You Know You're Old When..

[Sharkhunter]

Originally Posted by palo5

Hey, I'm serious, a former colleague told me. He was sent to England from Rotterdam or somewhere, and they gave him a supply of money. The trouble was, it was all in English £50's and no one would accept them. Not in Holland or Belgium, anyway.

It depends where you want to spend them. On the few occasions I have needed to spend a £50 note I've had no problems, but in fairness this has usually been at a supermarket. I might not have had the same ease with the transaction had I tried to spend it in a crowded pub.

It's like 500 Euro notes, which are often seen as the property of oligarchs and drug dealers.

[billybunter]

£50 and £100 notes are viewed with suspicion by some shop keepers. It's better to go to a bank and split the note/s into £20's or 10's.

[Avallanius]

Originally Posted by billybunter

£50 and £100 notes are viewed with suspicion by some shop keepers. It's better to go to a bank and split the note/s into £20's or 10's.

Try spending Scottish notes anywhere else in Europe..Most folk I know get English money @ airport ATM's before they fly out to avoid the hassle...

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

Surely a forged $100 bill would be very new.....

That's right, but the belief at the time was that all fake bills were put in a washing machine so that they looked "more genuine", therefore only accept new bills

The truth is that fake bills are sooner accepted in the "home country" than anywhere else. Anywhere else they look more closely. And some places seem paranoid. About ten years ago I changed some Estonian money in Finland. It was a small amount, but it took them ten minutes to do it. And the person at the bank actually knew me

That was a long time ago, so it must make me old

[billybunter]

Originally Posted by Avallanius

Try spending Scottish notes anywhere else in Europe..Most folk I know get English money @ airport ATM's before they fly out to avoid the hassle...

Try spending Irish sterling. Some folks think it's punts.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Sharkhunter

It depends where you want to spend them

Absolutely right

I vaguely remember being taught about this almost 50 years ago, but it makes sense. Big denominations are not desirable

Man, am I old if I know this?

It's like 500 Euro notes, which are often seen as the property of oligarchs and drug dealers.

They probably are

I've never even seen a €500 bill or even a €100 bill in everyday life. Even €50 bills are scanned for fakes at checkouts (I'm not kidding)

[rotobott]

They never ever scanned 10 bob notes, we could knock them up for half a crown each, those were the days

[Sharkhunter]

Originally Posted by palo5

I've never even seen a €500 bill or even a €100 bill in everyday life. Even €50 bills are scanned for fakes at checkouts (I'm not kidding)

Yep! I've never even handled a €500 note and have used €100 notes a couple of times - I used them to pay a bill at a swanky restaurant in Helsinki though so it was probably not a great deal.

About the €50s, you're right - it really does depend on location. When I was in Berlin there were a few scans, but in Munich and some other Bavarian resorts (Garmisch, Berchtesgaden) they just took them without any problem.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Sharkhunter

Yep! I've never even handled a €500 note and have used €100 notes a couple of times - I used them to pay a bill at a swanky restaurant in Helsinki though so it was probably not a great deal

In Helsinki? You must have bought a beer, that explains the price

I know people who remember Prohibition in Finland - yes, just like in USA at exactly the same time

Long time ago

[billybunter]

I spent a 500 euro note in Berlin. My German was not good enough to understand the kind waiter. My brother who speaks 13 or so languages put his mind at ease. I even left a tip