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Interestingly, the US Treasury has resisted calls for larger denominated notes precisely because of criminal concerns. Cops don't want criminal organizations to be able to carry more than a million or two in a suitcase.

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Turns out this is something people want to do in Switzerland. I got a 1000CHF note before at the post office when cashing a check, I was very nervous! I think even the Euro has a 500 note.

I really wish I had that in China. Sometimes when paying the landlord, I would need a bag full of 20K RMB, at 100 RMB a note, which is 200 notes. When my landlord wanted bi-yearly rent, it was easier to go to the bank and just do a transfer (electronic banking isn't done in English, unfortunately).

The 1000 CHF bills are pretty ridiculous (1 CHF =~ 1.1 USD). But they're also in common enough use that you can pay for a relatively small purchase in a supermarket with one, and the cashier won't bat an eye. It'll just be a quick check under a UV light at most.

Meanwhile, in the UK, most people rarely if ever handle the 50 pound notes that are in circulation - I've only seen perhaps a handful of them in the 12 years I've lived in London.

That's mostly because they're harder to get rid of than Scottish currency. Only the major supermarkets seem to accept them.

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