“Small head” dollar: what they are and how to make them count
The dollar The US currency is the most common and accepted currency in the world. In Argentina it is -without a doubt- the "second" currency with which most purchases and businesses are made.
Historically, high inflation and devaluations have led Argentines to "think in dollars," as they say.
The exchange gap has increased in recent months between the so-called official dollar and the "blue" or informal dollar, after the taxes applied by the national government to foreign currencies.
Dollar: heads, or big head and the dollar heads or small head.
In the case of the informal dollar, savers face another problem that affects the value of the price of these green bills: the “big head” dollar compared to the “small head” dollar. The question that arises is: Are those “old” 100 bills useful or do they have to be changed?
As the most used in this market are precisely the US$ 100 bills, it is necessary to know that the “small face” are those bills where the face of Benjamin Franklin is smaller and is centered within a frame. These bills are more difficult to change than the latest model, in which the hero looks bigger on a bill that is more bluish than greenish.
Why do the “little trees” pay less pesos for an older bill?
Many clients and “caves” or “little trees” consider that “small head” dollars, which belong to issues prior to 2013, will eventually be withdrawn from circulation and will lose value in the future. Therefore, since it is difficult for the parallel circuit intermediary to sell those tickets, he takes them at a lower price when buying them. But that is false.
All dollars have value
This theory about “small face” bills was denied on multiple occasions by the Federal Reserve (Fed), the Central Bank of the United States, which prints and distributes dollars around the world.
The agency indicates on its website that all banknotes printed from 1914 to date are legal tender and that the successive adjustments in the models have to do with making counterfeiting more difficult.
Dollars “small face” or “big face”: how to make them count
“Each note includes security and style features specific to how the denomination is used in circulation. The United States government periodically redesigns Federal Reserve Notes to make them easier to use, but more difficult to counterfeit.
“It is the policy of the United States government that all styles of United States currency are legal tender, regardless of their date of issue. This policy includes all denominations of Federal Reserve Notes, from 1914 to the present.
The false theory about “small head” bills endures and generates losses for those who have them. How to do so that they do not lose value?
In recent days with hundreds of savers withdrawing dollars (after a fake news), there were fights in the banks and discussions about the delivery of these bills by the entities. Last Monday, when the rumor of a false corralito circulated, there were important withdrawals.
Banking entities are obliged to receive them (the "small face") and can even send them to the United States so that the Fed replaces them with newer models and with greater security measures. That way they do not lose value for savers.
Banks import new dollars, but they are generating stock of old bills as they are one of the few entities that recognize their full value of US$100.
Argentines shy away from "small face" bills and it is one of the main complaints when withdrawing funds from the bank account since later in the informal market: "They pay less."