15

Is there a problem with smaller bills too?
Just checked mine and I have several 5's and 1's from 2003 and older.

16

I was at Kota Kinabalu last July and the money changer refused my $100 dollar bill. One pointed out some markings (stars that were stamped) and the other pointed out the series (1996).

Back in Manila, I asked my bank about this and said that I could have easily had it changed in any bank. They said that the markings were usually stamps that small money changers put. As for the series, they said that 1996 was a year where a lot of fake dollars were floated. I was advised when traveling not to get dollars released 2003 and earlier and to ensure that all bills are clean and crisp so as not to have problems with money changers.

17

Back home from great trip in Lao from LP to 4000 islands and not one problem, nobody really looked at any bills.
People very happy at getting small tip so be generous.

18

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdollar

Link to info on SuperDollar or Super Note, Very Good fakes.

19

#18 No cultural tradition of tipping in Laos. They don't think you are tipping they think you are handing out money.

20

A sad observation "handing out money" when you get a nice smile and gesture. Its called appreciation to lot of people.

21

Why not learn and respect the culture you are in, every bit of destruction you do makes it that much worse for those who follow. It's called cultural insensitivity to me. Try smiling, it's what people do.

22

BTW you shouldn't have a problem with $100 notes withdrawn from Cambodian ATMs since they have the same issues with older $ notes in Cambodia.

Are you kidding? Banks here always put their dodgy money in the ATMs. We see our customers bring in garbage bills all the time. When we won't accept them it's the same thing every time "but we got it from the ATM on the corner!"

23

There are some massive counterfeiting operations circulating overseas, passing off fake $100 banknotes. Many are rumored to be run by hostile governments. The list of "big headed" $100 banknotes by "series" and "US Treasurer" is below. Also indicated is the amount in each issue in billions of dollars. Probably about $650-$700 billion is circulating today. Naturally the later series are more prevalent.

It is a simple statement of fact that the older a series is, the more likely there will be a counterfeit. However, if the business has a policy there is not much you can do, except show them the strip under ultraviolet, make sure the "security strip" say HUNDRED and not FIVE (as many counterfeiters bleach low value notes and print higher values on top), and the watermark is the correct president.

2006A ( $12 ) ???
2006 ( $452 ) Timothy Geithner
2003A ( $153 ) Henry Paulson
2003 ( $102 ) John W. Snow
2001 ( $115 ) Paul O'Neill
1999 ( $51 ) Lawrence Summers
1996 ( $421 ) Robert Rubin

The 2009 series was designed to be the super series of $100 banknotes. It has multiple features which make it extraordinarily difficult to counterfeit. The intended release date was Feb 2011. Although that seems like a long time for a 2009 design, it was going to take 2 years to produce enough banknotes, since the old ones (while still legal tender) would be quickly refused by many merchants.

Major major screw up. They printed over $100 billion in banknotes (warehouse full), and they are defective. All major production efforts have been on hold since September 2010. There is no solution imminent. In the meantime they are printing the 2006A series to keep up with demand. I am not sure whose signature is on these notes. It may be the current treasurer (Geithner) or they may be using the old treasurer. This situation has never happened before.

In the unlikely event that you run into a 2006A series just explain to people that they started printing them in Jan 2011 and there are relatively few of them.

24

Sorry, I screwed up a name on the previous post
2006A ( $12 ) ??? (may be Timothy Geithner - I haven't seen one)
2006 ( $452 ) Henry Paulson
2003A ( $153 ) John W. Snow
2003 ( $102 ) John W. Snow
2001 ( $115 ) Paul O'Neill
1999 ( $51 ) Lawrence Summers
1996 ( $421 ) Robert Rubin

The 2006A series was printed in 2011 as a temporary fix to the printing problems.