Big Money Can Be a Problem
by Staff Editor
Just when you thought that you could never have too much money in your pocket we are told that other countries are having problems with bills that are larger than they can spend. A third of the countries gearing up for the new euro money have chosen not to print large-denomination notes, saying the big bills are too unwieldy for citizens who are used to more meager pocket change.
Euro Notes
Spain, Greece and Ireland joined Portugal in deciding not to print the 500 euro note worth about $425 in U.S. money. Ireland, Portugal and Greece also ruled out the 200 euro note valued at $170. Greece will not even print the 100 euro note ($85), which soars above that country’s biggest old bill, the 10,000 drachma note that was valued at $25.
“You can’t just put into circulation any denomination when you know nobody is going to use it,” said Regina Schueller, spokeswoman of the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank, which is responsible for producing euro money for some 300 million people in 12 European Union countries. Part of the problem is people in some countries do not have a culture of using large denominated bills.
With high-end euro notes worth so much more than bills that circulated in the past, some central banks just do not think it is worth the extra expense of setting up presses to print them “There will not be much need for that kind of money, so it is too expensive to adjust the printing machine," said Bank of Spain spokeswoman Angela Esteve.
United States Bills
In the United States, the $100 bill has been the largest denomination of U.S. currency printed for circulation since 1934. The economy seems to work nicely without the larger bills of the past that at one time extended up to $10,000. Among the reasons cited for not printing larger bills for this country are the extensive use of checks and credit cards, as well as a desire to curtail the use of such money in illegal transactions. Unlike other nations, coins in the United States extend only to $1.00, and paper money is used for all higher denominations.
Portugal is a perfect example of why demand for big bills in some countries is so low. The 500 euro note is nearly double the nation’s minimum monthly salary of $261 and is roughly equal to the average worker’s monthly salary. The highest denomination formerly in circulation there was 10,000 escudos or roughly $42, but even that was rarely encountered in daily use.
Courtesy of The American Historic Society Coin Collector's Newsletter
