No, Mr. Secretary, You Can't Be on a $500 Bill [and it's true!]

TBO.com ^

[Sub-Driver]

No, Mr. Secretary, You Can't Be on a $500 Bill By Jeannine Aversa Associated Press Writer Published: May 28, 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) - Treasury Secretary John Snow is the nation's top money man, but he might need a refresher course on the greenbacks the United States makes these days. Snow was asked during an online "chat" Wednesday what form of currency he would like to have his image on.

"I would put it on the $500 bill," Snow replied. "It has the least circulation. That way I wouldn't have to see myself too often."

Oops.

The United States stopped printing new $500 bills in 1945 and stopped issuing them altogether - along with $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 notes - in 1969, due to lack of use, says the Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Since 1969, the $100 bill has been the largest denomination note cranked out by the bureau and in circulation.

The image of William McKinley, the 25th president, appears on the front of the $500 bills, which along with the other higher, discontinued denominations are more likely to be turn up in the hands of collectors than in cash registers.

Even if the $500 bill were brought back, Snow's image couldn't be put on it, at least not right now. Living people's visages cannot appear on U.S. currency.

Afterward, Treasury spokesman Rob Nichols said that Snow was joking when he made the comments during an interactive exchange posted on the White House Web site.

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On the Net:

White House: www.whitehouse.gov

[FreedomCalls]

Number 16 is the only one that should give dial-up FReepers any problems. The others I put image size tags in, so the text will load even if the images are a little slow catching up.

[Billthedrill]

Yeh...and for those with color laser printers...

[Jason_b]

In your mind you may have been hoarding, and are using the word in a neutral sense, but I dislike the word when used by the politicians. It is a politicized word the left uses to incite resentment among the masses against those who tend to prepare early.

Certainly if a snowstorm is on the way, people go out and stock up on groceries. Those to the shelves first get goods, and those who show up after the goods are gone are out of luck. That's unfair say those who got there last. Those first to the goods are denounced as hoarders. Those who sold precious plywood for high prices after hurricane Andrew were denounced as gougers. With an almost infinite demand and limited supply what is expected? For those with plywood to just give it away to the first number of customers that show up? Prices are essential to determine not just who gets plywood, but how much. A person buying plywood at artificially low government controlled prices will buy more than he needs depriving another of getting any plywood at all.

The same can happen when there's a financial storm on the horizon. Those who see it coming first or don't believe that it will just blow over this time dump dollars for gold. Then by the time banks start to fail, or almost as bad, the value of the currency is destroyed by inflation, everyone who goes last to buy gold is resentful that the price is high.

But there is not enough gold in the world to make everyone happy at every moment at a price everyone is happy with.

Not to mention protecting his family and his purchasing power, a gold buyer is exercising his right to own and dispose of his own private property and should be able to do so in peace in this land, without police state interference, regardless of economic conditions.

Yet the same hypocritical people mad about the gold prices and envious of the gold "hoarders" had no issues about hoarding Worldcom stock when they believed it would just go up and up forever providing limitless profits. They were disappointed when it turned out to be a bubble. Some gold owners were disappointed when their gold turned out to be in a bubble in 1980. Anything can have a bubble, tulip bulbs, stocks, gold. Responsible adult people should just take their lumps if they enter a bubble market and guess wrong and lose. Instead, the scam market losers are now suing the wall street brokers. What a disgusting dissipation of energies that might better have gone to producing real wealth for the nation.

The biggest enemy of private property in this nation, and the greatest friend of socialist redistribution is the envy of small minded individuals.

[Jason_b]

A clarification. The people I refer to as being mad about the gold price in the sixth paragraph are those who would be mad if they realized that they now want to buy gold after recognizing that the US dollar is a poor long-term store of value, but that someone had earlier gotten it first for a much lower price, and is selling only for much higher prices.

[ILBBACH]

This may be a stoopid question, but why are the serial numbers on your examples all zeros - (is it because they are examples)?

[My2Cents]

Odd analysis, considering that the big worry has been deflation.

[Jesse]

Well, didn't say this year. But just like happened to Enron, the immutable laws of economics finally will catch up with this wildassed spending and creative bookkeeping.

[Calvin Locke]

$100,000 Note*

In grade school, we took a field trip to the FBI building in DC. At the time, they had a couple of cancelled ones on display.

IIRC, it was, for want of a better term, the Roaring Thirties Gangster display. 20mm Anti-tank gun for armored cars
(un-used), Dillinger's death mask.

Must have been around 1968. They were still hyping RFK.

[general_re]

why are the serial numbers on your examples all zeros - (is it because they are examples)?

Exactly. Here's another sample - the new $20 that you'll see next year.

[Jack Black]

Thanks. I really appreciate you posting those.

[Grando Calrissian]

Sounds like you need to wrap your computer in a few coats of aluminum foil, shiny side out.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

OMG!!!!!! Please, Please, Please, don't give B J Clintoon any ideas, Please!

[Grando Calrissian]

I try to maintain at least a 2 year supply of Spam in my shack in the woods at all times. To store any less would be foolish.

[bruinbirdman]

Gold foil, thanx.

yitbos

[JCG]

In grade school, we took a field trip to the FBI building in DC. At the time, they had a couple of cancelled ones on display.

Yes, the one I saw was cancelled also. Had lots of little holes punched in it. I was told that without the holes it would be worth $45,000.

America's Fifth Column ... watch Steve Emerson/PBS documentary JIHAD! In America
Download 8Mb File Here (Requires RealPlayer)

Who is Steve Emerson?

[Calvin Locke]

... worth $45,000.

This a joke? IIRC, the serial numbers record the bill as cancelled. And unless you're lucky enough to find somebody to
accept it at face, (with or without the holes, the way people come out of of school...), that's the value to a collector?

Getting it accepted at face would be fraud, too.

[JCG]

This a joke? IIRC, the serial numbers record the bill as cancelled. And unless you're lucky enough to find somebody to accept it at face, (with or without the holes, the way people come out of of school...), that's the value to a collector?

I'm only repeating what I was told. The "holes" were actually perforations that spelled out a message -- like check cancellations in the 1940s: "PAID FIRST NATIONAL BANK MAY 30 1945," etc.

The difference in value was, according to the dealer, whether or not the bill had the perforations. The one he showed me did.

America's Fifth Column ... watch Steve Emerson/PBS documentary JIHAD! In America
Download 8Mb File Here (Requires RealPlayer)

Who is Steve Emerson?

[Dane]

dope.......

Looks like you're the dope, IMHO. The $500 bill is still in circulation, but not being printed.

Oh well most dopes believe liberal press propaganda, hook, line, and sinker.