Total number of physical dollars?

[CorporalCaptain]

$600 billion was back in 2001, as stated. Today there are $5 trillion in circulation, as stated in post #2.

My point was, if the counterfeit rate is still as low as .01% today, that would mean about half a billion counterfeit dollars. In any case, 50% counterfeit is absurd. You need extraordinary evidence to show how it's so much now when it was so little back in 2001.

P.S. I know how to multiply, thanks.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

knowing doesn't necessarily mean to be safe from making errors, so no need to be angry or ashamed (particularly as these lots of zeros are extremely irritating - mathematicaly, I mean, not politically; though...). If it's a comfort: Einstein was so bad at maths that his cousin had to do it all for him. He made her several illegitimate children, dumped her and married a rich woman which proves that as far as his personal life was concerned he could do maths, just not on a universal scale (pun intended).

 

[CorporalCaptain]

knowing doesn't necessarily mean to be safe from making errors, so no need to be angry or ashamed (particularly as these lots of zeros are extremely irritating - mathematicaly, I mean, not politically; though...). If it's a comfort: Einstein was so bad at maths that his cousin had to do it all for him. He made her several illegitimate children, dumped her and married a rich woman which proves that as far as his personal life was concerned he could do maths, just not on a universal scale (pun intended).

I'm neither angry nor ashamed. 0.01% of 5 trillion is half a billion. Half a billion is a lot of dough.

By the way, in case anyone is paying attention, the actual equation should be a little bit different, though the number produced is not very much different from half a billion. Assuming that the Federal Reserve has exactly $5 trillion dollars circulating worldwide, and assuming that 0.01% of the value of all money circulating is counterfeit, then the value C of counterfeit money is given by: (5*10^12+C)*0.01%=C. That means, C=5*10^12*0.01%/(1-0.01%), or in other words C=$500,050,005, which is a small correction, given that 0.01% is small.

 

[Qonundrum]

Well, my billfold has some library cards, $3 in paper currency, a quarter dollar coin, some things wrapped in aluminium that I make balloon doggies with and backed with the faith I will never get to use them for their intended purpose, it's all good...

 

[Refuge]

@ Refuge: geez! Do you always carry that much around with you? Your handbag must weigh half a ton!

my one today: keys, hankies, cell phone, diabetic pass, bus ticket, mp3 player (usb-stick-sized), wallet with driving license, identity card, warrant card and roughly 70 Euros.

(It is heavy. I love my handbag, got it in a secondhand shop. It's retro and faux fur and has had the shoulder strap replaced recently because I can't find another like it).

 

[MacLeod]

When I'm at home, I usually carry no cash at all. I pay for everything with a credit card. Much easier that way.

Travelling, I take a small amount of cash with me for emergencies.

(My dad and I are planning on going to the Oktoberfest this year, so we will probably have to take a fair amount of Euros - I'm not sure if our US credit cards will even work in Germany. My bank says they will, but I think some caution is called for.)

Can't you get a top-up Euro credit card. Last time I visited the states whilst I did carry some cash I also got a US$ card that I could top up if needed.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

If it's a comfort: Einstein was so bad at maths that his cousin had to do it all for him. He made her several illegitimate children, dumped her and married a rich woman which proves that as far as his personal life was concerned he could do maths, just not on a universal scale (pun intended).

That's a myth:

Einstein laughed. "I never failed in mathematics," he replied, correctly. "Before I was fifteen I had mastered differential and integral calculus." In primary school, he was at the top of his class and "far above the school requirements" in math. By age 12, his sister recalled, "he already had a predilection for solving complicated problems in applied arithmetic," and he decided to see if he could jump ahead by learning geometry and algebra on his own. His parents bought him the textbooks in advance so that he could master them over summer vacation. Not only did he learn the proofs in the books, he also tackled the new theories by trying to prove them on his own. He even came up on his own with a way to prove the Pythagorean theory.
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1936731_1936743_1936758,00.html

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Can't you get a top-up Euro credit card.

I've never heard of anything like that, but thanks for reminding me, I'll have to look into it. I assume this is something that Americans like myself can get, amirite?

Can you give me a link where I can start?