Why are American notes still made with paper?

[Nick]

Why does America still have paper notes? Why not switch to polymer?

Here is a quote from the Australian Departement for Foreign Affairs and Trade (http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/currency.html)

Australia was the first country in the world to have a complete system of bank notes made from plastic (polymer). These notes provide much greater security against counterfeiting. They also last four times as long as conventional paper (fibrous) notes.

The innovative technology with which Australian bank notes are producedâ€â€developed entirely in Australiaâ€â€offers artists brilliant scope for the creation of images that reflect the history and natural environment of Australia. At the same time, the polymer notes are cleaner than paper notes and easily recyclable.

 

[jasoncran]

it's a lot harder than you think to counterfiet over here in america, money will be going away soon imho.
not to derail this thread, but i use my bankcard and the internet to pay my bills. and do banking.

jason

 

[Nick]

it's a lot harder than you think to counterfiet over here in america, money will be going away soon imho.
not derail this thread, but i use my bankcard and the internet to pay my bills. and do banking.

jason

well I"m 17, and I use electronic bank cards (EFTPOS) for most transactions, and I also do internet banking. the only time i deal in actual money (M3) is when I need to withdraw cash out of an ATM becasue the place I"m going doesn't use EFTPOS.

I think in the not too distant future we will see the transition to more electronic means of payment, but I also think it will be at least two decades before actual money (as in cash) is dealt away with.


As far as I'm aware, paper money is the easiest money to counterfiet, and if America switched to polymer notes then they would a lot harder to counterfiet. And they're cleaner, last heaps longer (about 4x) and are reclylcable.

 

[jasoncran]

it's a lot harder than you think to counterfiet over here in america, money will be going away soon imho.
not derail this thread, but i use my bankcard and the internet to pay my bills. and do banking.

jason

well I"m 17, and I use electronic bank cards (EFTPOS) for most transactions, and I also do internet banking. the only time i deal in actual money (M3) is when I need to withdraw cash out of an ATM becasue the place I"m going doesn't use EFTPOS.

I think in the not too distant future we will see the transition to more electronic means of payment, but I also think it will be at least two decades before actual money (as in cash) is dealt away with.


As far as I'm aware, paper money is the easiest money to counterfiet, and if America switched to polymer notes then they would a lot harder to counterfiet. And they're cleaner, last heaps longer (about 4x) and are reclylcable.

actually its not paper money but actually threaded paper, there are certain threads that are weaved into at along with the pics, the dollar bill is actually threaded also. yes strange, i watched a show on this a few years ago.

jason

 

[theothertexasrich]

One of the main ingredients in American currency is actually old blue jeans (denim). They shred it and combine it with paper.

I haven't heard of the polymer notes. Assuming polymer is actually better, I would guess that the reason we haven't switched to polymer notes is 1) plain old habit and 2) initial cost. We've been making money with jeans and paper for a long time (and we're pretty good at it), so why change now? (that is my explanation of their logic, not my opinion). Also, like everything here, it would cost billions of dollars and go over budget 600%.

Unless there is some substantial reason to switch, no one is going to volunteer to do it. Especially, since the new format bills are still fairly new. But the polymer definitely seems worth looking into.

As far as cash going away, I doubt that is a consideration at the mint. Cash is less necessary these days, but I have only ever heard of one business that didn't accept it.

 

[handy]

You're right, tex, America doesn't have paper money, it's actually mostly cloth. I saw the same TV show, I believe it's called "Inside the World's Mightest Bank."

I googled polymer money and saw some some images of the Austrailian money, and it does look pretty cool. I imagine that it's only a matter of time before America starts going in that direction. Of course, I think it's only a matter of time before we are a truly cashless world anyway and everything will be done with ebanking and automatic debits.

One thing I will guarantee y'all on though, it won't stop fraud, it won't stop theft. It will make it much easier to control folks by not allowing them to buy and sell as I hear a future world leader will want to do.

 

[justvisiting]

It's interesting that you brought up paper money. They are talking about making the Amero( I think that's how it's spelled). David Hockings mentions it. The people from Rome already have a plan for dividing the world into 10 sections.??? Anti-Christ stuff? Like Hockings said...maybe we should pay more attention to the present world rulers. Not saying anyone is that...evil one, yet.
We might be in for hard times if the world banks keep having problems. I myself, don't think it's a great idea into a lot of debt, now.
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/sh ... hp?t=85831 This is about the Amero possibility.

 

[jasoncran]

i have heard that last year, and that should be discussed in another topic.

jason

 

[heather]

Counterfeiting is extremely easy to catch to the experienced fingers. I pass hundreds of bills through my hands daily, and know the second I feel a counterfeit bill that it's fake.

I agree that changing now would produce much more debt than we should want to go into to produce a new type of money. Think of all the new equipment all the banks would have to buy!

 

[Nick]

Counterfeiting is extremely easy to catch to the experienced fingers. I pass hundreds of bills through my hands daily, and know the second I feel a counterfeit bill that it's fake.

I agree that changing now would produce much more debt than we should want to go into to produce a new type of money. Think of all the new equipment all the banks would have to buy!

You might find these links interestng:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Plastic-Money-a ... edit-Cards
http://www.rba.gov.au/CurrencyNotes/Not ... index.html


Gotta say, they're a lot more interesting than any other country's notes that i've seen!