Ban the $100 bill?

New and more colorful $5 bills, intended to make counterfeiters’ lives more difficult, went into circulation earlier this month, joining the already spruced-up $10s, $20s, and $50s. The old $5 bills will continue to circulate until they wear out.

Coming next, at a date still to be determined, is the new $100 bill—unless, that is, those who would dump it altogether have their way. The anti-$100 bill argument, made in newspapers recently via this article, is that the $100 bill is handy for terrorists, drug kingpins, and other criminals who deal in large amounts of cash but plays little or no role in the lives of ordinary, law-abiding consumers.

Eliminating the $100 bill (the jargon is “demonetizing” it) would presumably mean that those of us with a C note we got from Grandma last birthday would be able to cash it in for some period of time before it became worthless. Criminal types with crates full of them, however, would have a lot of explaining to do.

What do you think? Should we keep the $100 bill or phase it out? Which would be better for consumers?  Please feel free to comment below.

Comments

[Ric Wade]

I have to wonder how much of carrying a $100 bill is purely ego?? Banks may have a fit ... but so what? The bills need is decreasing with the advent of the ATM card. If you cannot get a bank account, then quite possibly, the person does not belong here to begin with.

[Dan]

What a great idea. Maybe the greater amount of cash will give the druggies and terrorists bad backs and make it easier to catch the money going out of the US. I am 49 years old and have never had a hundred dollar bill, or a fifty. I am going to contact my Senators today. Thank you for the great idea. Dan

[Bob Doherty]

Good idea. Can't remember the last time I used a $50 bill either.

[Pavo]

I suppose those criminal types who are stockpiling stacks of $100 bills in safety deposit boxes would just start hording Euros instead. I read somewhere that is already happening as the dollar is weakening.

I think the real effect is that it will make more money for the credit card validation systems that are used to swipe credit/debit cards and charge the vendor for tranactions.

[Gene Shiau]

I don't remember the last time I saw a $50 bill. Let's get rid of that. Stop printing $100 bills is just non sequitur: foreign tourists ,especially from East Asian countries, are used to carrying large amount of cash -- there is too much risk of account information theft by using their ATM cards and credit cards. If we get rid of $100 bills, do we expect them to write traveller's checks everywhere they visit?

[Bucky]

With the current rate of inflation and cost of gas why would you eliminate the $100 bill? I prefer to pay with cash because it helps me understand how much money I'm spending. It's a little harder to spend cash when you see it disappearing. Using a card makes it too easy to spend more than you should. I think we should introduce a $75 bill.

[Charlene Edwards]

As a person who sometimes sells (and buys) items through places such as Craigslist, I am only willing to accept cash for the items I sell. It is too risky to accept checks and money orders from people one doesn't know. If I am selling (or buying) something for $400 or so, are we to be expected to pay in $10s and $20s? I don't know who all these people are who say they have never even used $50 and $100 bills. I always take the amount of cash I budget as 'spending money' out of my account each month. This makes it much easier to not go over my monthly budget. I prefer not using my ATM card for purchases. Just like a credit card, it makes it too easy to over-spend. Just because the money is in my account doesn't mean I want to spend it. (I usually withdraw $500 each month in cash, to be used for everything from groceries to entertainment. When it's gone, it's gone.)

[KimJSCP]

I personally use credit cards for every imaginable purchase (cash back!!) and only write 2 checks a year for taxes. But occasionally , if I am shopping somewhere that doesn't take credit cards and where online bill pay isn't appropriate (eg. buying a bicycle from a private seller), 100s can come in very handy.

That said, though - I don't really care what happens to the $100 bill. JUST GET RID OF THE PENNIES! They are such a waste of time, money and energy.

[Mike]

I very rarely use cash at all. Only at a bar, convenience store, or something like a street vender. With my credit or debit card I have a record of what I've spent and can keep track of it better. I log into my portfolio from Bank of America every day to check my finances. With cash, I have an entry for the withdrawal and then the money just dissapears after that.

[Chris]

I don't know why we let criminals and the small segment of society ruin it for the rest of us. There is a disturbing tendency to want to ban things because a few people abuse the system. We ban pseudoephedrine from OTC because a handful of people turn it into Meth. Nevermind that the majority of the people who use the medication legitimately now have to show our IDs or cannot get it at all if the pharmacy section is closed. This, by the way, has had no impact on the production or use of Meth. Now we are attempting to ban the $100 dollar bill? You can't tell me that this bill is not used - data on this is available. Do you expect this to have any impact on drug use/ selling? As if the lack of this one bill will stop criminals? There are many ways you can improve the situation with drugs and criminals, but banning $100 bill is not one of them. I know, lets ban all bills, little plastic baggies, and large trucks

[Sara]

Forget the $100 dollar bill. Get rid of coins first!!!! What a pain!!

[Tony]

Getting rid of the $100 bill is not going to stop drugs. People will sell, barter, or trade anything worth something to get drugs, including their own body. They will sell their own kids even. Are we going to get rid of kids too!

[Bill]

Not with 5%+ inflation rate!

[JLK]

What is the largest Euro note? Japanese note? It would be helpful to know the results in other countries, if this has been tried in similar economies to our own.

[David]

This is one the crazy ideas of the Bush reign. What will do after that, eliminate the fifty? Soon we can all carry a suitcase of one dollar bill; or we can convert to the Euro and dump the dollar altogether! The one hundred is sufficiently small to make transferring large amounts of dollars a true exercise.
Ban the dollar bill and require us all to use the dollar coin. That along with the printing of two dollar bills will make life for all easier, and it would save the treasury money.

[JOEY TAGLIARINO]

WHO NEEDS THEM? MOST RETAILERS REFUSE TO ACCEPT THEM ANYWAY...

[Coastman]

This is one of the silliest ideas I have ever heard. As one of the other posters noted, I use a debit card 99% of the time because of the record it gives me. However, I also usually carry several hundred dollars with me, particular when I travel for things like cab fare, porter tips, etc..

Our country needs to "grow up" and stop looking for a quick fix to all problems.

[Gail]

I use my debit or credit card almost exclusively. However, I do not think we should get rid of $100 bills. Just because I use plastic doesn't mean everyone wants to. I agree with one of the previous posters that a lot of retailers won't accept the big bills, but I think they should be forced to accept them.

[RonC]

I agree with KimJSCP and Sara. Get rid of the pennies. Forget the $100 bill.

[Lou Williams]

We could probably do without the $50 bill as well. Credit cards rule.
Ever try to break a C-Note at a local store? They think you're an idiot.

[Jason]

I often carry a $100 bill and a $50 bill when I travel. My smaller bills are exhausted with tips, cab fair, coffee and other fees by the time I arrive at my hotel. Getting cash while on the road can be arduous and result in outrageous fees. My employer requires me to use their credit card, but limits the things I can charge on it. Therefore if I want to join clients or coworkers at various bars or nightclubs, cash is mandatory. This is also necessary when splitting the check at restaurants. A few large bills allow me to carry sufficient cash to last the trip and cover emergencies.

[Paula Meyer]

Phase it out.

[Larry Schiro]

I really think getting rid of the $100 bill is a good idea. Every time I go to spend one, most businesses look at it suspiciously like I am some kind of counterfeiter. I don't like them period.

[ga]

Make totally new 100 bills and make it the old ones unusable in a years time.

[Joe]

Drug dealers will use cash regardless of the denomination and please take note, today's 100 is yesterdays 50.

[zerotron]

The only drugs I see in this picture are the drugs apparently taken by those who proposed this lame idea in the first place. $100 and $50 bills play little or no role in the lives of ordinary, law-abiding consumers? No doubt millions of Americans enjoy visiting their ATM machine every day, but I don't personally find that particularly convenient or desirable. In an era when it costs more than $50 to fill the gas tank, the use of $50 or $100 bills doesn't strike me as a particularly bad idea. I'm still of the "old-fashioned" thinking that if one tends to pay for their needs in actual cash, one is far less likely to exceed their assets. We also need to consider that millions of Americans in this country don't even have a checking account, let alone credit cards. The truly cashless economy is still a long way off, and the elimination of one particular denomination isn't going to have any of the benefits that this article is envisioning.

[john]

Do away with it. So you upset a few drug dealers and people who pass money to elected officials. No harm to regular people.

[Karl]

You will not be able to eliminate or dampen the drug industry by getting rid of the $100 bill. If u do make purchases w. cash it is sometimes nice to be able to carry $500. and not have a wallet full of $20's. Going to a sporting/music event nowadays and you need about that much cash if you buy a few drinks! $1 bills are a waste of trees, time to join the rest of world. $1 is change, so is $2, to be honest so is a $5, really! but this country has lately been really stuck in old-fashioned ways, look at who became the president, due to mistaken tabulation of votes and it's lasted 8 years!

[Bruce]

Credit and Debt cards are the financial industry's way of taking a significant piece of every transaction, with little effort on their part. Stop this drainage of our personal and national wealth.
Every time you use a credit or debit card, you increase the probability of getting ripped off by fraud of one kind or another. This does not happen with cash.

The greedy companies have regular meeting on how to take more and more of your money through fees. Stop helping them drain you!

[Brian]

This should really make all you greenie progressive CR readers mad.

When you grow up and get real jobs in industry, $100 bills are the currency of adults. Ever try to feed a family of 4 with $5 bills? Getting rid of currency denominations will have no effect on anything legal or illegal. It will just serve to make you big government types feel better about "getting the rich".

And with the Fed devaluing currency at an alarming rate, your $100 bill will be worth $50 tomorrow anyway. So you better hold on to a few in case your bank collapses and you have to pay your mortgage in cash. .....Oops I forgot about the massive gov bailout of subprime lenders.

[G Trotta]

Does anyone remember the opening scene in "The Peacemaker" where the rogue Russian general takes a payoff for a nuclear device and is paid in $100 bills?

The movie came out shortly after the celebrated redesign, and the whole theater burst out laughing when the general said:
"I liked the look of the old bills better!"

Does that prove a point about where the $100 bill finds its greatest currency and devotion? Perhaps, but I did want to share a good laugh.

GT

[jose]

I have to admit the only times im stuck with a bill larger than a 50 its the first to go in my wallet only because its so hard to make everyday small purchases with a large bill, most merchants refuse to take it. you try getting a value menu meal after work when all you got is a 100 dollar bill youd have the same chance flipping a coin & calling it.

[Nile]

As if those "criminal types" won't simply switch to using gold, diamonds, platinum, euros, guns, or something else of value. Gee, thanks...yet another cross we all will bear in the endless quest to create one more impediment for the criminally inclined.

We're having our water bottles and cigarette lighters taken away while getting fingerprinted at airports, and being photographed and recorded as we walk and drive down public streets. Our mobile phones can be used to track our movements, and our government data mines our phone and bank records . We cannot spend $10,000 of our own cash without raising flags by requiring the recipient fill out an IRS Form 8300. In the back of our minds we must always remind ourselves of how our actions, no matter how innocent, might be misconstrued by others. It seems the cloud of suspicion hanging over each of us gets slightly larger every day.

And, just like that, with each passing day we become less free.

[Jason C]

Banning the $100 bill will not affect criminal activity in the least bit. This is a silly idea. Instead we should be banning small change. It costs 1.7 cents to produce each penny, so every penny produced adds to the national debt. Nickels cost us 9 cents to produce.

[Corbey]

This idea has about as much veracity as extending daylight saving time by a week to save energy. It will have no effect on "drug kingpins" but only inconvenience ordinary people who might occasionally need to carry larger amounts of cash. There are many real steps the government could take to fight crime and protect our borders from drugs, but this isn't one of them. The is merely another one of those harebrained ideas that allows politicians to say they're doing something while they continue to take no real action on the problems that face the country.

[R]

Having access to large denominations of cash was extremely helpful immediately preceding and then following Katrina.

[Corbey]

The Euro is available in up to 500 Euro bills, but leave it to the U. S. to think that drug trafficking can be reduced by eliminating the $100 bill. All this does is give politicians a convenient cover story while inconveniencing people who might need to carry larger amounts of cash. Ridiculous!

[Brad]

There are positives and negatives. I personally like the larger bills, when I cash checks I don't have to carry around a few thousand in 20's, 100's make it much easier to put in the wallet. However, you go to the store anymore and they won't accept the $100, after a bit of a fuss they will take it, because it IS money. It just seems merchants have got a head start in phasing out this bill. I don't deal drugs nor take them so i can't speak intelligently about their uses.

[Rich W]

At first glance this sounds like a reasonable idea, but this is more likely just a way to shave a few pennies off the budget, while still bankrupting the US economy with the Iraq war budget.

The drug dealers havent been stopped yet by any action of any govt - the best solution is to legalize pot since its considered less dangerous than alcohol, and tax it to increase revenue.
And instead of spending billions on war, spend millions on school, water and infrastructure projects in the middle east to help the people there rather than punish them...

[Mark R]

Frankly, I was hoping they would restore the $1,000 bill! Seriously, the move to electronic monetary transactions gives banks a monopoly to extract a vig from every sale, including Our Daily Bread. Banks should not stand to reap such a benefit. Cash is a necessary safeguard in any emergency. Imagine computer circuitry and banks being offline and a region left without cash for simple necessary purchases. As citizens we have the right to store what we feel is a reasonable and necessary amount of cash to be able to unite and protect our families in time of civil strife.

[Ben Franklin]

I'm appalled.

Those who give up liberty for a sense of security deserve neither.

[Phil Johnston]

Inflation will eventually reduce the value of the $100 bill to the point where it will be less useful for criminals anyway. I say leave it alone and focus on preventing cyber-crime and identity theft.

[les parsons]

I think that getting rid of the 50 or 100 dollar bill is very
foolish since inflation and business GREED is controlling our economy today. Tomorrow and I don't mean next month, inflation
could force us to carry $50 and $100 bills for a few groceries or as one who posted, a $50 bill would not fill a 4 cylinder car's gas tank. Think about it. $10 and $20 bills
would be used for "lunch tips". If anyone can't visualize this, I think their head is in the closet.

[kevin]

People are always talking about civil liberties yet they let the banks, government and retailers track every financial move they make. I use cash, because what I spend my money on is MY business and no one else's. As long as I pay my taxes, the government has no right to pry into my personal spending habits. North America has been brainwashed into bending over backwards for the banks. The advent of the ATM may seem like a convenience to most, but the banks can replace numerous branches with these machines. Think about the number of hard-working employees they can cut from the books, and the real estate costs of branches. The banks make us feel like it is a privilege to put OUR money into their bank. Then they have the nerve to charge us for doing a transaction with OUR money. WAKE UP, big brother lives in the USA and is slowly creeping into your bedroom.

[Chris1]

This has to be one of the stupidest idea's I've heard in a while....
What, the drug dealers or terrorists, whoever will just find a new business. Maybe they'll start accepting credit cards, drug users can get airline miles! Seriously, they will just do the same thing they do now but with 20's or 50's. If they were smart they would be using Euro's for these transactions anyway.

Believe it or not, many legitimate transactions occur with cash each and every day. What about people traveling who need to convert money at their destination. How about flea markets, auctions, specialty shows, etc. What about gambling and casinos? I guarantee the folks in Vegas will never let this happen.

[Paul]

Keep the $100 bill! I was in Korea last year. The biggest bill they have is the equivalent of the $10 bill. Your wallet was stuffed with these things - a cab ride means spending multiple of the largest bills they had. Ludicrous. My business contacts over there thought so too.

I use credit and debit a great deal, but I still carry cash and, on occasion, large bills. There is a need for larger denominations.

[Michael T.]

I can't believe the number of people in this thread that are actually for this idea. It seems they won't be satisfied until America is a full-fledged police state with every incremental step using the excuse to eliminate criminals and terrorists which of course would mean eliminating all of mankind.

[Carlos]

We've got a trillion dollar deficit again. Is this the problem we really need to solve? Tell your government to stop wasting time even discussing this kind of stuff.

[Mario]

My employer gave us a Visa for travel expenses. They strongly urge us to avoid cash. A lot of my travel is to "less developed" countries. A few 20s and singles gets me from the airport to my hotel. After that, even in these areas there is an ATM.

For personal expenses, a cash back card works best.
I have a budget and I stick to it. That's what receipts are for.

The $100 bill is not going to stop the drug business, just make the bales 5x larger. I have no use for the $100 bill.

[ken roberts]

keep the hundred dollar bill-very soon it might be the only one worth anything-it will soon cost that much to fill up your gas tank

[Elston]

Keep the $100 bill.

When I go abroad I take cash for two reasons. There are still places without an ATM, and I try hard to avoid using credit cads which charge a 3% currency conversion transaction fee.

I agree that we should get rid of pennies and nickels which cost twice as much to produce as they are worth as money.

[Donald]

I got a better idea, get rid of the $50 also. While we are at it how about the penny. US Armed Forces overseas don't use it. They either round up or down and they save money from not having to move around pennies.

[Robert]

Phase it out.

[John Peters]

First it was the ten thousand dollar bill, then it was the thousand dollar bill. When will people(stupid politicians) learn that no matter what the currency, the drug traffic etc. will continue. To ban the 100 dollar bill is stupid. My wallet is already fat enough with carrying 20's and 100's. The social problems need to be solved in another way than affecting our currency.

[Len]

I like 50's & 100's because they take up far less space in my wallet. If you want to do something useful with our currency & coinage dump the $1 & $2 bills and replace them with coinage like Canada did some time ago. They last much longer making them more cost efficent to manufacture. They are also far more useful for tolls, parking, & every type of vending machine.

[Ricardo]

Eliminate the $100 bill? I need them to fill my SUV gas tank. Lots of them.

[Gus]

With the rapidly declining relative value of our (worthless) paper currency, we're going to need to bring back $1000.00 bills.

[leftboston]

I never considered this before but I can see it's merit. For me, get rid of Pennies, get rid of paper dollars as they cost too much to maintain and adopt coins for 1 and 2 dollar amounts. You don't like coins but a few months in Europe will teach you, counting coins will make you spend all your coin collection quickly

[Noel]

I think its pretty short sighted to get rid of the big bills ($50s & $100s). I like to keep them in my wallet as my discretionary allowance. Not because they are a status symbol, but because if I use one, it makes me think twice before I break the bill. If I kept my fun money on my debit card, I would spend it much more quickly.

Not that I shun electronic banking. All our budgeted spending is on our debit card. For that stuff, it is quick & easy and its a way to separate our essential spending for needs from our "fun" spending.

[William F. Slack]

Keep the $100 bill. I fact issue a $500 and $1000 bills. The gov't would like to eliminate all cash on the guise of helping the war on drugs. That war was lost long ago. Eliminating cash will allow the gov't to track almost any transaction and I do not trust them. The EU has a 500 euro note and it seems to get along OK.

[Chuck]

I do not think this is a very good idea.

Back in the 80's, I used to think $100 was a lot of money and I rarely used them. Now I find myself carrying 50's or 100's all the time. Inflation has grown so much over the past years that $20 dollars in 1980 is equivalent to almost $60 today. So carrying a couple of $50s is like carrying a couple of $20's, 25 years ago.

I have never have any problems using them to pay for gas, groceries, or restaurants. I also find it less conspicuous to carry 50's and 100's than a huge wad of 10's and 20's.

Besides, the Wall Street Journal recently mentioned that Euro is already the currency of choice for the underground economy due to the 500 Euro denomination.

[Ed Burke]

During the Vietnam War the color of viable US Military Scrip (Money) was changed and then distributed voiding all the old color money within a few days. This left all the brothels, bars, drug sellers, etc. holding worthless paper. I believe that this idea has merit, and is similar to what was a very effective tool to cripple criminals and their activity in Vietnam during the war.

The downside is that as the US Dollar devalues into the US Peso, we may wish we had not done this because a tank of gas of a few groceries will soon be costing a hundred bucks. The 100 dollar bill is soon to become the new 20, and that is a problem of more than the bills denomination.

[Patrick Henry]

Keep the $100 and bring back the $1000. Then, get the IRS off everyone's back. Stop treating the law abiding like criminals.

“Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” —Patrick Henry, 23 March 1775

[Dan S]

Get rid of pennies, nickels, and dimes! What a waste!

With inflation, getting rid of $100 bills is a dumb idea. If we want to stop illegal drugs just legalize them, treat them like an illness (more or less - addicts get what they need for free with medical oversight) and abolish the totally ineffective DEA. Did we learn nothing from our disastrous experiment called "Prohibition"?

[John Kirk]

All of the current bills are useful for consumers, particularly for those who are tempted to over spend when using a credit card.

$1, $5 and $10 bills are useful for tips at airports, hotels, barber shops and restaurants. $20 bills are universally accepted at fast food, gas stations, toll booths and convenience stores.

Now that travelers checks are virtually obsolete,
$50 and $100 bills are useful when traveling overseas to countries where credit cards are not universally accepted and where greenbacks are accepted in lieu of local currency.

The downside of carrying bills is that if lost or stolen you are out of luck. If you add a lost or stolen risk factor, say 3%, then the added cost of using a credit card in terms of higher prices seems like a bargain.

We know higher prices are paid by those who use credit cards as well as those who pay cash except for the "convenience fee" which government agencies are allowed to charge credit card users. The credit card transaction fees which merchants pass along to consumers are a hidden tax which is paid only by those who pay in cash.

There is a risk factor of over spending with credit cards, just as there is a risk factor of over indulging at an open bar or all-you-can eat buffet. Those of us who might over indulge at an open bar or all-you-can-eat buffet should avoid such situations. Those of us who might over spend should avoid credit cards and stick with cash.

[paul]

What IDIOT came up with this idea?
Sounds like some rocket scientist(pinhead) government worker thought this up to justify their job.

[Bill Evans]

I travel extensively throughout the US. I can never recall carrying a $100 bill. I expect it would be hard to pay for something with one, except at a bank. Carrying cash in denominations of $100 is an invitation to be mugged.

[J V Lacefield]

I use $50 and $100 bills nearly every day. Find them highly useful. Do not use debit cards, have found no advantage over credit cards. Several disadvantages compared to credit cards but I am not asking that debit cards be banned. Who are these people that have never seen a 50 or 100 bill. Do they live in the USA? You do NOT have to be a drug dealer to find bills of this size useful. Any of you people remember the 5,000 and 10,000 bills. They came even larger than that but I did not see any of those.

[Tom]

We should continue with the $100 bill. There used to be a $1000 and $500 bill and they were stopped, did that stop the drugs? With the price of everything going up I think we will need the $100 bill. Who knows we might be paying $100 for a full tank of gas ?????

[Tom Wells]

This is a great idea! I remember when the US changed the MPC (Military Payment Certificate) in Viet Nam. In one day all old MPC were null and void. Vietnamese were outside our gate in DaNang begging to trade for their old MPC. It worked, by the way. This is a dern good way to get illegal money off the streets. All you that are against this just don't understand what it will do.

[AJ]

I frequently carry $100 or larger for work. Come on people, the $100 has legimimate business uses. I'm so sick of this fear mongerning, anytime someone wants to strip away my rights, they cry "terrorists!"

Give me a break, take your fear mongering elsewhere and keep your hands off my $100's and other civil liberties.

[David]

Bad idea. Just sold my car yesterday. Glad that I was able to receive $100s. Imagine if that was all 20s. Eek. It would be one thing if the Treasury stopped printing C-Notes as they did with the $10,000, etc. It's completely another to expect the public to "cash in." NO American currency has ever lost it's face value. If you have a nickel from 1834, it's still legal tender - 5 cents (I'd sell it to a collector though). Keep the $100.

[Joe]

If I buy a $1 hot dog with a $10 bill, no vendor freaks out.

If I buy $10 worth of food and try to pay with a $100 bill, all of a sudden I am a terrorist? Why?? it is the same proportion of change.

this is just more Big Brotherism from a government that wants to track our every move, read every email and know how fast our car got from toll plaza A to toll plaza B.

Mohamed Atta bought his plane ticket with a credit card.

[Ken]

Am I the only CR subscriber who enjoys an occasional evening at a casino?

Get rid of the fifty; keep the hundred.

[Jock Murray]

Amen,to patrick Henry,s comment.Bring back the 1000.00 some of you people wouldn't mind asking permission to buy a Hot Dog,Terrorists may eat them too.Jock

[Josh]

If I was a drug kingpin, I would demand euros and not a couple of C notes that are worth significantly less tomorrow than they were today.

[MNovas]

Get rid of it! Easy choice...

[al]

perhaps we should all run around with credit card readers so that when we sell an item, we could be cheated not only by the person buying from us but by visa, master card, discover...you name it..are you willing to fork over 1-4% to a credit card company just to sell a car or other large item you don't need any more? maybe you would take a check....ha ha

[B. Good]

This is part of the plan to one day eliminate cash. All transactions will require a government-issued RealID card and will be input into a massive government database to help root out "terrorists" and eventually "unpatriots".

[decals]

You can't even spend $100 bills anywhere. Whenever I get one its torture trying to find a place that will actually break it. I think this is a great idea.

[mike]

We need this new 100 dollar bill.It keeps the un savory countries
from counterfiting our money. If they do ,which they are the old hundred,our dollar becomes more and more worthless. got to think about the big picture.

[Sean]

I agree in principle however I have one of those wallets with the money clip on the side and sometimes hundreds come in handy because they take up less space.

[WartHog]

Keep the 100 and 50; get rid of pennies, and maybe nickels. I routinely stock my wallet with 2 100s and 4 50s... plus whatever 20s, 10s, etc I might already have. I rarely use credit/debit cards.

Using credit cards requires too much trouble keeping track of purchases; storing the receipt and checking bills each month. It's ridiculous how many people use credit cards for incidental purchases (say less than $20). It slows up the line and makes commerce more expensive.

Regarding pennies, they no longer exist in my personal world. I don't accept them in my change, so I no longer have them in my pocket.

[liberty]

Why don't we just capitulate and order our lives entirely to thwart the few who abuse ordinary conveniences such as the $100 bill? Eliminating the bill would be parallel to abandoning Central Park because there is an occasional mugging there. We must not give in!

[Gary]

If we made $101 bills and demonitized the $100 bills, everyone wins... the $100 bills held by drug dealers would be worthless and the people who like having larger denomination bills could use the $101 bills. Cool.

[Andy]

Banning the "C" note makes as much sense as Canada banning the $1 & $2 bills. Then you had a pocket of heavy metal change to drag around. Like any other ban in American history, this will have a minimal effect on the criminals and a serious effect on the law abiding citizens. I like to carry a few $100's when I go to Reno or Tahoe and I don't like to depend on ATM's in busy public places due to the possibility of 'shoulder surfers' and other hustlers. Did this brilliant scheme originate with one of 'the People's Republic of Kaleefornia' simpletons or some other equally absurd fool? Also, depending on ATM's increases the income for the banks since they are now charging more for me to access MY money. What a deal!!!

[Dennis]

It seems to me that the move to ban the $100 bill is another move by the big-money interests that actually control our government to make any independence on the part of consumers even more remote than it already is. The "drug kingpins" and "terrorists" of the world are not all uneducated thugs, contrary to their pop culture image. They are fully aware of the existence and are adept in the use of offshore accounts, electronic (wire) transfers, and shadow corporate identities to move large amounts of money. Our cash ($20,$50 and $100 bills) already contains magnetic signature strips which make it difficult to carry large amounts (over $10,000) by air internationally. And of course, serial numbers are tracked and traced easier than ever in this computerized age.

My family uses cash when we go on vacation, and to purchase or sell large-value items such as used motorcycles or autos privately. The proposed demonetization of the $100 bill is an attempt to stamp out any remaining fiscal privacy, nothing more.

We need to keep the $100 bill for our use and convenience.

For What Its Worth...Dennis

[Elizabeth]

Well, I agree with the reader who said get rid of the pennies. But I think getting rid of the 100 will just make the 50 desireable for the druggies and Mafia. Why don't we just impose zero tolerance for this behavior and STOP trying to micro-manage what is really the job of the police?

[Karl]

It might be OK to get rid of the $100 bill. I think however that the $20 should be discontinued and replaced with a $25 bill. Also the 50 cent piece which is seldom used should be replaced with a $2.50 coin. These changes would fit together very nicly.

[Marilyn]

Keep the $100 bill. I need one every time I go to the gas station. When on a trip, I take a bill or two in case some place does not take a credit card.

[Joanne]

For many field trips, the places only want to be paid in large bills. No one wants to count $600-800 in small bills and/or coins, and I don't want to have to carry a huge wad of cash around. There are people and places that take large bills and prefer it. I try to make the bill I pay with fit the price I'm paying. I would never go to a fast food place and try to pay with a $100 bill, but I certainly would use it in other places. I hope they don't get rid of it, or the $50 bill, either.

[c p curtis]

Good idea too long coming. I personally have only had one or two in my pocket ever and I am 63. Only criminals have large amounts. We need to do it every year or two and clean them out.

[Daniel]

It is NOT the $100 bill that we need to do away with--it is the people that are breaking the law. Get the rope & get the bad people out of the USA.

[Owen R]

I just got back from a vacation in Ireland. Went with a wallet full of hundreds. NO BANK would convert the hundreds to Euros—saying 'counterfeits' were everywhere—and they would only accommodate patrons with accounts at their banks. Luckily, a buddy had a 'no-fee' ATM card and was able to get me Euros in exchange for the hundred that he took back to the states.

[Daniel DuBois]

I stumbled upon this blog because I googled "bring back $500 bill." I'm heading to Vegas, and was bemoaning the fact that I can't fit a mere $5k in my wallet. $100 is not a lot of money anymore, I carry them around just to pay for food/gas/etc. And I need $500s and $1000s if I want to play moderately large-stakes poker without having to use a money belt. I can't believe someone is suggesting we get rid of the $100. That strikes me as ludicrous! I don't even want to think abut what $10k in $20s looks like.

[Ralph Rodriquez]

Luckily, America still has a $1,000 bill. Its called a gold eagle! We also have a $2,000 bill. Its called a platinum eagle!