100 dollar bills. (Photo: JD8 / Adobe Stock)
In Algeria, not all dollars are equal, even if they show the same value. On the black market, certain banknotes are preferred over others, and this has a tangible impact on prices.
This intriguing practice was condemned in a video posted on social networks by an Algerian Internet user. The young man, based in the US, attacks traders in the parallel currency market and assures them that this practice definitely does not come from Uncle Sam’s country.
“When you go to exchange your dollars in Algiers, whether in the Maidan or somewhere else, you will first be asked whether you have new or old banknotes,” says this Internet user who testified, adding that this does not end there, because currency dealers “will offer new or old banknotes ” he adds. “You pay one price for new banknotes and a lower price for old banknotes.” THE exchange rate Compared to the Algerian dinar, it varies depending on the age of the banknote.
“100 dollars is 100 dollars in the USA! There is no difference”
The young Algerian living in the United States admits that this practice “always affects his morale.” He also picks up two $100 bills, one brand new, the other old and yellowed, and angrily assures him: “The first one is exactly the same as the second one! “.
“We live in the USA and here $100 is $100, there is no difference,” he said. Let me tell you that the new ticket is more valuable.”
In Algeria, internet users do not understand that the new banknote is more valuable than the old one in the parallel foreign exchange market. “Where do you get this mentality from? Who told you that a new ticket has to be more valuable than the old one? » he asked, calling on currency traders to “get rid of these ideas.”
However, some internet users point out in the comments that this difference in value between new and old banknotes is not only seen in Algeria. “Even here in Dubai the old dollar is trading at a lower price than the new,” one user wrote. “This is also done in some Asian countries like Malaysia,” confirms another. “It’s the same in Saudi Arabia,” says another.
According to other internet users, the price difference between dollar bills is due to some currency traders’ fear of counterfeit bills. “Old banknotes are difficult to sell, people are afraid they are fake,” says one speaker. Another explains: “New banknotes enter Algeria through banks, which means their value is guaranteed, while old banknotes may be fake banknotes from Libya.”
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