On Jan 1, 10:16*am, "Tim Roll-Pickering" T.C.Roll-
wrote:
Peter T. Daniels wrote:
In 1992 I bought some pound notes in Northern Ireland, because I would
be staying a few days in London after my speaking engagement in
Dublin. I was surprised to read on them that they were specifically
Northern Ireland currency, even though the were issued by the Bank of
England and legal tender throughout the United Kingdom (they said.)

"Legal tender" is one of the most misunderstood concepts going. It does
*not* specify which coins & notes must and must not be accepted by
retailers. It merely applies to the repayment of debts - if a debtor offers
payment in legal tender the creditor cannot *refuse* it without
relinquishing the debt. (A semi-practical example is of tax & fee protestors
eventually repaying with wheelbarrow loads of pound coins as a final gesture
of defiance.)

Retailers are free to accept and reject whatever notes and coins they like.
Examples include:

* A lot of shops don't accept the 50 note whilst some others will only
accept it above a minimum purchase
* A number in tourist areas and airports will accept major international
currencies but with varying policies on precisely which ones and how high a
denomination
* A lot of shops in Northern Ireland accept the Euro to attract crossborder
traffic from the Republic

(In 1992, when my Irish host drove us to Ulster for a day trip -- we
stopped at Downpatrick to see St. Patrick's tomb, and the most
unfortunate restoration of St. Patrick's Cathedral to its Victorian
splendor, as opposed to something approaching its original appearance
-- I rather doubt that they would have welcomed Irish pounds. He was
desperate to get back into Ireland before dark.)

...and when particular note & coins have been phased out some shops have
been more willing to accept them past the official withdrawal date than
others.

That's rather different from the clerk saying, "That's not money!" --
as opposed to, "We don't take Northern Ireland money," which in fact
proved not to be true.

The Arby's I sometimes go to has a sign up that they'll no longer
accept $100 bills because there are so many counterfeits in
circulation. (You hardly ever see $50s at all.)

I wonder what happened in 1933 when we finally gave up gold coins.

In 1965, when silver coins were replaced by clad coins, the old ones
weren't recalled or demonetized or anything; the ones that weren't in
the collectors pool were simply retired as they were deposited in
banks, presumably to eventually be melted down for whatever else
silver was used for. Similarly, when all paper money stopped being
issued except Federal Reserve Notes, they simply stayed in circulation
until they wore out. I remember at least three different kinds --
their designs were almost identical (the engraved scrollwork may have
differed), but the seal and serial numbers were in different colors --
one of them was Silver Certificates, I think with a blue seal. (FRNs
have a green seal.)

When I was little and we went to Canada for several summer vacations,
merchants on either side of the border would take the other's
currency, at a stated premium/discount that was considerably higher
than the exchange rate. That was, at best, a courtesy. Montreal
probably got flooded with greenbacks during Expo '67 (I was 15, I
didn't get to do much spending), and to this day they probably are
happy to take US currency.

For my time in Dublin, I never even saw Irish money -- my host refused
to let me pay for anything (fortunately, even in 1992 a VISA card
worked in bookstores). And back in London, it seemed every bank
(branch) had an ATM-like machine outside for currency exchange -- I
put in $100 in $20 bills and it gave me the appropriate amount in
sterling (less a hefty fee). In those days it had to deal with a dozen
or more currencies at least, so including US dollars was no big deal
-- but these days, does it accept anything but euros? Or is there
enough tourist trade from the odd-countries-out that they are so
publicly served?

In Antwerp they handed me my honorarium in cash. Several musuem
bookstores profited from my purchase of things I wouldn't have taken
if I'd been using "real money" -- but the exchange rate in 2004 didn't
favor the dollar.