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by IncreasePosts 465 days ago
America doesn't rescind or invalidate old money from circulation when a new design comes out though. No one is going to bat an eye at a 10 year old $100 bill coming through.
2 comments

Well then I guess it's settled - the US Federal Reserve notes are truly inferior to Bitcoin in terms of counterfeit resistance!

Humor aside, "When currency is deposited with a Federal Reserve Bank, the quality of each note is evaluated by sophisticated processing equipment. Notes that meet our strict quality criteria--that is, that are still in good condition--continue to circulate, while those that do not are taken out of circulation and destroyed. This process determines the lifespan of a Federal Reserve note."

Not only does the Federal Reserve routinely remove counterfeit notes from circulation, they even routinely remove non-counterfeit notes that are older or have physical damage from circulation!

You'll also find on the source link below, typical lifespans of circulation for various notes, as follows:

Denomination - Estimated Lifespan

$1 - 6.6 years

$5 - 4.7 years

$10 - 5.3 years

$20 - 7.8 years

$50 - 12.2 years

$100 - 22.9 years

So no, nobody is going to bat an eye at a 10-year-old 100-dollar federal reserve note, but by 25 years old, it would be likely to have already been removed from circulation. The 10-year timeframe you mention is more appropriate for $20 and below, but those notes tend to be counterfeited less than larger notes.

Source: https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/how-long-is-the-life-spa...

okay, so? spending money is not the same as depositing it at the fed.
> No one is going to bat an eye at a 10 year old $100 bill coming through.

Within the US mostly. Although sometimes you can have trouble with a $2.

Outside the states you might.