the unwanted US dollar
i would like to share this story (and perhaps to give a warning) about my experience with a certain 20 US dollar note that
accompanied me through my recent south east asian escapade. now, to start off, this particular note was of the old-style
design (i.e. a 2001 series note i believe and not the current greener 2004/2006 series notes). it has been sitting folded
in a corner of my wallet for well over a year since i acquired it when i was in the States. didn't get to use it so it just
remained untouched in my wallet. it isn't in the best condition - there is a slight tear on the top left edge of the note and
it is no longer crisp and 'hard' like new notes are, also, it has a deep fold down the middle which has left an almost
permanent fold-line which doesn't look like it can be smoothened out.
so thats the note in question. the first incident occured when i was brought up to the thai/cambodian border
by a local buddy of mine who wanted to expose me to the wonders of the bordertown casinos. i was told that
in cambodia, the US dollar is the de facto national currency and i was advised to bring enough of it if i fancied
a run. so i exchanged some Thai Baht in Bangkok before i left (about 200 USD worth of 20s/10s and 5s). so fastforward
to when i found myself on the casino floor of one of the larger establishments, having the urge to put 20 down on
a game of blackjack, i extracted half of my USD stash from my jeans pocket and randomly put a 20 note down on
the wager circle (it happened to be the oldie note). the dealer took a look, looked at me, and said something to
the effect of: "not acceptable". i tried to decipher what the problem was so i removed the offending bill and put down
two brand new 10 dollar notes. and the games commenced (which i drew a 19 and he hit on soft 16 and i was 20 USD up).
still this being a casino and all, maybe they were a little picky about the condition of bills coming through. so i didn't think
much of it. later in the day, before we headed back to the thai side, my buddy and i decided to have a meal and drink.
later when it was pay-up time, i handed over the oldie to settle the bill. again, it was rejected!  so i paid with a
brand new 2006 series 20 note instead. now at this stage, i was looking hard at this old crumpled thing...did these folk
have an in-built counterfeiting detector in their eyes? my buddy came back from the toilet and saw me trying to figure
Mr. Andrew Jackson version 2001 out. he then enlightened me that only new and good conditioned USDs were accepted
in cambodia. he didn't provide a reason and i accepted it as that, not really wanting to pore over the issue.
second incident: when i was flying out of bangkok to singapore, i was at the airport and was darn hungry. had a wild last
night in bangkok and got up late, checked out and rushed to the airport. so i had about 20 minutes to boarding and i
decided to get a burger and fries. i was alittle short on thai baht and the only other note left was the oldie USD.
what the heck, i went to the bank money changer and slotted the note over the counter. this time, they pointed to a
little print out that was displayed on the front of the booth: "DO NOT ACCEPT OLD SERIES 20 USD".
i know the cambodia had issues with the condition of the notes, but in thailand, they have issues with the series of the
notes! is the USD no longer considered good currency i pondered? i asked the lady why not and she said that this
was a counterfeiting issue...they even tend to take a closer look at the new 20s sometimes. ok fine, i solved this
little problem by somehow managing to extract 30 RMB from some forgotten nook in my laptop bag.
landing in singapore, i could take it no more: i had to find a new home for the oldie 20. the first money changer i came
across when i collected my luggage accepted it without a blink of an eye! finally some love for the once mighty dollar!
it was all alittle surreal but i conclude the following for the benefit of those relying on USDs for travelling or are from
the states:
1. Ensure that all your notes are the current series and are as far as possible, with as little physical damage to them.
2. In cambodia, forget the 50/100 notes. no love for them there. 20s/10s/5s/1s will work for you. In thailand however,
the 50/100s yield a higher exchange rate than the lower denominations (all the thai banks have two different USD
rates: one of the 50/100s and the other for 20s and lesser).
[ Last edited by DutchDoubles at 7-10-2009 23:07 ] | |
so i paid with a