The disappearing $10 bill

Posted at 11:22 AM on July 6, 2011 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

We'll miss you, money.

The New York Times reports the U.S. Treasury did not print any $10 bills. Why bother? Most people are using credit and debit cards for daily expenses.

But it's also a testament to the "staying power" of the bills. Production of paper currency is declining much more quickly than actual currency use because the bills are lasting longer, according to the Times.

Thanks to technological advances, the average dollar bill now circulates for 40 months, up from 18 months two decades ago.

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Comments (3)

It would be nice if they just printed 5 times as many $2 bills
http://mises.org/daily/3584

Posted by matt | July 6, 2011 11:56 AM

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40 months on a $10 bill? Big deal. I have three coins in my pocket; 1972,1955, and a 2011.

It makes we wonder when we are going to give up on paper dollars and go to a coin. It works in Canada, why not here? They even have 2 and 5 dollar coins. It would be the end of fighting to get a coke machine to accept your dollar bill.

For it to work, the paper dollar would need to go away, or it will just disappear like previous attempts to introduce a coin. I bet it would save money in the long run, No high tech paper required.

Posted by John P. | July 6, 2011 1:23 PM

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John P - there was a recent NPR story on the dollar coins. Congress passed legislation mandating that they be minted, but about $1B worth are in storage & not in circulation because people don't use them.

And the mint keeps printing more, because its the law.

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/28/137394348/-1-billion-that-nobody-wants

Posted by bsimon | July 6, 2011 2:43 PM

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