Small Face Dollars: What the US Government Said About Their Value and How to Use Them Without Loss

In recent years, the oldest dollar bills, known as "small face", began to be 

 in different countries, always outside the United States.

In Argentina, for example, it has become common for them to be traded at a

in the informal market , with the excuse that they are less safe.

It also became common for discussions to be generated in banks and in real estate operations because

their "small face" dollars, but few are willing to receive them.

To make matters worse, there were even

about an alleged circulation of these copies, something that

 to make "uncle stories" and keep the savings of their victims.

The dollars in question are those that were issued during almost the entire 20th century,

.

They are known as "

" because the face of the hero on the front (Benjamin Franklin in the $100 one) appears

than in more modern series.

The latest news on this topic is that the United States government seems to have

of these doubts, myths and conflicts, and decided to make a few 

.

Over the decades, the banknote changed its design, from the "small face" to the current bluish one.

Photo: USCurrency.gov.

The new US clarification on "small face" dollars: how much are they really worth?

The

, which is the

for the US dollar (equivalent to the Argentine Central Bank with respect to the peso) ruled on the matter in a recent statement titled "

", He spends a paragraph

.

"The Federal Reserve Board

that

there may be

or policies for the acceptance of foreign currency. However, it is not the government of the United States that controls these rates,

, "explains the text, disseminated by the US Currency Education Program on its official website and on social networks.

Faced with this situation, the agency came out to remind users of dollars around the world that "they

with old designs."

And he insisted on his historical position on the matter.

It is not necessary to trade in older-design banknotes.

All #UScurrency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued.

For more information, visit https://t.co/ejx2WCtz2U.

pic.twitter.com/oAaXCzPEdN

— US Currency (@uscurrency) February 27, 2023

"The policy of the US government - declared the entity - is that

of the Federal Reserve notes

and

for making payments, regardless of when they were printed."

This policy, they immediately specified, "covers all denominations of Federal Reserve notes,

", as established by the regulations in force in the United States (US Code, title 31, section 5103).

All these copies -also considered the Federal Reserve Board- are "

" since they have, to a greater or lesser extent, characteristics that allow their authenticity to be verified.

How Argentines can make their "small face" dollars count without losses: 5 tactics

Thus, it was reconfirmed that, at least

, the "small face" dollars

 and will continue to be accepted at the

as the newer bills.

Now, being in Argentina the situation is not so simple for those who have savings in old US bills.

Because, although the banks do take them at 100% of their value, they do not allow their clients to ask to

in the box.

The main

, then, are:

1. Take them to the United States

.

Since they are accepted without distinction there, your own trip or that of someone you know can be the great opportunity to

or try to change them.

There are those who, for example, go to a casino, buy chips as if to bet and then exchange them again for tickets, which will probably be from newer series.

2. Online shopping abroad

.

Being in Argentina, the "small face" can be used to pay for

 made with a card over the Internet, such as travel reservations or door-to-door shipping products.

The expenses will arrive in the summary expressed in dollars and that balance can be paid in the bank taking the old bills, which will be taken at full value.

The old bills are still valid in the United States, but in Argentina nobody wants them.

Photo: File.

3. Deposit into account

.

Those who have a savings account in dollars in an Argentine bank can deposit their old dollars there and the amount will be credited without deductions.

Then, then, you can go back and

at the checkout or at an ATM that delivers dollars, hoping to receive "big faces."

And if it doesn't work, try again.

4. Payments by transfer

.

In the face of a transaction, for example real estate, that is blocked because the buyer only has "small face" dollars and the seller does not want them, one solution is

.

Thus, the one who pays can enter the old dollars into his savings account and send the amount by transfer to the account of the other or go to make a deposit to his account.

5. If they are broken, postal exchange

.

Sometimes, due to having spent years in inappropriate hiding places, these old dollars are found to be very

,

or

.

and in that state, not even Argentine banks accept them.

But they can be exchanged by mail, with the official program of "Mutilated Currency Exchange" of the United States.

The details, in this note.

MDG

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