Bet Your Bottom Dollar

It always strikes me as odd when a cashier uses that felt tip pen to check if a $100 bill is good.  I mean, if someone's gone to the trouble of counterfeiting money, you'd think they could figure out how to pass the magic marker test.

In fact, I bet those pens don't work.  They're like the "close door" button on a elevator--it makes you feel good, but doesn't do anything. In any case, I'm sure the security thread test, or the watermark test, are a lot harder to pass, and certainly easier to check for.

Anyway, if you really want to discover a bogus bill, there are machines that do it.  Don't be a skinflint.  Buy one and be safe forever.

Recently, I've noticed they've been checking smaller denominations.  Just yesterday I had a $20 bill checked, and I swear I saw someone check a $5.  Come on, is it worth it?  You're slowing down business, and anyway, if someone's going to counterfeit something, wouldn't it be the largest denomination?

I wonder if it's all part of a grand scheme to phase out money.  I'm still not ready for that.  Sometimes you want your purchases to be off the grid.