In recent weeks, several high profile individuals have come out in support of cutting back on, or completely eliminating, the use of high value bank notes such as the $100 and €500 bills. Supporters of the cut argue that the notes are primarily used for nefarious purposes such as drug trafficking or tax evasion and serve little use for the vast majority of people. However, a shift away from producing high denomination currency would hurt those, including high net-worth individuals and businesses, that seek to keep large currency stores on hand for instant liquidity without the need of banks. As a result, some have speculated that commodities and collectibles, such as works of art or precious metals like gold, will replace cash as a store of value. However, the alternatives would lack many of the advantages of money and be subject to market fluctuation along with less instant liquidity. But no official action has been taken by the EU or US which, along side support for the currency from other countries, likely means charges will not be coming anytime soon.
See James Saft, War on cash to pump up silver, wine, art, gold, Reuters, February 25, 2016.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
