(I usually chicken out and just deposit them all at a bank)
It doesn't help that there are five or so different banks in Scotland issuing notes with different designs, so to spot a dud you need to really know your stuff.
50 quid now is worth substantially less than 20 quid was when I was younger and 20's weren't weird then.
It just has this weird stigma. ATMs don't dispense them. I used to carry one around for emergencies, and people would comment on it (ooh, look at this flash prick, etc).
Getting currency exchanged before a trip? They give huge bills.
Buying a used phone or furniture from Craigslist? Are you going to pay with 100 twenties?
New ATMs even ask you the breakdown of bill sizes you are want.
In nearly 40 years I can't think I've ever seen a £50 note, let alone spent one. €50 notes, sure, but Europe is backwards - I saw a €200 note once when buying a ferry ticket
> Getting currency exchanged before a trip? They give huge bills.
1990 called and wants its features back. I haven't been to an airport yet that didn't have an ATM. With the exception of the U.S. I rarely spend cash when I travel anyway.
> Buying a used phone or furniture from Craigslist? Are you going to pay with 100 twenties?
I can't imagine ever wanting to spend $2000 in cash. I had a builder do some work and it was about £800, a simple bank transfer and job done.
> New ATMs even ask you the breakdown of bill sizes you are want.
Do they? I haven't used an ATM since May (and that was in Hong Kong). Now that is unusual - most people do use cash, but then most people are more likely to want £5 notes from an ATM than £50.
Now the UK isn't as cashless as say China, but Cash is certainly not the norm - especially for anyone under the age of 60
I still like to use cash in a pub and I play pool every weds. This enables me to keep a pool of pocket cash which is handy. Cash is still king in some transactions and I'll miss it when it finally vanishes.
I blew a €200 in a bar in Switzerland once. A cash machine spat several out at me when I got my ickeys (forex) in ready for a week up a mountain with the boys. The barman didn't bat an eyelid when it was my turn to get a round in and I presented that beast to him. Mind you given the price for a beer which was roughly €10 for the local equivalent of the metric version of one pint, I was doing them a favour by keeping the paperwork to a minimum! That was about 15 years ago - God knows what they charge now.
I am under the age of 60 ...
To add to your anecdote, on the Europe part, in a few years in Europe I've seen a few 500€ and 200€ notes (the last one a few days ago, used to pay a 1€20 coffee), and lots of 100€ notes.
Those have terrible exchange rates. I’ve used an airport ATM once, and even then that was only because I realised too late that Switzerland wasn’t in the Eurozone.
I have since gotten some better cards for international travels.
The only time I’ve personally had £50s in the past decade is when I was paid in cash for a software job by a somewhat dodgy client; that’s the association they have generally.
From what I’ve heard, £50 notes are used more rarely than $100 bills are here in the US.
If it wasn't for the fact that I bought a car for about £1400 in fifties in about 1996, I have spent more $100 bills than £50 notes in my life. I have only visited the US on a few occasions for holidays.
£20s are more than enough for most things. They are not too big or thick so even £1000 is just about manageable in a wallet for a short time. Larger than say £200 at most is bank transfer stuff. We have had near instant bank transfers for years. To be honest I keep a cash float of about £100 but I am an older bloke and like to use cash sometimes. I could easily operate cashless for about 99.5% of the time. The number of transactions that I can't do with pay by bonk (NFC) or mobile banking is absolutely minimal. I only use cash in a pub out of habit to be honest.
I've gotten them before when pulling out a few hundred dollars, but since most ATMs have a limit between $400-800, I guess it makes more sense to just stock them with small bills. I've gotten them before, but if I need more than $100 or so, I'll go into the branch so I can get exactly the denominations I want (e.g. I wanted $100s when I bought my car or for gifts, but I want $1s, $5s, and $10s for baby sitters and tips).
In 30 years, I don't think I've _ever_ seen a fifty pound note in person.
The Treasury noted in October 2018 that they rarely used for routine transactions[1]. You can see this difference in the value of notes in circulation. In the US, the vast majority (80.3%) of currency in circulation is in the form of $100 bills[2]. In the UK, there is double the value in circulation in £20s compared to £50s[3]. £50s only make up 24.6% of the value of notes in circulation.
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45850135
[2] https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/coin_currcircv...