Currency

For a capitalist nation American has a strange relationship with its currency. They have notes and coins that are rarely used. And if you give them anything over a twenty, they'll treat you like a criminal.

I know the 50 cent coin and the $2 note exist, but I've never seen one. What sort of strange conspiracy makes that work? Shop keepers don't get them from the bank, so never give them out as change, so no one ever has one. The same goes for the $1 coin, although I have got some from vending machines occasionally. Meanwhile, my wallet fills with $1 notes.

Schools teach children how to add and give change using pictures of quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies - but half dollars, not so much.

And it's not just the small denominations. I once tried to pay a $10 admission fee with a $50 note. The attendant was most put out. She looked at it and huffed and puffed. I think I was meant to react somehow, but I was just surprised by her antics. I mean, her till was full of $10 and $20 notes. It's not like she didn't have any change. She scratched it and held it up to the light before begrudgingly giving me four $10 notes as change.

This is not a once off. Whenever you try and pay with a fifty it will get scratched, because we all know that counterfeiters use ink that just rubs off.

So don't be surprised if you withdraw $500 from an ATM and get a handful of $20 notes. Anything bigger and you'd only have to go inside the bank to change it for notes you could spend.