The ban on cash is coming. Soon.

[mick silver]

The ban on cash is coming. Soon.
By Simon Black - February 17, 2016



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This is starting to become very concerning.
The momentum to “ban cash”, and in particular high denomination notes like the 500 euro and $100 bills, is seriously picking up steam.
On Monday the European Central Bank President emphatically disclosed that he is strongly considering phasing out the 500 euro note.
Yesterday, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers published an op-ed in the Washington Post about getting rid of the $100 bill.
Prominent economists and banks have joined the refrain and called for an end to cash in recent months.
The reasoning is almost always the same: cash is something that only criminals, terrorists, and tax cheats use.
In his op-ed, Summers refers to a new Harvard research paper entitled: “Making it Harder for the Bad Guys: The Case for Eliminating High Denomination Notes”.
That title pretty much sums up the conventional thinking. And the paper goes on to propose abolishing, among others, 500 euro and $100 bills.
The authors claim that “without being able to use high denomination notes, those engaged in illicit activities – the ‘bad guys’ of our title – would face higher costs and greater risks of detection. Eliminating high denomination notes would disrupt their ‘business models’.”
Personally I find this comical.
I can just imagine a bunch of bureaucrats and policy wonks sitting in a room pretending to know anything about criminal activity.
It’s total nonsense. As long as there has been human civilization there has been crime. Crime pre-dates cash. And it will exist long after they attempt to ban it.
Perhaps even more hilarious is that many of these bankrupt governments have become so desperate for economic growth that they now count illegal drug activity and prostitution in their GDP calculations (http://sov.mn/1U7RifL), both of which are typically transacted in cash.
So, ironically, by banning cash these governments will end up reducing their own GDP figures.
What’s really behind this? Why is there such a big movement to ban something that is used for felonious purposes by just a fraction of a percent of the population?
Cash, it turns out, is the Achilles’ Heel of the financial system.
Central banks (http://www.thedailybell.com/definitions/params/id/2958/) around the world have kept interest rates at near-zero levels for nearly eight years now.
And despite having created massive bubbles and enabled extraordinary amounts of debt, their policies aren’t working.
Especially in Europe, the hope of stoking economic growth (and even the sickening goal of inflation) has failed.
So naturally, since what they’ve been trying hasn’t worked, their response is to continue trying the same thing… and more of it.
Interest rates across the European continent are now negative.
Japanese interest rates are now negative.
And even in the United States, the Federal Reserve (http://www.thedailybell.com/definitions/params/id/1855/) has acknowledged that negative interest rates are being considered.
They have no other choice; raising rates will bankrupt the governments they support and derail any fledgling economic growth.
Look at how low interest rates are in the US-- and yet 4th quarter GDP practically ground to a halt. They simply cannot afford to raise rates.
As global economic weakness continues to play out, central banks will have no other option but to take interest rates even further into negative territory.
That said, negative interest rates will be the destruction of the financial system.
Because sooner or later, if banks have to pay negative wholesale interest rates to each other and to the central bank, then eventually they’ll have to pass those negative rates on to their customers.
Many banks have already started doing this, especially on larger depositors.
We’ve seen this in Europe (http://sov.mn/20DZeVR) where some banks charge their customers negative interest to save money, and in some extraordinary circumstances, pay other customers to borrow money.
It’s total madness.
There’s a certain point, however, when interest rates become so negative that no rational person would hold money in the banking system.
Eventually people will realize that they’re better off withdrawing their money and holding physical cash.
Sure, cash doesn’t pay any interest. But it doesn’t cost any either.
If you have a $200,000 in your savings account at negative 1%, you’d have to pay the bank $2,000 each year.
Clearly it would make more sense to buy a safe and hold most of that money in cash.
Problem is, the banks don’t have the money.
For starters, there’s literally not enough cash in the entire financial system to pay out more than a fraction of all bank deposits.
More importantly, banks (especially in the US and Europe) are extremely illiquid.
They invest the vast majority of your deposit in illiquid loans or securities of dubious long-term value, whatever the latest stupid investment fad happens to be.
And many banks have been engaging in a substantial balance sheet shift, rotating bonds from what’s called “Available for Sale” to “Hold to Maturity”.
This is an accounting trick used to hide losses in their bond portfolios (http://sov.mn/1RNgLug). But it also means they have less liquidity available to support bank customer withdrawal requests.
The natural side effect of negative interest rates is pushing people to hold money outside of the banking system.
Yet it’s clear that a surge of withdrawal requests would bring down that system.
Banks don’t want that to happen. Governments don’t want that to happen.
But since central banks have no other choice than to continue imposing negative interest rates, the only logical option is to ban cash and force consumers to hold their money within the banking system.
Make no mistake, this is absolutely a form of capital controls. And it’s coming soon to a banking system near you.
Conclusion: Clearly a trend with this much momentum requires some deliberate and measured action if you don’t want your savings trapped.
We’ll discuss this in our upcoming webinar.
I hate to belabor the point, but it should be obvious that these things are happening, quickly, and I can promise that you’ll get a ton of great information and solutions with the small investment of your time.
Sign up here to attend for free (http://sov.mn/1Ltyyjz).

- See more at: http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/36782/The-ban-on-cash-is-coming-Soon/#sthash.4C4IKA5Y.dpuf

[Ponce]

Paper fiat is made by the Fed........coins by the government......., what can you do with a piece of paper? and what can you do with a coin? LOT OF THINGS....save all your coins. The more that I learn, the better that I can get ready.

V

[StreetsOfGold]

This has been KNOWN by us Bible believers for centuries, but it's always good when the "world" wakes up (a little) to Bible TRUTH!!

Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

[Shami-Amourae]

A lot of you Bitcoin naysayers will come to love Bitcoin once cash is outlawed.

[Joshua01]

A lot of you Bitcoin naysayers will come to love Bitcoin once cash is outlawed.

Not sold on that yet...it's still all digital currency to me subject to powers and events out of my control

[Ponce]

Not sold on that yet...it's still all digital currency to me subject to powers and events out of my control

Not only to the power but also to power itself..... when the power goes out? what will you use?.....bye bye bitcoins...hello coins, remember......there are no longer paper fiat...and you are right Joshua for, "If you don't hold it, you don't own it" :)

[7th trump]

Ponce you are ill informed and ignorant as the rest. Your coins will not mean shit.
What's coming is going to erase all of it. Not even gold or silver is allowed as money. The only thing allowed as money is your allegiance to the fake christ who will issue is own currency....all else is forbidden.
This is why the "ant" is Gods favorite insect because they store up what they need to for bad times....and there is a terrible time coming on the horizon....a storm!
You wont be allowed to buy or sell unless you take up the mark of the beast. And that is believing (on your forehead) he is the messiah and doing his works (on your hand).....which is taking allegiance.

[Joshua01]

Ponce you are ill informed and ignorant as the rest. Your coins will not mean shit.
What's coming is going to erase all of it. Not even gold or silver is allowed as money. The only thing allowed as money is your allegiance to the fake christ who will issue is own currency....all else is forbidden.
This is why the "ant" is Gods favorite insect because they store up what they need to for bad times....and there is a terrible time coming on the horizon....a storm!
You wont be allowed to buy or sell unless you take up the mark of the beast. And that is believing (on your forehead) he is the messiah and doing his works (on your hand).....which is taking allegiance.

You see, this is an example of how religious nonsense can cloud the judgement of an otherwise intelligent person. Like any other time in history people will have choices as we go forward into this mess. To simply assume you'll make one choice or another based on religious fables will only serve to limit those choices. What people should be doing is preparing in the best way they can and silver, gold, food, weapons, ammo, water and bourbon/beer/Doritos are the staples you'll need to hoard in advance of the meltdown. You won't need that bible/koran...unless you can use it for kindling for your evening fire

[ximmy]

Here's what Armstrong says...

Larry Summers, the father of NEGATIVE INTEREST RATES, is so against a free society and looks upon us as dumb cattle to be herded and corralled for his pleasure. His ideas are just beyond belief. Now Mr. Pro-Government-Anti-Democracy is advocating killing the $100 bill (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/16/its-time-to-kill-the-100-bill/?postshare=8671455627637815&tid=ss_tw). He is moving to electronic money so that government can get all the taxes it ever dreamed of. We are rapidly being converted from milk cows to just beef cows. This is creating a completely totalitarian future. With people like this who never had a real job but knows how to dictate to the world, our future looks very bleak.

Summers actually reveals this is really about taxes by arguing that the U.S. government should stop issuing new $100 bills and recall the old ones out of circulation. Keep in mind the government will comply because this is the balloon he is floating at their direction and the press cheers our demise. There is nobody in the press willing to call him out. They prefer to lick the ground he walks on. They give him air-time because that is their role......

Thank you Mr. Summers for your persistent dedication to eliminating our freedom and converting the world into a giant totalitarian state, despite admitting the government is incapable of forecasting the business cycle. That means that they are too blind to even comprehend the consequences of their actions today......

TIP: Swap your $100 notes in the sock-drawer for $20s. We went from $10,000 to $100 without terrorists or money laundering laws (which now means hiding money from government). Summers will take us down to $1 at best and he wants that gone as well. This guy should be in prison for what he has done to society. He was the cheerleader to get rid of Glass Steagall under the Clintons.....

Summers is in the top 10 people who have created the destruction of all our rights and the world economy. The press treat him as royalty. In my book, he is in the class of Adolf Hitler within the Financial arena. Hitler actually began terminating the handicapped because they were a burden to the state. They happened to be veterans from WWI. This is the same attitude of Summers. Eliminate all our rights for his efficient mind to be at peace. What happens when he controls everything, and government is still unable to survive? He will be first among the elite to advocate sending in troops to hunt anyone who dissents from his will. Yes I am being harsh. But this guy has ZERO respect for that cattle he sees out his window any more than Germany terminating veterans because it was a burden to take care of them. Our society which he cannot figure out how it works because he admits it is too “complex” for his mind, never prevents him from trying to manipulate us to his desire. He seems more like a two-year old who get mad they cannot play with a toy and do not like to share. If the economy is too complex to forecast, it is too complex for his manipulation games.

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/larry-summers-calls-to-end-100-billis-here-comes-the-totalitarian-state/

[Shami-Amourae]

In my book, he is in the class of Adolf Hitler within the Financial arena. Hitler actually began terminating the handicapped because they were a burden to the state. They happened to be veterans from WWI. This is the same attitude of Summers. Eliminate all our rights for his efficient mind to be at peace. What happens when he controls everything, and government is still unable to survive?

Summers sounds like a Saint suddenly.

http://s11.postimg.org/7pexfxytf/origina333l.jpg

[midnight rambler]

Not sold on that yet...it's still all digital currency to me subject to powers and events out of my control

And EMP of course.

[Shami-Amourae]

And EMP of course.

EMPs would be localized, and if they did happen globally I can assure you cash will be worthless too since we will be in all out Walking Dead SHTF mode.

Nuclear power plants would all melt down in this scenario and wipe out life anyways.

[Joshua01]

And EMP of course.

Yep, last I saw gold and silver remain unaffected by EMP attacks :)

[woodman]

I imagine they have thought our all the ramifications. How about all the paper money in dollars held around the world as a stable savings? It is said that an enormous amount of dollars are held by average and not so average people around the globe. If the world at large gets wind of a repudiation of cash, entailing it being turned in for digital currency (whatever the fuck that is) then will it not unleash a sudden and terrible tsunami of inflation?

[midnight rambler]

EMPs would be localized

Wrong. An EMP device detonated at sufficient altitude would encompass the entire CONUS.

[Shami-Amourae]

Here's what Armstrong says...

Sound is shit, but has good discussion:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KTPUBuFbiI

[7th trump]

Wrong. An EMP device detonated at sufficient altitude would encompass the entire CONUS.

Midnight is salivating that a communist country would do this to the USofA.

[Joshua01]

Midnight is salivating that a communist country would do this to the USofA.

7th is simply salivating into his drool bucket

[midnight rambler]

Midnight is salivating that a communist country would do this to the USofA.

Your Bolshevik heroes have already done in the states a long time ago, any country doing such a thing would be freeing the American people of the yoke of your Bolshevik heroes* now occupying The District.

*aka 'deep security state' administered by legal fictions created by and for the tribe

[Jewboo]

EMPs would be localized, and if they did happen globally I can assure you cash will be worthless too since we will be in all out Walking Dead SHTF mode. Nuclear power plants would all melt down in this scenario and wipe out life anyways.



http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.103025092.2705/tp,875x875,ffffff,f.6u7.jpg

http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.103025094.2705/ra,unisex_tshirt,x1350,grass_green,front-c,30,60,940,730-bg,f8f8f8.u7.jpg

http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.103025756.2705/leggings,m,x875,front-bg,ffffff.2u7.jpg

NUKE PEPE is strong with this lad.

:D KEKE

[Joshua01]

EMPs would be localized, and if they did happen globally I can assure you cash will be worthless too since we will be in all out Walking Dead SHTF mode.

Nuclear power plants would all melt down in this scenario and wipe out life anyways.

Define 'local'

http://www.shtfplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/emp_map_graphic.jpg

[Shami-Amourae]

http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.103025092.2705/tp,875x875,ffffff,f.6u7.jpg

http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.103025094.2705/ra,unisex_tshirt,x1350,grass_green,front-c,30,60,940,730-bg,f8f8f8.u7.jpg

http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.103025756.2705/leggings,m,x875,front-bg,ffffff.2u7.jpg

NUKE PEPE is strong with this lad.

:D KEKE



Do you know where "Kek" came from, and no, don't look it up?

[Shami-Amourae]

Define 'local'

http://www.shtfplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/emp_map_graphic.jpg


It depends how powerful and high up they are.

The biggest one would be a massive solar flare, but it would mostly effect only the side of the planet that hit it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkuAjIUcAw0


The solar flare scenario is actually very realistic one of the main reasons why I want to live as rural as possible and be gardening/with livestock. As uncharacteristic as that is for me, it's something I feel I must do.

I feel there's a 25%+ chance it will happen in my lifetime. It would wipe out 90%+ of the population easily.

[madfranks]

Paper fiat is made by the Fed........coins by the government......., what can you do with a piece of paper? and what can you do with a coin? LOT OF THINGS....save all your coins. The more that I learn, the better that I can get ready.

V

You can't wipe your ass with coins.

[madfranks]

Yep, last I saw gold and silver remain unaffected by EMP attacks :)

I've said it before, physical metals and crypto-currencies compliment each other perfectly. Gold/silver are physically embedded and digitally independent. Crypto (BTC/LTC, etc) are digitally embedded and physically independent. Both have value and can be useful under different scenarios.

For stealth and ease of transport, crypto all the way. To bury in your yard in case of EMP/SHTF, gold/silver all the way.

Joshua01, if you're still not convinced, download a BTC wallet and play around with it for a while. I was unconvinced too for a long time but now am a believer.

[Horn]

I've said it before, physical metals and crypto-currencies compliment each other perfectly... Both have value and can be useful under different scenarios.

Whereas when one becomes too valuable tptb uses the other to crush it, No quit playing with your ying-yang.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67bAoBdXYDg

Matthew 27:5 (http://biblehub.com/matthew/27-5.htm)
And he cast down the 30 pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

[Ponce]

You can't wipe your ass with coins.

Hahahahahahs.........yes I can.........can you do it with bit coins?

By the way,,,,,,the way of asking that question was not vey dignified of you. Remember who you are, and your position at this site.

V

[Jerrylynnb]

Will any of you "gold/silver bugs" entertain a dumb question? How can I know a coin is gold or silver? How can I know an ingot is either gold or silver? By its color? By its weight?

What does someone do, carry his own testing equipment whenever he contemplates receiving gold/silver in exchange for something of value he has to offer? A corollary is: How much expectation do we have that a shopkeeper, or seller (of whatever) will just accept your coin (that "looks" like gold/silver) and know how much it is worth and have your transaction proceed as smoothly as it would if you just forked over a "Jackson" (twenty dollar bill)?

Years ago I was willing to part with a huge wad of cash (one hundred dollar bills) for some coins laid out on the glass counter, but, the seller chickened out at the last minute, so, I left the store with my cash, NOT the coins. Afterwards, I started wondering how foolish I would have felt had those coins been counterfeit - I had NO WAY of knowing since I have never really handled either gold or silver, except back when quarters were actually 90% silver.

So, yes, the question burns - how is the general public going to have any confidence in the purity, or correct impurity, of the coins you hope to exchange for your toilet paper?

The ONLY hiccup I've ever had in using the good ole' "yankee dollar" was when I use a fifty (or one-hundred) - the clerk would hold it up to the light, and, look for one thing or another that they had been trained to look for - that all took less than a second or two, and, then, bingo! I got my goods and whatever change was coming. Can anybody expect this kind of ease should you lay down a gold/silver coin instead?

Has anybody ever actually used gold/silver coins in a typical retail purchasing situation?

Just asking.

I got more questions about this push for "cashless" monetary policy, but, this one is the upfront burning one.

And also, what the hell is going on with stopping the printing of one hundred dollar bills? So? Can't they just use two fifty's? I just don't get it. Somebody is playing mind games with us - I really suspect that! But I can't figure what their "game" is - it seems like the three stooges in real life running our monetary policy, but it ain't funny.

[aeondaze]

Something is definately up. Has there been some kind of directive issued by the BIS in relation to cash?

Dirty money: Australia's missing $100 bills in hands of criminals, tax cheats, expert warns (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-19/australia-100-notes-used-for-tax-evasion-crime-expert-says/7181054)

This was posted 13 hrs ago.

In the space of 24 hrs European, US and Australian media all talk up the prospect of banning large denomination bills and flag their supposed use in black markets and under the table transactions.

They are either very worried or they have something up their slleeve. :rolleyes:

Crooked bastards, every last one of them

[Horn]

Will any of you "gold/silver bugs" entertain a dumb question? How can I know a coin is gold or silver? How can I know an ingot is either gold or silver? By its color? By its weight?

Gold by weight, silver by ear, both hit octaves that send knowing thru any human's spine.

Digital dollars, Doggycoins and Bitcoins are unrecognizable from each other.

[Joshua01]

I've said it before, physical metals and crypto-currencies compliment each other perfectly. Gold/silver are physically embedded and digitally independent. Crypto (BTC/LTC, etc) are digitally embedded and physically independent. Both have value and can be useful under different scenarios.

For stealth and ease of transport, crypto all the way. To bury in your yard in case of EMP/SHTF, gold/silver all the way.

Joshua01, if you're still not convinced, download a BTC wallet and play around with it for a while. I was unconvinced too for a long time but now am a believer.

Thanks for the input. My strategy is to spread my discretionary investment wealth as far and wide as I can. I'm contemplating including some Bitcoin wealth into my portfolio. I agree with you 100%. One cannot put all of one's eggs into one basket. If BC makes more sense than digital FRNs then I'll move some money around :)

[Ponce]

An investor livers from day to day.....but......a prep is ready at all time......my silver was bought from 1981 to 2001 and sorry I am not , or course I could have taken vacation or bought a Mercedes, or done a lot of things.....but....I like living in my own dream world where I am nice and worm, and secured.....and living only with my SS, and doing great, is only the icing on the cake.

V

[Joshua01]

An investor livers from day to day.....but......a prep is ready at all time......my silver was bought from 1981 to 2001 and sorry I am not , or course I could have taken vacation or bought a Mercedes, or done a lot of things.....but....I like living in my own dream world where I am nice and worm, and secured.....and living only with my SS, and doing great, is only the icing on the cake.

V
Yeah, I'm not ready to go all in on retirement yet. I'm ready from the prep side but still have some dry powder to play with

[Half Sense]

How can I know a coin is gold or silver?

How do you know the cash in your wallet isn't counterfeit? Do you inspect each bill carefully? Do you even know what to look for? Most of is have developed some skill and discernment in knowing how genuine paper money should look and feel. Don't you think if silver and gold was used as "money" for daily purchases that people might also develop some skill and discernment in knowing what real gold and silver look like, feel like, sound like, etc?

[Jewboo]

What does someone do, carry his own testing equipment whenever he contemplates receiving gold/silver in exchange for something of value he has to offer?




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgRuVRL00M8

[Carl]

Paper fiat is made by the Fed........coins by the government......., what can you do with a piece of paper? and what can you do with a coin? LOT OF THINGS....save all your coins. The more that I learn, the better that I can get ready.
V
Paper fiat is not made by the Fed, the Fed does not own the paper fiat and neither the Fed or the banks possess the legal authority to create money, and they don't.

They can't ban cash, the legal tender of the U.S., it serves as the basis of the entire Fed and Bankster asset backed, debt based, credit system. But, they can make getting and using your money (your property) damn hard.

There is no money in any deposit account of any type anywhere in all of westernized banking, they are all credited accounts, book keeping entries denoting the amount of legal tender owed by the banks to their depositors, they are all bank debt. There is no law anywhere that designates or acknowledges the credit generated by the Fed and the banksters as being a legal tender, money, currency, or a medium of exchange. The only legal validity that credit has, is given to the debts incurred with its use.

Just as with bank "Bail-Ins", negative interests rates does not take anything from you, it just makes the banks' debt to you, less. They've already stolen everything, there's nothing left for them to steal.

[madfranks]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgRuVRL00M8

Yeah, and then you have to buy separate kits for each and every type of coin you're likely to come up against. Separate kits for:

1/10 GAE
1/4 GAE
1/2 GAE
1 GAE

1/10 Gold Maple
1/4 Gold Maple
1/2 Gold Maple
1 Gold Maple

Same for Philharmonics, Krugerrands, etc. etc.

[Jerrylynnb]

Half Sense asks:

"Do you inspect each bill carefully?"

That is something I thought about after making that post. No, I don't inspect the bills I get from the bank and in change, but, I do notice if they are all worn out and request a different one (not so worn) if it is ready to be destroyed.

But what gives me confidence that I am not getting counterfeit is the heavy and unacceptable penalty for anyone who knowingly passes counterfeit dollars.
I don't think I have ever knowingly come across a counterfeit yankee bill, and, you only rarely hear about anybody getting away with it - the feds go after that with zeal.

If the feds were to place those same heavy punishments for counterfeiting gold/silver coins (or ingots), making them legal tender, then I'd probably prefer that to paper. But I heard about some large bullion bars a few years ago that were gold plated only, and tungsten (or something dirt cheap) on the inside and that some countries got taken big time with that swindle.

I have to admit that I am relying on the fed's unwavering counterfeiting enforcement for me to willingly use yankee dollars (paper bills) - I don't think the feds, or any government agency, will do anything if you get stuck with something gold-plated only with tungsten on the inside, but, I guess I really don't know. Is there any history here? If they do, that would make a big difference.

But also, as I asks, does anybody actually use gold/silver in today's world for buying and selling things? Like at the grocery store or furnature store or buying a car? Anything at all? I suspect that most holders of gold/silver stash it away and never use it as money until they need to exchange it for cash, and, then, they have to deal with a gold/silver dealer, NOT the general public. Is that right? Are there any well known retailers that will accept gold/silver coins/ingots as legal tender and give you a cash equivalent value as per the quoted price on that day? That would also make a big difference - if you could actually use it as legal tender in your everyday buying/selling activities.

[ximmy]

Jerrylynnb,

The least of my worries is converting silver or gold into a currency that develops. The main fact is paper will go to zero value. Gold and silver value will endure. Perhaps there might be some difficulty in exchanging one wealth source for another, but try to exchange worthless bank notes in the future. that will not be possible.

[mick silver]

Swiss Politicians Slam Attempts To Eliminate Cash, Compare Paper Money To A Gun Defending FreedomSource: Zero Hedge (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-18/swiss-politicians-propose-5000-franc-note-compare-cash-firearm-which-guarantees-free)

As we predicted over a year ago, in a world in which QE has failed, and in which the ice-cold grip of NIRP has to be global in order to achieve its intended purpose of forcing savers around the world to spend the taxed product of their labor, one thing has to be abolished: cash.
This explains the recent flurry of articles in outlets such as BBG and the FT, and op-eds by such "established" economists as Larry Summers, all advocating the death of cash, a process which would begin by abolishing high denomination bills and continue until all physical cash in circulation is eliminated, something we warned about (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-18/fed-opens-negative-interest-rate-pandoras-box-what-happens-next)when the first made it first NIRP hint last September.
We were s rather surprised by the candor of a WSJ piece overnight (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-18/end-economic-liberty-war-cash-wont-end-well)which actually told it how it is:

The real reason the war on cash is gearing up now is political: Politicians and central bankers fear that holders of currency could undermine their brave new monetary world of negative interest rates. Japan and Europe are already deep into negative territory, and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said last week the U.S. should be prepared for the possibility. Translation: That’s where the Fed is going in the next recession.
By all means people should be able to go cashless if they like. But it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the politicians want to bar cash as one more infringement on economic liberty. They may go after the big bills now, but does anyone think they’d stop there? Why wouldn’t they eventually ban all cash transactions much as they banned gold and silver as mediums of exchange?
Beware politicians trying to limit the ways you can conduct private economic business. It never turns out well.
We were even more surprised when we read that in Switzerland (http://www.thelocal.ch/20160218/zug-mps-call-for-new-5000-franc-banknotes), the place which offers the highest denomination banknote in Europe, the 1,000 Swiss Franc note (and the second highest in the world after the Singapore $10,000 note) two politicians, Philip Brunner and Manuel Brandberg, members of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, have proposed a motion that they hope Zug will support for a cantonal initiative seeking changes to the federal currency law.
They argue that the creation of 5,000-franc notes will ensure that the Swiss franc maintains its status as a safe haven currency.
As we reported previously (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-15/war-paper-currency-begins-ecb-votes-scrap-500-euro-bill), this proposal is the diametrical opposite of what the ECB hopes to do, and of where the European Union wants to go, where finance ministers have talked about withdrawing 500-euro bills from circulation to deter their use for "financing terrorism, money laundering and other illegal activities", all made up terms designed to give the impression that politicians are slowly eliminating physical currency in circulation for your own good.
They are not.
This is what the Swiss politicians admit too: Brunner and Brandberg maintain that the tendency in the EU and in OECD member countries is to “weaken individual liberties” and to exercise greater control over citizens.
But it is what they say next that may define the libertarian political platforms around the globe for the next several years - also known as the global NIRP period - because it is 100% spot on:

In this context "cash is comparable to the service firearm kept by Swiss citizen soldiers," the pair argued in their motion, saying they both “guarantee freedom”.
“In France and Italy already cash payments of only up to 1,000 euros are allowed and the question of the abolition of cash is being seriously discussed and considered in Europe, “ Brunner said on his Facebook page.
The move toward electronic payments allows governments "total surveillance" over individuals, the pair claim.
Of course, the proposal was promptly shot down by the Swiss National Bank: "Walter Meier, a spokesman for the Swiss National Bank, which is responsible for Switzerland’s money, told 20 Minuten newspaper the introduction of banknotes of a higher denomination is “not an issue."
Keep in mind this is the same central bank which in late 2014 pushed hard against a popular referendum to replenish Swiss sovereign gold by buying gold in the open market, only to generate billions in paper losses months later when it admitted defeat in the currency war with the ECB; a central bank which then lost even more billions when it decided to buy (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-05/swiss-national-bank-doubled-its-holdings-aapl-stock-2015)shares of AAPL at their all time high price and is now sitting on substantial paper losses.
As for the Swiss proposal to print higher denomination currencies, we are confident it won't pass now: if it did, there would be an unprecedented rush from around the globe to park savings in Swiss cash, just like in the good old days.
But the time of big currency denominations is coming one way or another: after all, NIRP is the falling Keynesian system's penultimate hope. When it fails, there is just one last option, the one we have said is coming ever since 2009, the one which even the "smartest money in the world (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-18/nirp-wont-work-what-ray-dalio-thinks-central-banks-will-do-next)" agreed today is inevitable: helicopter money.
And as Ben Bernanke made it all so clear in 2002, once the helicopter money comes, hyperinflation is very close behind. And one thing hyperinflation always brings with it, is very highly denominated bank notes. Just ask Zimbabwe.

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[Horn]

But I heard about some large bullion bars a few years ago that were gold plated only, and tungsten (or something dirt cheap) on the inside and that some countries got taken big time with that swindle.

When you become a country with large bullion deliveries there might be some cause for checking your bars.

Otherwise you'll know what weight vs area is in your hand from your prior exchange or how it rang on a desk.

Why counterfeit coins don't last more than fortnight in thousands of years, there's no substituting gold and silver.

[mick silver]

http://images.csmonitor.com/csm/2016/02/964031_1_the-redirect_342x227_standard.png?alias=original (http://www.csmonitor.com/ds/index.html?cmpid=DSHP)

[gunDriller]

Half Sense asks:

"Do you inspect each bill carefully?"

It's not that difficult. I check every bill $5 and larger.

I check for ink thickness and watermark. Takes less than a second for each bill.

If you're going to find a bad bill (besides Mr. Clinton), the time to do it is at Point of Sale - when you can still return it.

In my case, I witnessed the local police liaison to the Secret Service (counterfeit detail), at the bank. He had a long list (10 pages) of serial numbers and denominations. Didn't seem like a good time to ask questions, so I talked to the teller after the cop left.

Checkout clerk at the big box store confirmed it ... plenty of bad bills around.

[mick silver]

POLLS http://www.infowars.com/muslims-complain-that-national-anthem-is-oppressive-and-forced-assimilation/


Will government phase out cash?


Yes, they want to eliminate it (44%, 3,784 Votes)
Yes, but it will be a gradual process (33%, 2,845 Votes)
No, Wall Street floats on cash from illegal drugs (12%, 1,013 Votes)
No, the economy depends on cash for business (9%, 760 Votes)
I don’t care. I use credit and debit cards (2%, 174 Votes)


Total Voters: 8,576