Explain Like I'm Five

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Why are American Dollars bland? (nord.pub)

submitted 13 hours ago by NightOps@nord.pub to c/explainlikeimfive@lemmy.world

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They lack any meaningful design in comparison to other currencies, since all denominations stick to mainly black and white designs with slight hints of color as they've remained the same for a long time. Why won't USD switch to Polymer bills (it was first unveiled in Australia) like they've done in the UK or UAE for example.

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[–] Vanth@reddthat.com 17 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

Infrastructure costs would be notable. Vending machines, ATMs, and other money-receiving machines are calibrated for current cotten/linen bills.

Impetus. Changing to polymer bills would take political will and we can't manage anything productive atm.

Personally, I don't want Trump to drive the change because he would end up putting himself on the bills, and other distasteful characters from history.

[–] NightOps@nord.pub 4 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Trump

he would end up putting himself on the bills

The closest example of this is from the Chinese Yuan, where Mao Zedong is depicted in all denominations. (So, it'll be the same if Trump decided to replace current issued $ into a new series with him on it).

[–] jqubed@lemmy.world 4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

I don’t remember for certain and I’m not taking the time to look it up, but I think there are some legal restrictions as well? I’m guessing that is included in your Impetus paragraphs, since it would require congressional direction to change things.

The Treasury or whoever has actually redesigned the bills quite a bit in my lifetime and they’re more colorful than they used to be, but I think they’ve done what they can while sticking within legal parameters. Given how much some people refer to other nations’ currencies as “Monopoly Money” despite some obvious benefits I’m not holding my breath for significant changes for a while yet.

I’m glad we’re finally getting rid of the penny at least. I used to be a proponent of the $1 coin, but having spent some time in Canada and Europe I actually find $/€/£ coins annoying and heavy in actual practice.