A used note is a

banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...

that has been in circulation (as opposed to a freshly

printed Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and Printmaking, images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabon ...

, uncirculated banknote).

Blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

ers and people demanding

ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

s are often heard in

movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

to ask for a sum of

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

"in used notes". Used banknotes are preferred by

criminals In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane ...

because they are more difficult to trace. Blocks of new banknotes will be in sequentially numbered order. Used bank notes, due to their being in circulation for however long, are eventually processed by high speed automatic machines which check the quality of the note. In some cases, the note is destroyed and the original entity from which it came from receives a new note or equivalent value check.

Collectibility

Used bank notes are less desired by collectors in comparison to uncirculated bank notes. However, many old, rare bank notes are valuable to collectors when uncirculated notes are not available at an affordable price.

Removal from Circulation (United States)

In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, when the quality of a used note becomes sufficiently degraded, it is removed from circulation by the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

. Each Federal Reserve Bank operates numerous count rooms, in which at least two employees process banknotes that were received on deposit from a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. Used banknotes are fed into a large counting machine, which verifies the amount of the deposit and also identifies degraded banknotes. Any banknotes not meeting certain quality standards are immediately

shredded Shredding, shred, shredder, or shredders may refer to: Equipment * Industrial shredder * Paper shredder * Scrap metal shredder * Woodchipper, or tree shredder Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Shred (film), ''Shred'' (film), a 2008 film by ...

by the machine. The shredded remains of used banknotes are sometimes offered for purchase as a

novelty item A novelty item is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new (hence "novelty", or newness). The term also applies to practical items with fanciful or ...

. Individuals who have in their possession a note which is sufficiently damaged or worn may submit the note to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing who will examine the note and if necessary return a check of equivalent payment to the individual.

References

https://www.stlouisfed.org/open-vault/2019/october/what-to-do-with-ripped-damaged-money?utm_ {{DEFAULTSORT:Used Note Currency production Banknotes Bank robbery