"Coffee's For Closers" wrote in message
g...

Did they just have taller wallets, then? Or was it more common
for people to use a metal money-clip, with the wad of notes
folded in half?

I lived in France in the 60's, and while I was a kid with very little money
of my own, I do remember the notes from the time, and my Dad's wallet. His
wallet was tall enough to hold the then-current bills without a horizontal
fold, and I'm pretty sure it folded in half vertically, like a wallet today
would be. So there was generally not a need to otherwise fold a banknote.

I do see many early notes from France which are folded once in both
directions, into quarters. These are generally some of the *huge* notes,
that were not current when I was there. So my guess is there was a limit to
the size of a wallet one was willing to carry, and at some point the large
notes just got folded before stuffing them in a wallet.

I've always liked the different sized notes that many countries use. It
makes them more interesting, as well as easier to sort through when standing
at the cash register.

Dave