The poor economy may be liberating ‘mattress money’

When it comes to currency, I have a special interest in $100 bills, and my interest was piqued anew after the owner of a 24-hour store shared with me an observation of his.

Not only are $100 bills nice to have in hand, but my move to Washington, D.C. in 1995 for what was to be a year or two as a temporary employee of the Treasury Department made them the source of my income for quite a while.

I went there to create and oversee a $26 million international public education campaign that introduced to the world our nation’s first newly designed note–the one with the big heads–since 1928.

It was a huge and rewarding challenge.

Although you may not know or recall,