Dirty money
MEDIUM RARE
When I called the bank to ask if they had crunchy new bills to sell, the reply was that there was no indication that this late in the day BSP would be printing new money, ergo no good news for Ninang and Ninong and their godchildren at gift-giving time.
But when I showed up in person with a smile at that same bank, the branch manager’s assistant was able to locate for me a few thousand in 100’s and 500’s, each sheet a fresh piece of art. Joy to the world!
Under a financial system where, to borrow a headline from the business page, our banks’ assets come up to ₱24 trillion and domestic liquidity stands at P16 trillion, this small depositor sees no reason why our paper money cannot look rich all the time, or most of the time. Indeed, most of the time spenders as well as savers feel icky about touching the money, so dirty and diseased-looking – should the more accurate word be poor-looking?
In other countries, the practice seems to be to remove from circulation, pronto, any and every bill crying to be replaced. And why not, if only for pride’s sake? A country’s money is a reflection of the health of its economy, and if the economy is measured by its wealth, why not healthy-looking money?
At the same bank, I inquired if ₱200 bills were available. As expected, “This late in the year, it doesn’t appear that BSP will be printing new money.” All right, then, let’s stick to those rich-looking ₱20 coins, cool and solid to the touch and to drop into a piggy bank.
According to someone with a long list of “gifted” persons’ names, “the best present, today and tomorrow, is cash, good old cold cash.” Besides saving the giver from having to choose a gift, money doesn’t need to be wrapped and tied with a bow; a simple envelope will do, better yet, put the money inside a lucky red money envelope as the Chinese do.
The feng shui saying that “money comes from all sources” is still the best superstition to come out of that prosperity corner. Another swak! belief: 168 is the lucky number – as in ₱168.00, or ₱1,680 or ₱168,000, or ₱1,680,000.