wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

I don't think the 500s have been made for ages, either. I have one in my safe deposit box that my father gave me decades ago as a Christmas present. It wasn't worth much extra, if anything, at the time, but perhaps there's some premium for it today.

shelty Loc: Medford, OR

Sorry, I never carry $100 bills because they are too hard for a small store to accept.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

We would get $50s and $100s at the farm stand occasionally. In the '90s we were small enough that it was a problem. Eventually, we managed to accept them fairly regularly but it was always a problem early in the day. I would carry a couple hundred with me out in the field and if needed I could change a hundred. Also, what I carried was 10s and 5s because we ran out of them occasionally. I kept a couple bundles of 1s in a drawer right by the cash register.

Our customers were predominantly local so we took checks and occasionally even extended credit. Only had one check bounce, and the person came back and made good on it later.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

The scary truth is that most of the "Money" doesn't really exist. It's only X's and O's in computers. Most transacttions take place via computer. Credit cards, checks, wire transfers NO cash. I don't know what the number is but I'm willing to bet that less than 1% of the "money" is in cash. One can make the argurement that 5 or 10% of your net worth should be in gold or sliver- and hope that you never have to use it.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

But if you want to see cash, you can go to Vegas. Our firm had a Nevada bank client, who told us once that pretty much any of the substantial banks in Las Vegas probably had more cash on hand than all the banks in NY City combined. And they were open 24/7/365. A casino calls in the middle of the night on a weekend and needs a couple million in cash? On the way in minutes. (There may have been adult beverages involved, but it SOUNDED plausible at the time.)

drucker Loc: Oregon

Bills larger than $100 have not been printed since the mid-40s but are still valid. However several years back the Fed made the decision to withdraw bills larger than $100 when they were deposited in a bank. Thus they have become more collectible as time has passed -- especially those in good condition.

Many of the old-style $100s in circulation internationally are what are known as "Super Bills" because of their high quality -- counterfeits produced by foreign governments on presses just like the ones used to print our currency. Some say the half of the 100s in circulation outside this country are counterfeit. The new multicolor design has probably put a stop to or slowed continued counterfeiting, but there are still a lot of them in circulation worldwide.

Beard43 Loc: End of the Oregon Trail

If I wanted to be a counterfeiter, I would make one dollar bills. Who checks those? No one.

Ron

stu352 Loc: MA/RI Border

Yes, but how much will it cost you to produce each $1 bill? Your production cost will likely not be much different from, lets say, a $20. The profit margin is higher with larger bills.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

That's why the $20 is, I believe, the most-counterfeited. It's (1) common enough not to draw a lot of attention (clerks will never remember who gave 'em a 20 but may well remember at least something about a customer who gave 'em a hundred - when the Secret Service comes investigating the counterfeit) but (2) valuable enough to be worth the time and materials to make. (I think I read somewhere that, if you take account of the infrastructure costs as well as the ink and paper, it costs more than $1 to make a dollar bill.)

JoeBiker Loc: homebase: Houston, TX

I really don't understand why people are so concerned about having their CC compromised. I use CC's extensively, and therefore have a CC compromised about once a year or so; it's no big deal. It has never cost me a penny, and isn't (usually) much of hassle. The convenience of the CC far outweighs the inconvenience of dealing with the compromised CC, and I get 1.5% to 4.5% rebates on the charges to the cards.

A few notes: I have autopay set up to always pay off my CC in full every month. Also, I have a separate CC that I only use for reoccurring monthly charges, and that card isn't used for anything else. It would be a pain if that CC was compromised, but since I only use that card at a half dozen or so online merchants, it has never been compromised.

LittleRed

I guess it depends on the circumstances. What happens if you find out your card has been compromised while you are 3500 km (2200 miles) away from your home base and in a foreign country. Add to that you are in the backwoods and do not sufficient cash to get back home. Fraid even you would be a wee bit concerned if your only card was compromised. Been there, done that. If one did not plan for that to happen they would be in dire straits. While birding in Patagonia Arizona when attempting to gas up at a country store we found that our main CC for travelling had been compromised, don't know where or how, but it was. (at least that's what the bank said and we all know that they are always right). Since this was not the first time it had happened to us we had planned to have that possibility covered. While travelling we carry multiple cards usually from different banks and/or companies. One CC is basically never used unless a problem like above occurs. But still a lot of people sadly carry only one card while travelling.
Like you all our cards are automatically paid off every month. But unlike you all my reoccurring monthly bills are automatically taken off a bank account. No CC for this as it becomes a hassle if a problem does arise. And that can even occur to a card not used if is declared compromised by the bank for no apparent reason. However we have learnt that if a bank says your card is compromised, it is! (Even though you know it was impossible) Again, been there and done that and again we were a considerable distance away from our home city. Like you we also have a CC used for specific purchases. This is what we call our Internet cards used only to purchase items online. These carry a low limit of $1000 with no option to go higher. Once it gets to that maximum there is NO further charges allowed.
We have learnt over the years that one, if using CC's extensively, must be prepared for a compromised card as eventually it will happen. But being a large distance away the card issuer makes it much more difficult to correct this problem. Thusly multiple cards from different banks and companies (Visa and MasterCard) is the answer we have used to prevent any problems due to a compromised card. However, in my opinion, contrary to what you have stated if you have only one card and it was compromised I'm afraid one would more than a little concerned in certain circumstances!!!

LittleRed (Ron)

PhotoPhred Loc: Cheyney, Pa

There are several web sites that sell all sorts of currency. Check our govmint.com (not affiliated with the US government) and check their currency section. If it is a clean uncirculated specimen, it could be worth a lot of money. You could also google "500 dollar bill" and see what come up. It's good that you have it in a safe place.

JoeBiker Loc: homebase: Houston, TX

Been there, done that myself... just last month as a matter of fact.

First off, I travel with at least three credit cards. The third is a old one is one that I use just enough to keep it active, and it is buried deep in the lining of my carry on.

Secondly, we contacted the CC company (Chase Sapphire, an excellent travel card BTW) of the card that was compromised, and they were very accommodating. They only disabled the CC for online purchases. They left the CC active for "Card Present" charges in the specific country that I was traveling in. All we had to do was contact one hotel that we had given the CC to in advance (because if they attempted a pre-authorization, it would not have been a "Card Present" charge). When we got home, our new card was waiting for us.

Third, also with the 3rd card that is buried deep in the lining of my carry-on is a fairly large amount of US cash in crisp new (series 2013 or newer) $20 bills. Anything bigger than a $20, old, or worn can sometimes be hard to use in foreign countries.

So, If you assume that a card will be comprised, and are properly prepared for it, it is (an annoyance, but) no big deal. As far as restaurants or online charges, it is hard to say which is more susceptible to compromise.