Was the new $100 note designed in Word?

LOL, discover how President Obama designed the new 100 dollar banknote... in Word! (after the click)

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The world's coolest banknotes(?)

Business Insider thinks the US dollars are boring and takes a look at other currencies in their search for the world's coolest banknote. A sometimes surprising list.

New banknote for Australia?

An Australian website asks its readers if a new Australian banknote has surfaced: a $7 note with, wait for it...., a scratch-and-sniff feature with the smell of the wattle, the national scent of Australia. CSIRO, the inventors of polymer money, is neither confirming or denying that it designed a $7 banknote or that it is infused with wattle scent for security reasons.

I literally don't know where to begin... First of all, I'm pretty sure the wattle is the national flower of Australia and not the national scent. Second: are you kidding me?? A 7 dollar banknote with this design? I think the probability for this news to be true equals zero.

Scratch-and-sniff banknotes?

Canadians and their money, a source of entertainment which goes on and on and on. What do we have so far? Naked women, melting banknotes, vending-machine-says-no, biological warfare and of course the wrong maple leafs. Now we can add another complaint: some people claim that when you scratch the new 100 dollar note, you can smell maple syrup. Why anyone would complain about such a delicious smell is beyond me but the fact is denied by the Bank of Canada: no scratch-and-sniff notes in Canada!

The people at the Bank of Canada must have a lot of fun with all these weird allegations. Would you like pancakes with these?

Jack Lew has a new signature

Remember Jack Lew? President Obama named him to be the new US Secretary of the Treasury, all people could talk about for days was his funny signature. It consists of a number of loops which reminded people of a slinky. Some people complained it would be weird to have such a odd signature on the US Banknotes.

Well, apparently mr. Lew has listened to the criticism because recently he showed his modified John Hancock. It is unknown if this is the final version which will end up on new banknotes.

So which is better in your opinion? The old signature on top or the new version at the bottom:

New banknote? What new banknote??

I just thought I'd share this story with you. Today I went to the bank to see if I could get the new 5 euro. When I asked the bank clerk if she already had them, she looked very puzzled. "Is there a new banknote, you say? Does it have the new king Willem-Alexander on it or something? They don't tell us anything! But I'm sorry, we don't have any money at this bank"....

And they say the banking system is based on trust.

Update: No bank, no shop and no banknote and coins dealer has seen the new banknote yet. I'll just have to be patient I guess...

Jack Lew's signature

A rather funny story in New York Magazine about Jack Lew. In particular his signature. You might ask: what does it matter what the signature of the current chief of staff of president Obama looks like? Well, because mr. Lew is probably going to be the next Treasury Secretary of the United States and his signature will appear on the new dollar banknotes. So yes, it matters a little bit more than the average signature. What's so weird about it? Check for yourself in this photoshopped picture:

He wouldn't be the first Treasure Secretary who would change his John Hancock for his new job. The current Secretary Timothy Geithner also had to change his signature when he took up the job. You can view the before and after version in this interview. To see if any of the previous signatures were also a bit weird or ugly, you can view the entire list of signatures here.

I personally think Lew's signature is pretty cool!

Update 11-1-2013: President Obama jokes about the signature at the press conference announcing Lew's candidacy. He 'promises' that Lew will "make at least one letter legible in order not to debase our currency".

Update 12-1-2013: It just keeps on getting better. You can now see how Jack Lew would sign YOUR name by visiting this Jack Lew Signature Generator. LOL.

Happy New Year!

A very happy 2013 to all of you!

Inside a gold bullion vault

Here is something you don't see everyday: the inside of the gold bullion vault of the Bank of England. I know: they're not banknotes but there was a time when this was the backup for all issued banknotes.

A History of the World in 100 Objects

So I was browsing through the podcast section of iTunes yesterday when I stumbled upon the BBC program The History of the World in 100 Objects. I love shows like that. Especially when I found out one of the objects used in the series, is a Ming banknote from 14th century China. They talk about the history of banknotes and how the first ones like these were used. Really interesting, even if you already know most of the story like a lot of collectors probably do. You can listen to the episode via iTunes or on the BBC website. The banknote being discussed is this one in the British Museum.

Banknote calendars

Owen Linzmayer of Banknotenews.com (every collector should have this site in his bookmarks) has designed a few calendars with the most beautiful banknotes depicting aircraft, beasts, beauties, birds, boats, bridges, and fish. 

You can order them here for $24,99 but if you use the code DELIRITAS you get a 51% discount. This code expires 27 November so get them while you can! I just ordered a calendar with the beasts theme.

Money Dress

As you might have noticed I love to collect banknotes. Some people however have thought of different uses for the notes in their pocket. Like this 'sugar daddy' in China who came up with the idea of dressing his girl up in a dress made of real banknotes. The girl claims they're the equivalent of 200.000 Yuan, or 32.000 Dollar. But as one commenter on a Chinese website pointed out, the dress is made of Ukrainian banknotes. All together he estimates they're worth about 200 Dollar which seems like a reasonable guess to me. Take a look:

Horror from Paraguay

While checking all the sites of Central Banks yesterday, I stumbled on a truly horrific spectacle. On the website of the Central Bank of Paraguay, they show a video of banknotes being destroyed... These are old and dirty notes of course but still: the heart of a collector skips a beat. If you still want to watch this monstrosity, you can tune in from Monday to Friday between 11:00-13:00 local time. Be warned!

Want to save money? Get new banknotes!

The Telegraph has a funny study on banknotes today. Researchers looked at how people spend money, particularly when they pay with either old filthy banknotes or with nice new crisp notes. You can already guess the conclusion: people tend to spend 'filthy money' faster than new banknotes.

Even though it's just money we value it more when it's nice and clean because it makes us feel proud to have it - especially if we're in a social setting where other people might see the bills, the researchers said. This could mean that asking a bank cashier for newer notes could in fact help curb spending, they said.

Of course, collectors already knew that nice uncirculated banknotes have far greater value.

Zombiecalypse in South Africa?

The new South African banknotes with Nelson Mandela continue to make the news. This time in the form of the painting below. Is it a representation of the coming zombiecalypse? According to artist Ayanda Mabulu his version of the new banknotes is a way to show how the gap between the rich and the poor of South Africa has widened.

I like the art of banknotes, but I'm not too sure about this one... I prefer the original version!