15.0

Sovereign Man is a pretty cool blog authored by Simon Black, an expat with a very good take on money & government and how government, combined with crony capitalism, can screw the pooch in more ways then one can count. From the esteemed Mr. Black comes a unique way to properly ascertain inflation in a way that is both commonsensical and astute. To whit:

$100 simply isn’t the awe-inspiring symbol of wealth that it used to be. And that’s because of inflation.

One measure of this trend is the average lifespan of the $100 bill.

As money changes hands during routine transactions, the constant wear and tear eventually starts to break down the paper.

You probably have a few bills in your wallet that look like they’re about to disintegrate.

The more frequently a bill is used, the faster that breakdown occurs.

According to the Federal Reserve, for example, a typical $1 bill lasts for about 5.8 years before becoming so fragile that it gets withdrawn from circulation and destroyed.

A $100 bill, on the other hand, lasts for 15.0 years.

This makes sense given that a $1 bill is used so much more frequently.

But what’s interesting is that, even as late as 2011, the average $100 bill lasted 21.6 years before becoming worn out.

So according to Federal Reserve data, the average lifespan of a $100 bill has fallen by more than 30% over the last several years.

Makes sense, doesn't it?