Money is not what it used to be!

The advent of plastic notes in Australia heralded in the demise of a quant tradition, namely ironing old bank notes to make them appear new. This activity was generally carried out by granmothers and maiden aunts before making small gifts to their offspring. In my youth, I remember carrying out this task for a "professional" gambler. Apparently the look of your money is very important in some circles. I had all but forgotten about the practice, untill the other day an elderly lady in our local shop was recounting how a five dollar note started to melt and dribble onto the floor while she was ironing it. Between plastic credit cards and plastic money is there any doubt why our hard earned money goes up in smoke!