U.S. Dollar
- Thread starter MikesToy
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Its the way the worlds monetary system has been since the end of WW2 (Bretton Woods until Aug 1971 then the floating USD standard after Nixon defaulted on our obligation to exchange USD for gold @ $35/oz). The USD is the world's reserve currency so every other country will accept it. As the USDX tested new lows in 07-08 places were accepting Euro in NYC IIRC.
Scoobs
Member
It depends on the store or merchant up here. Some stores and restaurants will accept US currency but some will not. If you use US currency up here the store will charge you a premium on the exchange. Given that the Canadian dollar is worth 97 cents US, by the time they exchange the dollar, and also charge you a fee for doing so, your US dollar might be upside down. So you are better off using a debit card.
One place where US currency is accepted up here at par with no questions asked is in your change. American coins circulate up here and everyone accepts them. Some machines might spit them back at you however.
One of the reasons why it so easy to use US currency up here is because the Canadian banking system is extremely integrated and it is very easy for a merchant, even in a remote location, to exchange your US dollars for Canadian currency at his local bank. Try doing the same thing with a Canadian dollar at a bank in rural Tennessee.
One place where US currency is accepted up here at par with no questions asked is in your change. American coins circulate up here and everyone accepts them. Some machines might spit them back at you however.
One of the reasons why it so easy to use US currency up here is because the Canadian banking system is extremely integrated and it is very easy for a merchant, even in a remote location, to exchange your US dollars for Canadian currency at his local bank. Try doing the same thing with a Canadian dollar at a bank in rural Tennessee.
MikesToy
Banned
I tried. The banks want a minimum of a $100 worth or more. Maybe i'll just display all of 'em on top of my work desk (underneath the glass top) or have it framed and sell it on ebay. :biggrin2:
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Mason Fresh
New member
mike, how come you have all those different currencys? are you a little world traveler?!?!
MikesToy
Banned
I retired in the Air Force so i had numerous TDY's and a few assignments overseas.
Jeff Kleb
New member
If you think your money doesn't buy what it used to, you would be right. This is particularly evident if you travel overseas. Back in the 1970s, one could get screwed, blued and tattooed - basically partying like John Belushi - for about ten bucks in most European countries. If I remember correctly, it was something like 3.5 Deutsche Marks (DM) for one US Dollar. During the mid '80s, it fell to around a 2:1 ratio.......and it has likely gotten worse since then.
I remember going through Italy as a kid and we used Lire - Italian currency that resembled Monopoly money in looks and in value. My dad had a duffel bag full of cash, but it was not worth much at all. Things would be different now, though, since the Euro came into vogue.
In recent years, the dollar is worth less than ever; thus making traveling through Europe much more costly for Americans. The Euro is doing so much better than the old greenback! Could it be that is because the EU countries cannot just "print more of them" as we do here? Greece found this out the hard way, it seems.
:spider:
This thread got me to thinking about what may lie ahead. Are the OPEC nations, China, India and Japan possibly going to want their payment in Francs, Euros or another currency besides the US Dollar? What will that do to our purchasing power abroad - or our inflation domestically? Our government is basically printing money that is not backed by anything besides a promise to print more of them! Our debt level as become (to coin an Obamism) unsustainable and I doubt we're going to emerge from this unscathed.
:moon:
A good side of a devalued currency? Not much of one; but foreign products (imports) could be come prohibitively expensive to us; and our exported goods might be relatively "cheaper" for folks on the international market to purchase. A small "build here and buy here" movement could result, though it won't do much good if inflation collapses our economy.
Okay, sorry; end of rant!
:guitar2:
I had a bunch of leftover currencies from trips, some totally worthless (for example, several European currencies from pre-euro days). For the kid in the family that is interested in money from other parts of the world, it made a couple of nice Christmas gifts. At least it found a good home with someone who appreciates it!
