Several years ago, around 2009-2010, I bought some dollars to have them as a reserve, not so much to save but to use them for future trips and some expenses and small investments. In those years inflation was not yet such a serious problem in Venezuela and with part of the savings I had, I was able to buy those 100 bills, if I remember correctly $1800 in total.
Hace varios años, por ahí en 2009-2010, compré unos dólares para tenerlos de reserva, no tanto para ahorrar sino para usarlos en futuros viajes y algunos gastos y pequeñas inversiones. En esos años la inflación aún no era un problema tan grave en Venezuela y con parte de los ahorros que tenía, pude comprar esos billetes de 100, si mal no recuerdo $1800 en total.
Of course, due to the exchange control that existed at that time, you couldn't buy legally, that is, not in an exchange house or a bank, but from individuals, what we know as the black market.
Claro que por el control cambiario que existía en ese momento, no podías comprar legalmente, es decir, no en una casa de cambio o en un banco sino a particulares, lo que conocemos como mercado negro pues.
I told some friends to let me know if they heard of anyone selling dollars, and one day a friend put me in touch with her aunt, who knew some diplomats at the Paraguayan embassy in Caracas and from time to time helped them change their foreign currency into bolivars at a better rate than the official set by the BCV (Central Bank of Venezuela).
Les comenté a algunos amigos que me avisaran si llegaban a saber de alguien que estuviera vendiendo dólares, y un día una amiga me puso en contacto con su tía, quien conocía a unos diplomáticos de la embajada de Paraguay en Caracas y de vez en cuando los ayudaba a cambiar sus divisas a bolívares a una tasa mejor que la oficial fijada por el BCV (Banco Central de Venezuela).
I talked to the lady, told her the amount I wanted and a few days later she told me to go pick up the money at her house. She gave me an envelope, I counted the money and gave her a check with the agreed amount in bolivars.
Hablé con la señora, le dije la cantidad que quería y unos días después me avisó para ir a buscar el dinero a su casa. Me entregó un sobre, conté el dinero y le di un cheque con la cantidad acordada en bolívares.
When I got home, I looked at the bills again and realized that most of them were the kind known as "big-headed," because of the size of Benjamin Franklin's portrait, but there were also some "small-headed," which means they are of older issue. Look at the difference:
Cuando llegué a mi casa, volví a mirar los billetes y me di cuenta de que la mayoría eran de los que se conocen como “de cabeza grande”, por el tamaño del retrato de Benjamin Franklin, pero también había unos de “cabeza chiquita”, lo que significa que son de emisión más vieja. Miren la diferencia:
The "big head" ones are from the series issued from 1996 to 2013 and the "small head" ones from 1914 to 1996. If I remember correctly, among the ones I bought there were about six of the old ones, with issue dates between 1988 and 1996.
Los de “cabeza grande” son de la serie emitida desde 1996 hasta 2013 y los de “cabeza chiquita” de 1914 a 1996. Si mal no recuerdo, entre los que compré había unos seis billetes de los viejos, con fechas de emisión entre 1988 y 1996.
As an anecdote, about three years after I bought them, I went on a trip and I took three of these bills with me, to have something extra just in case. One of those bills was a small-headed, and when I went to pay with it the entrance fee of the country where I arrived, I was surprised that it was a fake, I thought they would put me in jail hahaha, fortunately I was able to pay with another bill, but here I show you the souvenir, it was broken in half after being tested for authenticity.
Como anécdota, unos tres años después de comprarlos, me fui de viaje y me llevé tres billetes de estos, para tener algo extra por si acaso. Uno de esos billetes era de los de cabeza pequeña, y cuando fui a pagar con él la tasa de entrada del país donde llegué, me llevé la sorpresa de que era falso, pensé que me meterían presa jajaja, afortunadamente pude pagar con otro billete, pero acá les muestro el souvenir, quedó roto por la mitad luego de que lo pasaron por unas pruebas de autenticidad.
Of course I couldn't complain to the person I bought them from, it had already been a long time since then, and luckily I had no problems with the other bills, which I used over the years for different things: trips, small investments, expenses, etc.
Por supuesto no pude reclamarle a quien se los compré, ya había pasado mucho tiempo de eso, y por suerte después no tuve problemas con los demás billetes, que usé con el pasar de los años en distintas cosas: viajes, pequeñas inversiones, gastos, etc.
And well, despite the crisis we have been going through in Venezuela, incredibly I still have $200 left. I want to do something with them, but apparently I can't because they are "small-headed", and nobody wants to accept them because they are old.
Y bueno, a pesar de la crisis que hemos pasado en Venezuela, increíblemente aún me quedan $200. Quiero hacer algo con ellos, pero al parecer no podrá ser porque son de los “cabeza chiquita”, y nadie los quiere aceptar por ser viejos.
First I went to the bank, I have deposited them there before, but when the teller ran them through the machine, the machine did not validate them. She told me that they were not fake, but that they do not have the security standards of more recent series, like the band for example, and that is why the machine rejects them. She suggested that I go to stores to buy something and see if I had any luck.
Primero fui al banco, ya he depositado otras veces allí, pero cuando la cajera los pasó por la máquina, esta no los validó. Ella me dijo que no eran falsos, sino que no tienen los estándares de seguridad de series más recientes, como la banda por ejemplo, y es por eso que la máquina los rechaza. Me sugirió ir a tiendas a comprar alguna cosa a ver si tenía suerte.
That's what I did, but they didn't accept them either, I also consulted an exchange house and they told me the same thing, that they didn't accept the "small head" ones.
Eso hice, pero tampoco me los aceptaron, también consulté en una casa de cambio y me dijeron lo mismo, que no aceptaban los de “cabeza chiquita”.
Then I started researching the subject on the Internet and I found out that this is something that happens in many countries, but if you are in the USA there is no problem, because these old bills are still valid, they are legal tender according to the official website of the Federal Reserve: "all US currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued".
Entonces me puse a investigar del tema en Internet y supe que es algo que sucede en muchos países, pero si estás en EEUU no hay problema, porque estos billetes viejos siguen vigentes, son de circulación legal según lo establece la página oficial de la Reserva Federal: “toda moneda estadounidense sigue siendo de curso legal, independientemente de cuándo se haya emitido”.
I also came across something very interesting, and that is that apparently some of these old bills are collectible and worth more than $100. Of course, it depends on some factors such as their serial and other characteristics that make them rare and desirable, I must investigate further.
También me topé con algo muy interesante, y es que al parecer algunos de estos viejos billetes son de colección y valen más que $100. Claro, depende de algunos factores como su serial y otras características que los hacen raros y apetecibles, debo investigar más.
Another option if I don't manage to do anything with them here in Venezuela, is to leave them stored as they were, in case one day I visit some relatives I have in the USA and use them there.
Otra opción si no consigo hacer nada con ellos aquí en Venezuela, es dejarlos guardados como estaban, por si algún día visito a algunos familiares que tengo en EEUU y los uso allá.
Has anything like this ever happened to you? Well people, I look forward to your comments and recommendations, something can be done with those old bills...
¿A ustedes les ha pasado algo así? Bueno gente, espero sus comentarios y recomendaciones, algo se podrá hacer con esos billetes viejos…
Except those mentioned with their source, all photos were taken by me / Excepto las mencionadas con su fuente, todas las fotos fueron hechas por mí
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Damn those small headed money! :D Interesting story. I didn´t know that there are two versions of the $100 bill, even though I actually worked in a casino in the US and handling money was all we did day in and day out over there :) If I were you, I would probably wait a few more years (decades :D) until they are worth thousands of dollars on the numismatic market :)
Here is one 100% valid, big headed TipU vote from me :D ;)
@tipu curate
Hahahahaha and there's another more recent version, this one I never got my hands on, check it out:
You are so right, these bills could be a good winning coupon for the future, thanks so much @phortun, for your advice and your big headed TipU vote!!! 😃
Wow! I wonder why our American fellows create so many versions of their bills? :D
Con mucho gusto amiga! ;)
Well, I can't criticize them, in Venezuela we have had many more!
Gracias amigo :)
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We had black market dollars in Greece too, before we enter the euro zone and change our currency. I had a few myself and for some weird reason that I can't figure out now, I had them always with me, as I did with my passport. Maybe to have the feeling that I am good to go at any time :)
Anyway both the dollars and the passport were burned in some riots as well as my motorbike and that was the end of that weird habit :)
I don't have any advise for you but since they are valid in the states, I am sure that eventually you'll find a way to use them!
Hey, that's crazy! Not to carry a few dollars on you, but your passport, the fire took you away from that, what a situation... By the way, at the moment to get a passport here costs about $200 😲
Yeah, I think it's best to keep them and wait what to do with them, thanks for stopping by 😊
What a story!... Entertaining post @sofathana friend!...
I remember that ill-fated 2017 in the climax of the economic crisis here in Venezuela, when some merchants ‘didn't accept the small head notes’ and I got sick of hearing people answering them some obscene things also accompanied with the word ‘head’ by the way... hahaha :))
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😆😂 No wonder! Some merchants believe that the dollars are printed here, they deserve that "cabeza e'...(biiiip)" hahahahaha
Thanks for your support @jlinaresp friend! 😊
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Saludos realmente hemos padecido mucho con este sistema de gobierno en Venezuela, al punto que los comerciantes en mi pueblo el tigre Anzoátegui, solo aceptan billetes llamados banda azul, los 100$ cabeza grande no los aceptan.
De verdad que algunos comerciantes acá se pasan de la raya, piensan que esos billetes se fabrican en Venezuela y los exigen nuevos de paquete...
El problema que aca solo banda azúl es que aceptan
Ni modo...
Estamos en Venezuela
Bueno, pa'lante 🙂
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Thank you so much!
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@jlinaresp(6/10) tipped @sofathana