currency

Let's Put Ronald Reagan On All the Money

Ken Layne · 06/03/13 12:00PM

A dumb new poll proves that 38% of Americans still believe Ronald Reagan was a "great" president—so great, in fact, that his dyed hair and rouged cheeks should be on American money! Of the last six presidents, Reagan's the clear winner in this hypothetical contest. Maybe because he's the only dead one?

Canada Ditches Its Penny

Louis Peitzman · 03/31/12 12:46PM

Canada will say goodbye to the penny this fall. As Finance Minister Jim Flaherty explained, "The penny is a currency without any currency in Canada, and it costs us 1.5 cents to produce a penny."

No One Likes Dollar Coins

Seth Abramovitch · 06/29/11 03:19AM

The Federal Reserve vaults are sitting on $1 billion — that's with a "b" — in unused one-dollar coins, shunned currency that has been piling up since 2007, when a government program made their production compulsory. That number could double by 2016, when the program is scheduled to end.

Everyone Wants Bitcoins After Learning They Can Buy Drugs With Them

Adrian Chen · 06/03/11 01:05PM

Above is a chart of the exchange rate, in dollars, of the digital currency Bitcoin. That red arrow shows the price on Wednesday afternoon right after we published a story about Silk Road, a Bitcoin-powered online marketplace where you can easily buy illegal drugs. In the past 48 hours alone, a Bitcoin's worth has jumped from around $9.90 to around $14.

New $100 Bill Embarrassingly Colorful

Hamilton Nolan · 04/21/10 11:37AM

The Federal Reserve is rolling out new $100 bills. Pity. We quite liked the current design: clean, uncluttered, bold, and crisp on the fingertips (or so we hear). Now it looks like a god damn child's crayon scratch pad.

The Brainwashing Effect of $100 Bills

cityfile · 03/27/09 09:30AM

In yet further evidence that our lives are totally ruled by random quirks and irrationalities, even when it comes to money, new research shows that the way we feel about cash depends on bill denomination. Hundred dollar bills are treated as more valuable than five twenties, and so we're much less likely to break a hundred, especially since once we have, we'll apparently spend the money even more indiscriminately than if it had been smaller bills in the first place. It does make sense: As politicians or mafiosos will confirm, once the mustard-colored strip is broken on an inch-thick bundle of Benjamins from one's briefcase, that $10,000 just disappears on goodness knows what!