His advice on the incredibly complicated monetary system was especially welcome; any price can be quoted in three different numbers (trust me, it's too complicated to explain), and you'll need to learn quickly which banknotes to hand over as – for now – sanctions mean that no credit or debit cards work here.
The central bank buys polymer pellets from an external company, Innovia Security, which supplies banknote substrate for 80 denominations in 24 countries.
So much so that Douglas Adams, author of the humorous science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, observed Earthlings' odd prepossession with the movement of "small green pieces of paper"—this from a British writer, in the 1980s already, in a world in which most banknotes aren't green.The ironic twist is that even America's banknotes are becoming less and less green themselves.
It is these harsh chemical properties which damage banknotes' security features.
Growth in these measures and growth in credit are what count for economic activity.In America, for example, M1, which includes banknotes, current accounts and overnight deposits, grew by 17.4% in the 12 months to July, while M2, which also includes savings accounts, rose by just 8.1% over the same period.
The Isle of Man issued a £1 plastic banknote which circulated from 1983 to 1988, although Costa Rica lays claim to the first polymer note, made by Du Pont in 1982.
The embarrassing mix-up came after the Federal Reserve decided to relaunch America's most valuable banknote, which carries a host of new security features to thwart counterfeiters.
For more than two weeks, writer Caroline Criado-Perez has been leading a fight against the threats of violence online, which followed her banknote victory.
The banknote, which will enter circulation in the next three to five years, currently features the economist Adam Smith.
The banknote, which includes a number of new security features, will eventually take over from the note carrying Sir John Houblon's portrait.
