Used note

Blackmailers and people demanding ransoms are often heard in movies to ask for a sum of money "in used notes".

Used, due to their being in circulation for however long, are eventually processed by high speed automatic machines which check the quality of the note.

In the United States, when the quality of a used note becomes sufficiently degraded, it is removed from circulation by the Federal Reserve.

Any banknotes not meeting certain quality standards are immediately shredded by the machine.

The shredded remains of used banknotes are sometimes offered for purchase as a novelty item.