I hate U.S. Currency.

[Mark Healey]

I'm sure we all hate it when foreigners come to our respective countries and bitch about things. It's worse when they're right.

I don't work with many tourists but the few I do have problems with our coins. Unlike in every other country I've been to they don't have numerals on them. To make things worse, the size isn't indicitive of value. The sizes actually made sense at one time, when they were made out of valuable metals.

To make things worse, the Canadian coins are the same size and dimension.

Here's the kicker. They recently came out with new designs and could have fixed it.

P.S. Our notes are butt ugly too.

[skeptic53]

If you'd like to get rid of all that ugly, confusing currency I'd be happy to accept it, as a favor to you!

[Tria]

If you'd like to get rid of all that ugly, confusing currency I'd be happy to accept it, as a favor to you!

I saw it first! :P

[Gurndigarn]

I don't work with many tourists but the few I do have problems with our coins. Unlike in every other country I've been to they don't have numerals on them.

Yeah, but as a collecter of foreign money, I'ld rather see coins with pretty stuff on them than than nubmers.

[CanadaGirl]

I'm glad our money has actual color to it. That way people can tell the difference between a 5(blue), 10(purple), 20(green), 50(red), 100(brown). American money is all green

[Imogene]

I'm glad our money has actual color to it. That way people can tell the difference between a 5(blue), 10(purple), 20(green), 50(red), 100(brown). American money is all green

I get the feeling from the OP that he is talking about coinage, not bills, but still, American coins suck.

[Gurndigarn]

I'm glad our money has actual color to it. That way people can tell the difference between a 5(blue), 10(purple), 20(green), 50(red), 100(brown). American money is all green

Not any more.

[XCashier]

I'm glad our money has actual color to it. That way people can tell the difference between a 5(blue), 10(purple), 20(green), 50(red), 100(brown). American money is all green

Not anymore, we're finally adding color to our money, too. http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/

[dispatch]

I've never left the states, but I will admit, our system of currency could use some changes, but I think most americans fear change, therefore the government will be reluctant to do anything about it

what gets me is the inconsistencies from bills to coins

in bills we have 1,5,10,20,50,100

in coins we have 1,5,10,25 (currently minted)

granted, we used to have 50 cent peices, and the golden dollars are still pretty common, both have come in handy when I've got them

personally I think we need to revamp the whole thing since it's been pretty much the same for at least 100 years, inflations gone up just a bit since then. I know in europe they have scientists and other people, not just leaders, on their currency, that always seemed a bit orwellian to me.

what's stupid is on our 5 cent coin they recently changed the artwork because someone found it offensive that we would put monti cello (thomas jefferson's private residence, an architectural gem as I understand) on our currency because Jefferson owned slaves.

[CanadaGirl]

Not anymore, we're finally adding color to our money, too. http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney/

Can I say copy-cats much

[NightAngel]

Yep, they're adding color to the money to make it harder to counterfeit.

I don't really see what the problem with the old green back is. If it has a 5 in the corners then it's $5.00. How is that hard?

I've seen the coins from many countries and I've rarely gone, "oooo-pretty."
As for the Susan B.'s and the Sacagawea's- I've never been partial to carrying around a bunch of extra change- give me a good old $1.00 bill- it's much lighter. I think that's pretty much why the dollar coins and fifty cent pieces went to the wayside. They're heavy, bulky and really if you own a business do you really want to carry $100.00 in dollar coins to the bank? Bleh.

The newer quarters do state that they are a "quarter dollar" also.

[Crosshair]

Yep, they're adding color to the money to make it harder to counterfeit.

Key word is harder. Still relativly easy to make a passable note in many different currencies.

I'm glad our money has actual color to it. That way people can tell the difference between a 5(blue), 10(purple), 20(green), 50(red), 100(brown). American money is all green

Are you trying to discriminate against people who are colorblind.

/Sorry, I feel like being a smartass tonight.

[Becks]

what's stupid is on our 5 cent coin they recently changed the artwork because someone found it offensive that we would put monti cello (thomas jefferson's private residence, an architectural gem as I understand) on our currency because Jefferson owned slaves.

Is THAT the reason why they changed the nickel? I never knew that...I just thought it was because they wanted to have a different pose for Jefferson on the front, and to put pretty designs of American history on the back.

[Gurndigarn]

personally I think we need to revamp the whole thing since it's been pretty much the same for at least 100 years, inflations gone up just a bit since then. I know in europe they have scientists and other people, not just leaders, on their currency, that always seemed a bit orwellian to me.

Franklin was never an elected official. He may have put out a lot of the ideas behind the country and served as a diplomat, but wasn't part of the Washington Set.

And Sacegewea wasn't in the government, either. Of course, she's the token female (and the token non-white) on our money, and the dollar coin's not huge in circulation, but still...

what's stupid is on our 5 cent coin they recently changed the artwork because someone found it offensive that we would put monti cello (thomas jefferson's private residence, an architectural gem as I understand) on our currency because Jefferson owned slaves.

It's back on the 2006 nickles. Why, though, I don't understand. I mean, you can argue that the Lincoln Memorial, Monticello, and the like are historical monuments. Which they are. But why have the monuments on the money? That means your moneys commemorating... a marker. Couldn't you do something better?


Anyway... I agree that we could use a bit of updating to our money. My "dream team" would be

$100: George Washington
$50: Rosie Parks.*
$20: James Madison
$10: Franklin D. Rosevelt
$5: Abraham Lincoln
$1: coin, switches from year to year**
smaller coins: just use some of the national symbols, rather than people. If you really wanted to put people on them, though, give both A. Hamilton and T. Jefferson the same coin; mint half of them with one of them, and half with the other, just to avoid the democrats and republicans having pissing contests over nothing at all, really.

* It was her or Martin Luther King, and we didn't have any females on the money. Besides, the panoramic view we use on the backs of the bills would be better for the famous picutre of Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech.
** Yeah, I know how much our dollar coin weighs, probably better than anyone else here. But in the long run, they're cheaper than bills, since they don't wear out as quickly.

[XCashier]

smaller coins: just use some of the national symbols, rather than people.

They kind of used to do that, with various versions of Lady Liberty on most of the earlier coins. They also do that on modern bullion coins with the American Bald Eagle and Lady Liberty. http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/..._eagle_bullion