I can't tell if that ever went through -- certainly, it seems like a genuinely bad idea to make it possible to remotely detect which wallets are worth stealing. The sign was laminated (hence the poor quality of the photo), and it made me wonder about the secret life of the world's most valuable note.
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Hi, im from austria so i just wanted to tell you this:
A tobacconist once told me, that the part that is hardest to fake (and most people seem to forget that when copying money) is that the grey area you can see between the "5" and the RedStar (the big one in the upper-middle part) is the hardest to fake. This area HAS to be ..ehm..rough (sorry my english sucks ^^), which means if you move your fingernail from left to right and back on this area, you have to feel the little "ribs" the paper got there.
But since most people dont know how to find all the signs of a real Euro, companies just wont take your money (which is a joke in my oppinion ..).
Im also not sure if this remote-thingie got implemented, but i dont think so. I just know there is something in there which is hard to fake too, some kind of.."not-made-of-paper stripe" running through the paper : )
hope that was at least interesting for you,
cheerio
.f : )
..."not-made-of-paper stripe" sounds like a security thread. I remember when they were introduced in the US in the late '90s. My brother the no-longer-juvenile delinquent made a hobby of pulling out the thread without otherwise damaging the note.
just a quick note - 500 EUR isn't most valuable note. For example, Latvian 500 LVL note is worth about 500 GPB, 1000 USD or more than 700 EUR.
Is the EU not like the US where all its currency must be accepted as legal tender throughout?
The 500 Euro note is certainly not (yet?) the most valuable note in the world. The Swiss 1000 CHF note is currently worth 620 Euros. It is in common use, too, although hardly in cafes.
There are plenty of places around here that won't take $100 Canadian bills. When I worked in fast food, we had to show $50 bills to a manager for approval. There used to be a $1000 bill, but they stopped making them in 2000.
Uh, do you have a source on that, #4 Pitch?
Seems to me a lot of gas stations won't accept anything bigger than a $20 after a certain time of day, to avoid running out of smaller bills and being unable to make change.
I always thought it was ridiculous, the bills specifically say "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private."
Well in Spain it's quite common to see signs like that one in most of the shops, restaurants, gas stations not only about the 500 notes but also about 200, and even about 100 in small shops.
And some of the signs aren't that "nice".
In general they should accept your 500 euro bill which is legal tender. There is however a common used loop hole that they may exclude some of the more valuable bills because they just don't have the change.
Most counterfeiters don't as much buy 500 euro of goods for their bills as try to get as much change for it, like going to an restaurant and then pay their 10 euro lunch with 500 euro and getting 490 in change.
Most places where you would buy more then 500 euro in goods are very good at detecting counterfeit.
Legal tender just means that they have to accept it for a debt. Buying an item from a store doesn't count because they're just refusing to sell you the item. If you owe money on a loan from a bank though, they are supposed to accept legal tender in payment. I'm not sure how gas stations get away with it since the gas is already in my tank when I go to pay.
Just to nip the "OMG legal tender!" ideas in the bud, you're wrong. It's perfectly legal not to sell a car to someone with a truck full of pennies. That's right, even if you claim to know a lawyer.
Not that you see €500 notes everywhere in Europe anyway. Most of "normal" payments involve €100 or €200 (tops) notes. Amounts greater than that are usually made by debt/credit cards.
(aside: my US friends visiting EU usually are struck by the size/colour differences through the different denominations.
Before the Euro, we also had Dutch Guilder bills be worthless because of this. (If you can't spend it anywhere, or only at limited places, it's worthless in my view.) Most notably, the 1000 Guilder bill, (and in some cases also the 500 guilder bill).
And in the Netherlands the small coins, 1 and 2 euro cent are no longer valid currency. At least most Dutch stores do not give them to you, making 3.99 essentially be 4.00, and stores don't have to accept them any more.
(btw, unrelated to this, on my end when I click "preview" here on the site I can't click post or edit my post, the input box is nowhere to be found, I have to go back and then edit/click post. (FF2 on a corporate WinXP box with 'NoScript' enabled but scripting allowed for Boingboing, Fmpub, Quantserv, Recaptcha and Hittail (though not Doubleclick, I don't trust that company, sorry).)
I don't have anything bigger than a US $20 bill in my pocket more than once every couple of years, when the grocery store gives me a $100 bill as cash back. How do you end up with these whomping big bills in your wallet? Do your jobs pay you in cash?
In many places, gas stations are pre-pay only. Doesn't affect me too much, it's just strange to get in a situation where someone is unwilling to take my cash.
Heh, not sure a lawyer would defend anyone's right to spend their literal tons of pennies... might be afraid their fees would be repaid in all coin!
Employees regularly take home cash when working for tips. The wallet is what becomes whomping big when you choose to take the 100 $1 bills instead of trading up.
A lot of places in the UK won't take £50 notes.
This has been taken to an extreme by one bar I used to frequent which had a large replica of a £50 note on the wall behind the bar, accompanied by some hilarious comment about not accepting £50 notes that are "fucking massive".
Trufax.
In Singapore there's been issued a SGD$10,000 note, which, as far as I can tell, is still in legal circulation, although why the hell anyone would own one, much less make use of it, is completely beyond me. In monetary value that it comes up to US$7020, or €4786. Madness.
Having said that, the bio geek in me is highly amused by the fact that the partial protein sequences of tyrosine kinase and tyrosine phosphatase are printed as a safety feature. I would love to get my hands on one just to spazz out over it.
That's reasonable when you consider
a) you'd be hard pressed to spend 500EUR/$1000 in any airport cafe.
b) there is a stream of people arriving at the airport fresh off a plane, who are carrying 500 EUR notes and who want it changed into something smaller.
if they accepted those they'd have to hold an enormous float in the till.
Hey, I have lived in Latvia for 3 years and whilst there is technically a 500 Lat note, no one I know has ever seen one! The highest I've ever actually held in my hand was a 50 Lat note and that was only once. The Bank machines only dispense 5,10 and 20 Lat notes so as for 100's and 500's, I have only seen them in picture.
the sign doesn't say the EUR 500 is invalid, just that they don't accept them. same here in switzerland, there are stickers in some shops stating that they won't accept CHF 1000 notes. on point of which, i disagree with number 5 who says CHF 1000 notes are in common use. i've lived in switzerland for years and have yet to see one ....
As a European I really see no valid reason why we decided to have a 500 euro note in the first place. It's really only convenient for forgers, the underground economy and organized crime.
The 200 euro notes should help you a long way in any realistic situation, but for any large amount of cash it'll over double the amount of notes involved.
Heck, I've had a few 200 euros in my pocket once when I ordered PC parts but was underage so I didn't have a card to pay for them with so I had to get them COD. Credit or debit cards are the overwhelming norm here for paying for things.
The idea of not accepting big bills isn't really anything new; there are places in the US that won't take $100s (the largest circulating US banknote anymore) for that reason.
Of course, the USA used to have bigger denominations back in the day, mainly used for transferring funds between banks, but they were taken out of circulation in 1969 because EFT made them redundant and there were concerns about their use by organized crime.
Kind of ironic, really, that they killed off those big bills and now the smaller bills have considerably less buying power than they did back then.
Much bigger notes do exist, even if they aren't in general circulation. The biggest British bank note is worth £1,000,000 and is used to "back' the notes in circulation.
From the Bank of England website (http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/other_notes.htm)
"Instead, special one million pound notes are used. These notes are for internal use only and are never seen outside the Bank."
I was given few 500 EUR notes when I was converting a bunch of local currency before going to a vacation in The Netherlands back in 2003. Not suspecting anything, I tried to pay for a restaurant bill in downtown Amsterdam (around 100 EUR, mind you) with one, and the waiter politely informed me that they are not willing to accept it. I had to walk around the neighborhood, leaving my friends at the table, to find a currency exchange booth where they were willing to change the 500 EUR note into smaller denominations for a commission.
Since then, I've learned the lesson and will not accept anything larger than a 100 EUR note myself when I'm buying Euros for a trip abroad...
Sorry to double-post, but this is also relevant:
"The term legal tender does not in itself govern the acceptability of banknotes in transactions. Whether or not notes have legal tender status, their acceptability as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved."
So British law agrees with "EH" (11). Shops have every right to refuse banknotes they don't feel like accepting.
#14 (Antinous):
When I was a student in Prague the 90s, I was paid my monthly stipend in cash. To make it easier to distribute large amounts of cash, I was asked to bring in the difference to some large note (1000 CZK I think), so they didn't have to get a lot of change from the bank.
Now 1000 crowns was only worth about $40 at the time, but it was a bit of money in the local economy, and a small shopkeeper would be angry if you tried to use it to make a small purchase.
I live in Germany, and the € 500 bill is not accepted at most gas stations, as well as at many other cash desks, mostly of smaller places. They just don't want to carry so much in change, that's all.
I never had a € 500 bill in my hands anyway... :-)
I've used the $10,000 Singapore Dollar note to pay for a purchase from an art auction. It's frigging huge. Are they still printing them?
First off, here is a definition of "Legal Tender" in US of A:
Next up, a link to a recent $1M U.S. Note counterfeit bill story in the news. (Link to another version of the same story, but, confusingly, as a youtube video.)
I also question the value of putting a 500 Euro bill out in common circulation (and by common I mean anyone can get them from a bank, not that everyone is carrying them).
And finally, the largest U.S. note was the $100,000 Federal Reserve note, according the the Bureau of Engraving and Printing:
I worked in retail for about 5 years in Toronto, where there was always the possibility for counterfeit bills. Hardly anyone knew -any- of the ways to check a bill. Some thought you had to have a UV light, but wouldn't really know what to look for.
One day when taking the deposit to the bank, I realized that bank tellers can tell almost instantly if something is fake, and so I just asked them. There's 2-3 incredibly easy ways you can determine a counterfeit and all without a UV light. I don't know how many times I repeated that info in the next few years to others who had no clue.
At least, that's with Canadian dollars, but I assume Euros are no different for ways to determine counterfeit.
Sorry, last cool link for U.S. Currency - links to pictures of all the "large denomination" bills, including the $100,000 Federal Reserve Note.
In Brunei, there's a 10000 Brunei Dollar note. That's currently worth about USD 7000.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunei_dollar for a reference. I've actually seen one of these in person :)
@ JJasper (#28):
I eat my words. You've not only seen one, you've actually used it to pay for something in the flesh? That's insane! Didn't the art gallery accept credit, or a cheque, for something of that magnitude? Did the bank give you a lot of grief when you requested that much money, in cash?
@ SDT (#32):
The SGD and the Brunei dollar are equivalent, so that possibly makes our notes the Biggest Damn Circulating Notes in the world. (I'd love for somebody to prove me wrong-- maybe there are notes out there even more ridiculously high-powered, circulating...)
I now avoid bank machines that spit out $50 CDN bills (about 50$ US) because I run into so many businesses in Montreal that refuse to take them, or give you a hard time, let alone 500€ notes, that's insane.
I really don't know what the point is, but maybe it is becaus I live in Europe, Germany and see these signs quite often.
It is simply common, that not in all stores or places all bills or coins are exepted. You wouldn't expect to pay a 9 EUR Breakfast at a café with a 500 EUR bill or to pay a 4000,- EUR car with 2,- EUR coins.
As many people posted above most of the gas stations, shops and restaurants have their restrictions and do not accept 500,-, 200,- or even 100,- EUR bills.
An interesting detail for this case is by the way, that the countries where people use bar money / cash the most are Germany, Switzerland and Japan.
It has still something to do with status.
Thats the reason why the 500,- EUR bill not only exists for people to buy their used car or criminals to pay their dope.
Besides all these gas stations, drug stores or cafes at the airports with their self-made cloddy "WE DONT ACCEPT" signs there are many restaurants and bars which discretly accept these bills without batting an eyelid (can u say that in english? I don't know) - I don't mean these really weird expensive bars or hotels, where you cannot expect much change from your 500,- EUR bill after drinking 4 cocktails anyway ;), but some middle class restaurants - steak houses for example.
For what it's worth, Canada issued $1000 bills until early in 2000. While they are out of issue they are still in circulation (my aunt has one in a safety deposit box).
At today's exchange rate it's worth about 675euro.
Actually it doesn't really matter that these kind of bills aren't accepted. Most ATM's in the Netherlands don't even have them anymore.
Plus, the most counterfeid bills are the 20 and 50 euro bills. So maybe the emphasize of these messages shouldn't lay on not accepting certain bills, but instead on the fact that every bill is checked.
-Dave
In fact, and I know this sounds far fetched, but the Bank of England have a number of million-pound notes called "Giants" for internal use only (but still legal tender) and 40 (count 'em) "Titans" or £100,000,000 NOTES.
I don't fancy dropping a Giant in my local corner shop tho.
crap, I just saw BUGS comment.. beat me to it.
#34 they won't even take fifties?! that seems a little insane.
$50 is only like €33, u'd spend that on a half-desent lunch with a friend in Dublin.. and no drinks.
(and I bet ur loving saying $50CDN is around $50US haha! brilliant)
#20 (pyota)
As for CHF 1000 notes being in "common use", I concede that they are only common if they are appropriate, which is not that often (it's over 900 USD, after all). They are useful, for instance, to those who pay for their cars in cash (there are quite a few of them).
People are used to larger notes in Switzerland; ATMs dispense 100 CHF notes by default. A few years back, I purchased a train ticket (some 20 CHF or so) using a 1000 CHF note, and the salesperson didn't even raise an eyebrow.
I'm in the US, and wasn't born until well after bills over $100 were phased out.
Higher denomination bills seems so... risky to me. Lose one slip of paper and you're out a significant amount of money.
In Argentina, in touristic places there are signs saying that u$100 are not received, just for the same reason: The inability of most people to detect counterfeiter notes.
BTW, 500eu here is a month salary for a lot of people (myself included!).
Today in my ongoing series of comments on Cory's photos;)
This sort of thing isn't much of a problem in the USA because no one ever carries cash.
I believe the 'Security' issue here may simply be the reluctance to have so much cash in the till which would be required to break large bills.
It's common for retail establishments to limit the denominations of currency which they can accept.
Robbery is a security risk in my book.
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" countries where people use bar money / cash the most are Germany, Switzerland and Japan.
It has something to do with status."
Once again it's a matter of security...
Germany, Japan and Switzerland have a VERY LOW incidence of street crime subsequently, carrying large amounts of cash is less risky.
In the USA you can always spot a rube when you see someone flashing large amounts of money.
What gives with the lats? Swiss currency's value I can grasp, but Latvian?
My understanding is that the large euro denominations were introduced to please the Germans who were used to 200DM and 500DM bills. Very handy if the use of credit cards isn't as widespread as elsewhere and of course when you need to visit your friendly and discreet banker in Switzerland or Luxemburg. Some (most?) eurozone countries don't circulate these bills.
i remember being in Canada & thinking it was insane not to use anything larger than a $20 (especially when i had to pay my $800 a month rent in cash). here in Japan i've used 10,000 yen bills (about USD$94) for purchases as low as a dollar for years now, in large stores and small, and i've never had a single refusal or complaint.
if it's so easy for the Japanese to accept high value bills, why is it so difficult for everyone else? or is that a stupid question?
perhaps because it is relatively safer in Japan to have large amounts of cash on hand
I work the night shift at a full serve gas station Stateside, and we don't take anything larger than a $50. It's not the counterfeit thing, it's the robbery thing. Because night shift gets hit so often, we can't keep more than $100 in the drawer, so unless you're getting at least $80 worth of gas, a $100 bill is gonna prevent anybody else from getting gas with cash for the rest of the night, because we won't be able to make change. It's been like that at all the night shift places I've worked, convenience stores and gas stations alike. I've been working this shift for about 20 years, and I've been held up about 12 or 13 times, so it's a valid concern for the store owner.
unless you're getting at least $80 worth of gas
So that's a quarter tank for a Hummer?
Yeah, about that, if they're getting 93 octane (which a startling number of them do). You should see what the dudes in the Excursions and Expeditions drop in their tanks.
Well, they better treat those cars well. They're living in them now that their houses have gone back to the bank.
I've been working this shift for about 20 years, and I've been held up about 12 or 13 times
holy crap! ok yeah, point taken. i don't think i've ever heard of a convenience store getting knocked over in Japan.
well, i live in austria and i don't even know how a €200 or €500 bill looks like! the thing is that no normal person owns such bills because money machines only spit out €10 €50 or €100 notes (nice ones skip the €50 because it's just more convenient not to have to have a huge chunk of money changed at some small shop). i can't even imagine a situation where people in their right minds would prefer handling that much cash money to paying via the "maestro"-system (which afaik is generally free of charge and terminals are ubiquitous). in other news: Finns don't bother with 1 or 2 cent pieces, they decided to begin with 5 cent as their smallest change...
Being a poor United Statesian, I rarely even SEE any denominations over $20. However, the main reason for a business refusing to take bills over a certain amount is mainly to get the most mileage out of their small change before the next bank run. If people using large bills for small purchases becomes a common recurring problem, the business usually puts up a sign saying they don't accept larger bills. It would be nice to see them propose the rather obvious solution: Please visit the nearest bank to make change if necessary. If I had a $100 bill and needed to make a $5.00 purchase, I'd stop at the nearest bank first and break it into small units.
Ah, for a $100 bill of my own again... Can't wait until Bush is out of office...
Bank? Oh, those buildings that they used to have before ATMs. I guess that large cities might still have a lot of them, but they're few and far between elsewhere. And in the western US, far between really means far between.