Changing old $100 bills

[Caribbean Cool]

Is changing older issue $100 bills vs the new larger format bills a problem? All are in decent condition.

 

[Alpinista]

Is changing older issue $100 bills vs the new larger format bills a problem? All are in decent condition.

The Americans here might correct me, but as far as I know there are three type of 100 bills:
1) Old cabeza chica
2) Old cabeza grande
3) New cabeza grande (the ones with the blue stripe)

2) is never a problem to change (provided the bill is in good shape, i.e. not damaged), it has the same value as 3). The 1) can also be converted to pesos, but with a discount. A couple of weeks ago I asked my cueva. The peso rate for cabeza grande was 151 at that time, for cabeza chica it was 145. So this cueva applies a discount of about 3% for cabeza chica.

At least that is my experience

 

[dsp27]

Is changing older issue $100 bills vs the new larger format bills a problem? All are in decent condition.

Deposit to a dollar account and then withdraw and ask the cashier for "new ones". If you don't have access to a dollar account, ask a friend. Otherwise, I cannot think of another way, other than obviously selling at a discount at a cueva.

 

[wrangler]

They discount the 'cara chicas' 2-4%, depending on who is exchanging it for you. Besides the options given above, you can always try to find someone who is traveling to the U.S. I recently did that with a few, and also other used bills that are not well received here.

 

[Ries]

it can depend on the amount you are exchanging, and what kind of a relationship you have with the cueva. We had a neighborhood cueva for over ten years, and they didnt even look- just ran em all thru the machine- but we were not doing one at a time, and after ten years, they kind of recognized us. But then, the woman who went straight to Kentucky from the Cueva was robbed at gunpoint, and they ended up closing.
The rules above certainly apply to one-offs on Florida, but if you live here for a while, and find a good cueva, generally they will ignore the old bills.

 

[Silvie]

Only those very very old 100 dollar bills with a small head - where Franklin wears a fur coat -might be a problem, usually they have a little less value, if a cueva exchanges them for you. Any local bank has to accept them as deposits. Otherwise, take them back to the USA and use them there.

 

[on the brink]

Last year I took an old hundred dollar bill to my local US bank, to exchange for a new one. The middle-aged manager noticed it had been printed the year she was born, and was curious about where it came from. The bill was passed around from cashier to cashier, all eager to see this relic from the past - or rather, from Argentina.

 

[Rich One]

One can use them to pay rent..? just saying..!

 

[gracielle]

6 Dec 2021 by Melisa Reinhold

Dólar “cabeza chica”: los rumores agitaron la pelea entre bancos, ahorristas y arbolitos por el billete que nadie quiere

Los bancos importan dólares nuevos, pero van generando stock de billetes viejos por ser una de las pocas entidades que reconoce su valor completo de US$100

www.lanacion.com.ar

Dollar "cabeza chica": rumors stirred up the fight between banks, "ahorristas" and "arbolitos" for the banknote that no one wants.
"These dollars are "cabeza chica", won't you change them for me?", is the recurring phrase that tellers at Argentina's main banks hear when they give their customers US$100 bills issued up to 1996, which are characterized by having a smaller portrait of Benjamin Franklin. They are valid and have (in theory and regulation) the same value as a "cabeza grande" dollar.

However, Argentines shy away from them and it is one of the main complaints when withdrawing funds from their bank account. "The "cabeza grande" are prioritized. But if there are no more and we need to deliver "cabeza chica", we do it. As a bank we cannot export the "cabeza chica" bills to the US and have the new ones returned to us. It has a very high cost. In the event that there are no more of the new ones, they are being delivered", acknowledged a financial institution. In some cases, customers decide to cancel the transaction and try their luck another day or at another branch. Others accept the "cabezas chicas", deposit them again and return to the teller window in search of the newest Franklin.

Last Monday, when the rumor of a false "corralito" circulated, "there were important withdrawals and they took what there was"....As a result, in most real estate cash transactions in dollars, "cabeza grande" only, is requested. While in illegal caves they are accepted, but with a value up to 5% less. In case of having the older bills, Argentines have two options to have the full value of the US$100 recognized: deposit them in the bank or travel to another country that accepts it....

 

[Quilombo]

I was planning to do the ol' switcheroo at my bank, deposit the 20s and 50s I had then withdraw them as 100s from the ATM, but when I got the bank the cashier told me my account needed to be "habilitated" for dollar transactions at my home branch. Instead of giving me back my 20s and 50s she offered me the crisp, new 100s instead as "it will be easier to deposit when you go to your home branch". Needless to say I smiled and thanked her then proceeded directly home.