No example of a barter economy, pure and simple, has ever been described, let alone the emergence from it of money; all available ethnography suggests that there never has been such a thing Caroline Humphrey, Barter and Economic Disintegration (1985)

Is the 500 euro note legal tender?

"High denomination banknotes should be accepted as means of payment in retail transactions. A refusal thereof should be possible only if grounded on reasons related to the ‘good faith principle’ (for example the face value of the banknote tendered is disproportionate compared to the amount owed to the creditor of the payment)."1

So, is the 500 euro note legal tender afterall?

"For security reasons 500 euro banknotes are not accepted" (pump at gas station in Kehl, Germany).

Not always, not everywhere as it seems...

 

1. COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION of 22/3/2010 on the scope and effects of legal tender of euro banknotes and coins (2010/191/EU)

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