US currency

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Penny, Nickel Overhaul Makes No Sense to Many

Many resistant to changing small change

(Newser) - President Obama's plan to save $100 million a year by making pennies and nickels from cheaper material may seem like a no-brainer, but the idea of changing the country's small change isn't an easy one to swallow for some. Laundromat owners, zinc lobbyists, and the many Americans who mistakenly believe...

$100 Bill Goes 3D
 $100 Bill Goes 3D 

$100 Bill Goes 3D

New security features designed to curb counterfeiting

(Newser) - The $100 bill is getting a new look and two high-tech security features to curb counterfeiters, the AP reports. A 3D security ribbon on the front has images of bells and 100s that move as you tilt the bill. The note, which is out next February, also has a Liberty...

China Must Be Confronted on Currency
 China Must Be
Confronted on Currency
PAUL KRUGMAN

China Must Be Confronted on Currency

Shackling the yuan to the dollar threatens world economy

(Newser) - China has been allowed to get away with its outrageous currency policy for far too long and it's time the world did something about it, writes Paul Krugman. The nation has been keeping its currency effectively pegged to the dollar, and this policy will result in even greater trade imbalances...

Oil States Plot to Ditch Dollar

Gulf Arabs in talks to replace greenback with mix of currencies

(Newser) - The American dollar is dropping against the yen and euro amid reports that the Gulf states are planning to replace use of the greenback in oil trading in favor of a basket of mixed currencies. The Arab states are in advanced discussions with China, Russia, Japan and France to end...

Now 100, Lincoln Penny Was First With 'Heads'

'Monarchical' fears long prevented use of presidents

(Newser) - As Honest Abe's 200th birthday approaches, his likeness in our pockets is often disregarded. But the 100-year-old Lincoln penny is actually an American artistic milestone: Its debut marked the first appearance of a real person on a US coin, the New York Times reports. After the nation’s birth, putting...

Feds: Today's Counterfeiters Are Poor Copies

Ink-jet amateurs replace skilled crooks who once fooled experts

(Newser) - Secret Service agents are waxing nostalgic for counterfeiters of old, the Kansas City Star reports. The printers who once produced 20s, 50s, and 100s good enough to fool experts have been replaced by home office crooks who reproduce small bills on ink-jet printers. "It’s a lost art,"...

Dollar's Long Rally Likely to Stall in 2009
Dollar's Long Rally Likely
to Stall in 2009
ANALYSIS

Dollar's Long Rally Likely to Stall in 2009

Recession, low interest rates will catch up with buoyant greenback

(Newser) - The once moribund dollar has soared 20% against foreign currencies since July, one of the few bright spots in a grim financial landscape. The dollar traded against the euro at $1.28 this morning, down from a high of over $1.60 this summer. But the dollar's rally is expected...

'Buried Treasure' Riddle Stumps Feds

Man has been trying to exchange millions in moldy notes for years

(Newser) - It was found in a suitcase in an alfalfa field. It was in a tree. A treasure map led to a coffin full of money. Customs broker Franz Felhaber has been giving different stories about how he came to have up to $20 million in decomposing dollars for years, the...

First Braille Coin Unveiled
 First Braille Coin Unveiled 

First Braille Coin Unveiled

Silver dollar celebrates 200th birthday of creator of blind alphabet

(Newser) - The US Mint unveiled the first coin bearing readable Braille letters yesterday. The silver dollar features the letters "Brl," code for Braille, and honors the 200th birthday of the eponymous creator of the alphabet for the blind, the AP reports. "This is going to put Braille in...

New $5 Bill Debuts Today
 New $5 Bill Debuts Today 

New $5 Bill Debuts Today

Abe gets a colorful makeover on copy-resistant bills

(Newser) - Honest Abe may've been a bit pasty and gaunt, but the public can now see him in a more vivid hue: The redesigned $5 bill, complete with splashes of purple designed to thwart pesky counterfeiters, is being released today. Lincoln keeps his place on the front, and his memorial on...

Paulson Wants to Toss Pennies
 Paulson Wants to Toss Pennies 

Paulson Wants to Toss Pennies

Costs outweigh value of small change, but government has no plans to cash out

(Newser) - Henry Paulson sees little point in pennies and would stop their production if he could, the AP reports. “The penny is worth less than any other currency,” the Treasury Secretary said today in a radio interview. But a sea change in change isn't imminent: Paulson says he...

Gulf States May Dump the Dollar
Gulf States May Dump the Dollar

Gulf States May Dump the Dollar

Sinking greenback fuels inflation in booming Gulf economies

(Newser) - The flagging greenback is forcing oil-rich Gulf states to consider uncoupling their currencies from the US dollar to fight runaway inflation at home and the devaluation of their own currencies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Leaders are considering everything from an outright break to revaluing their own currencies to pegging...

Dollar's Slide Softens Economy's
Dollar's Slide Softens Economy's

Dollar's Slide Softens Economy's

Increased exports offset housing market collapse

(Newser) - Even as the weakening US dollar has Americans dropping European vacation plans, some economists are finding a silver lining: A sudden upswing in exports that could help offset the tanking housing market. And while that jump was predictable, writes the Wall Street Journal, a limp greenback also works to slow...

The C-Note Gets a Facelift
The C-Note Gets a Facelift

The C-Note Gets a Facelift

New security thread aims to protect bill most targeted by foreign counterfeiters

(Newser) - Even Ben Franklin has a little work done every now and then. The $100 bill, which bears the founding father's image, is undergoing a state-of-the-art redesign aimed at thwarting counterfeiters who target the C-note more than any other denomination, the AP reports. The new security thread utilizes microprinting and 650,...

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