Are old 100 bills still good? -

[MichaelScott]

Hello guys, I have a brother who is traveling to USA this winter, and he has a couple of old US dollars (before 2013) :

Like the one above.
Are this bills still good? May he have a problem buying goods?
I ask because in my country this bills are hardly accepted anymore by the banks, and I read that may be the case in US too.

 

[big ups liquid richard]

They're fine.

 

[Botchy Galoop]

As far as I know, there have been no U.S. paper currency devalued except for Civil War currency. Doesn't matter how old the bills are, those huns are still good.

eta: In fact there are some U.S. paper currencies that are worth more than face value to collectors. An example of this are "Star notes"; currency that has a star at the beginning or end of the serial number. These were typically replacements for serial numbers that were damaged when going thru the printing process.

 

[Kosher Dill]

They're still good, currency doesn't "expire" here. If you had something really old, maybe you might have some trouble if your local Wal-Mart clerk didn't recognize it, but you would always be able to take it to a bank and exchange it for something more modern.

If you really wanted, you could still go and pay for stuff with a sack full of Mercury dimes, though that would be stupid.

 

[Thumb Butler]

Not American, and currency expire here and it really sucks. When my depression era grandfather died we found more than $8000 in expired money. I guess hiding them in books was better than trusting the banks

 

[XYZpdq]

They can taste a little off after the first couple of years.

 

[mindlessobserver]

So long as the design matches the design for its issuance date he's okay. Probably best to exchange them at a bank for new ones though.

 

[Fek]

Not American, and currency expire here and it really sucks. When my depression era grandfather died we found more than $8000 in expired money. I guess hiding them in books was better than trusting the banks

Jesus Christ, I couldn't imagine having to worry about currency expiring (short of some catastrophe forcing it). Is the expired money even worth anything as a collector's item?

 

[Thumb Butler]

Jesus Christ, I couldn't imagine having to worry about currency expiring (short of some catastrophe forcing it). Is the expired money even worth anything as a collector's item?

Not too much since the bills were common enough, and what makes it worse, due to inflation it was even more money back when it was put away. Don't know what happened with it. Perhaps some was sold to collectors?

People, don't hide stuff in books if you have thousands of them.

 

[mindlessobserver]

Not too much since the bills were common enough, and what makes it worse, due to inflation it was even more money back when it was put away. Don't know what happened with it. Perhaps some was sold to collectors?

People, don't hide stuff in books if you have thousands of them.

Suddenly the reason why you can use the US Dollar in almost any country outside of Europe is starting to make more sense. I knew some countries had volatile exchange rates, but expiring currency too? Yikes.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

Sorry, worthless now.
I'll gladly take them off your hands, though.

 

[Exorbital Columnations]

If they'll dissolve in hydrochloric acid they're still good.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

You don't know how many g-strings the bills have been in, so don't eat it.

 

[MichaelScott]

OK. Ty guys for the replies. It was just a little worry I had.

 

[Kosher Dill]

You don't know how many g-strings the bills have been in, so don't eat it.

If it hasn't been in enough, I go and circulate it a bit more.

 

[Some Manajerk]

this is one of the perks about working in retail, since currency doesn't expire here sometimes kids will break into grandpas coin collection and use it to buy stuff. And then you just swap it out for something more recent and take it home. I've had people pay with silver coins a lot, and even once or twice some old indian pennies or victory nickels come through.

 

[TaimuRadiu]

They don't stop being legal tender. Technically a $20 gold coin from 1932 is still worth $20. Technically a $5 greenback from 1863 is still legal tender!

Not American, and currency expire here and it really sucks. When my depression era grandfather died we found more than $8000 in expired money. I guess hiding them in books was better than trusting the banks

There are collectors who would pay top dollar (heh) for that if it were in a good enough condition. If it were rare enough bills it would be worth it to send them to be graded by a currency grading service and then sell them on eBay.

 

[dunbrine47]

If the serial number is intact then it's valid.

 

[Medical Hawaii]

I don't think money can go bad as long as you keep it refrigerated

 

[Feline Supremacist]

I don't think money can go bad as long as you keep it refrigerated

That reminds me of a story a security guard at the nyse told me about some old lady who stored her savings in the oven and since she was old she forgot and turned it on, then had a nervous breakdown when she remembered...I'm sure it's one of those urban legends but old people do things like store cash in the freezer, mattress, coffee cans, etc. Cash is a tangible asset so I guess having it around makes them feel safe.