Legal tender?

[Jangles]

Maybe a silly question. I just raided my safe to find out how many US$ I had in readiness for my trip next month, and noticed that I have a few $100 notes that differ from the rest. Are these still legal tender? Thank you.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Yes - we've gradually been updating the style of our money, but the older bills are still good.

 

[Jangles]

Yes - we've gradually been updating the style of our money, but the older bills are still good.

Thank you.

 

[BorderTenny]

Just don't try to use them at a self-checkout. The bill reader may not be programmed to recognize them.

 

[RedAngie]

Yes, they’re still valid. But once deposited in a bank they’d probably be removed from circulation.

 

[SteveH]

I'd go by your bank and swap out the bills.

 

[Jangles]

I'd go by your bank and swap out the bills.

I am in the U.K., so that isn’t an option. I will discover whether WDW will accept them. My daughter worked at Camp America/Camp Lindenmere for a few summers and was always paid in cash. Rather than exchange the dollars to pounds, she just left the dollars in the safe and used them whenever she travelled to the US. Given the current exchange rate, that was a very good decision!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Cash and coin doesn't become illegal just because of a redesign. That's not how U.S. currency works.




If you'd like further confirmation of that this is from the Federal Reserve

Do I have to trade in my old-design notes when a new one begins circulating?​

No, you do not have to trade in your old-design notes for new ones. All U.S. currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued.

 

[LuvOrlando]

WDW bigger cashier spots will be fine, it's the smaller spots with HS kids who maybe never saw one that will totally trip you up (says the former poor HS cashier tripped up by an Amex travelers check because no-one explained rich people have stuff like that.)

 

[Jangles]

Cash and coin doesn't become illegal just because of a redesign. That's not how U.S. currency works.




If you'd like further confirmation of that this is from the Federal Reserve

Do I have to trade in my old-design notes when a new one begins circulating?​

No, you do not have to trade in your old-design notes for new ones. All U.S. currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued.

That’s great. It’s a bit different in the U.K. when they take notes out of circulation.

 

[_19disnA]

Older design notes of US currency are always still legal tender. The designs are being updated to make them harder to counterfeit and they have added various safety features. Copy machines have gotten so good over the years, so the want to keep one step ahead of that technology. The newest safety features won't reproduce on a copy machine. You might get a mixture of old/new bills if you go to any bank. There is no reason to have to switch them out. Worn or damaged bills are routinely removed from circulation by the bank and not anything you have to worry about.

You shouldn't have any issue at Disney using the bills like the ones shown in your first post. Some US businesses may not accept any $100 bills just because they use up too much of their cash when giving out change.

 

[Skywalker3]

WDW bigger cashier spots will be fine, it's the smaller spots with HS kids who maybe never saw one that will totally trip you up (says the former poor HS cashier tripped up by an Amex travelers check because no-one explained rich people have stuff like that.)

I was JUST telling my 15 year old about travellers checks. We took a trip to VA around 1981/82, just my mom and me, and she didn't have a credit card at that time, not sure when she finally got one. I remember her using traveller's checks at the hotel and a few other places. Back then it was all cash, maybe a personal check if accepted, and traveler's checks. Trying to explain them to him was funny. Guess it would be like using a gift certificate...which e doesn't really know what those are either. ha!!
I found a few old 20s from the 80s the other day. I don't know if I want to spend them, they look so neat.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I was JUST telling my 15 year old about travellers checks. We took a trip to VA around 1981/82, just my mom and me, and she didn't have a credit card at that time, not sure when she finally got one. I remember her using traveller's checks at the hotel and a few other places. Back then it was all cash, maybe a personal check if accepted, and traveler's checks. Trying to explain them to him was funny. Guess it would be like using a gift certificate...which e doesn't really know what those are either. ha!!
I found a few old 20s from the 80s the other day. I don't know if I want to spend them, they look so neat.

I was just going to mention travelers' checks slso. I remember going to the bank or AAA office before a trip to get a few hundred in various denominations. Always remembered to sign the initial signature as soon as I got them, paranoid over losing them. Fun memory from the past.

 

[_19disnA]

I can recall using traveler's checks years ago when going on vacation. Modern debit cards and ATM's being widely available have likely made traveler's checks obsolete. Disney have a lot of ATM's around the property, so it also isn't necessary to bring large amounts of cash with you.

 

[RedAngie]

I followed Karl Malden’s advice and asked for American Express Travelers Checks by name for my first trip abroad.

I had a few unused after the trip and stuck them in a drawer. Somehow they disappeared. Not much, less than $50.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That’s great. It’s a bit different in the U.K. when they take notes out of circulation.

I don't get it as much with cash these days because I don't carry that much at all but I kinda take a fascination with getting old bills and coins. Like when I get a quarter minted in the 1970s or the 1950s or even earlier, same with pennies, dimes, etc.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I found a few old 20s from the 80s the other day. I don't know if I want to spend them, they look so neat.

Somewhere I have at least one $2 bill that I kept as a memento...I should really find that...but who knows where it's ended up in the black hole that is the house

 

[Dan Murphy]

old bills and coins. Like when I get a quarter minted in the 1970s or the 1950s

Old? That's not old! They're mature.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Old? That's not old! They're mature.

How right you are

 

[goofyernmost]

I was JUST telling my 15 year old about travellers checks. We took a trip to VA around 1981/82, just my mom and me, and she didn't have a credit card at that time, not sure when she finally got one. I remember her using traveller's checks at the hotel and a few other places. Back then it was all cash, maybe a personal check if accepted, and traveler's checks. Trying to explain them to him was funny. Guess it would be like using a gift certificate...which e doesn't really know what those are either. ha!!
I found a few old 20s from the 80s the other day. I don't know if I want to spend them, they look so neat.

In 1983 the primary type of travel money was travel checks or cash. Credit cards weren't accepted everywhere at the time because merchants had to pay a percentage to the credit card company when they get reimburse for them. So they didn't want people to use them. They were accepted but not widely. There were no pocket sized cell phones either and there were banks of coin operated land lines all over the parks. People used Travelers Checks because in crowded areas you could get pickpocketed for your cash and credit cards, but if you kept track of where and when you cashed Travelers Checks you could get them replaced. The only CC that was a problem was the American Express Credit Cards because they charged more than Visa or MasterCard to the places that let you use them so for the longest time many places just wouldn't accept them.