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by graemep 36 days ago
What? I have never come across that. No problem with notes in many currencies with folds a creases, even small tears.. In my experience bank notes last for ever anyway. I have various notes from countries I have travelled to decades ago in good condition.
1 comments
l23k4 36 days ago
If you're going to Paris? Sure, as long as the amounts are relatively small. Try paying with pre 2009 100USD bills in Africa lol.

Even banks struggle with this https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/05/30/old-money-new-proble...

Goes to show how viable cash is as a store of value for most of the world.

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graemep 36 days ago
According to that article it has nothing to do with condition, but with the lack of anti-counterfeiting protection on older notes.

I have lived in, and briefly worked in a bank in, in a country where people do use USD, GBP etc. notes as a store of value, sometimes in large amounts (you hear about that when they get burgled!).

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Paradigm2020 36 days ago
Cambodia official currency is USD (1000 riel = meant to be 0.25c, goes up to 50000 riel) prices are advertised in $ in general with sometimes 1$ = 4200/4300/4500...

Anyway key point is your USD better be mint and at least 2018 or they will refuse it... Same at currency exchanges in most of south east Asia that have their own currency.

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l23k4 35 days ago
In my experience what Paradigm2020 describes is very much the norm around the world.

> and briefly worked in a bank in,

I suspect this might be where the confusion stems from, if you're thinking of places where people go to banks you might be thinking a bit too fancy.

I'm thinking of stuff more like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCDQpm6f_pU

>According to that article it has nothing to do with condition, but with the lack of anti-counterfeiting protection on older notes.

I'd say the age of the money has everything to do with condition, and it matters a lot.

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graemep 35 days ago
The claim I replied to was that: "in most of the world a $100 note is only worth $100 if it's in basically mint condition"

Somaliland is pretty extreme example and not representative of "most of the world". It is extremely poor, isolated because almost nowhere recognises it as a country which cuts it off from payment systems and currency markets.

I have no idea whether they claim is true or not in extreme places, but those places are not "most of the world".

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