I would very much disagree with the latter assertion. I work as a cashier, and I get 50s and 100s _all the time_. I wish they'd stop because it drains my till very fast. Lol.
I'm not even sure if that I knew there was a $50 bill. And that's as an American of 30+ years that uses cash routinely. Multiple times I've cashed checks and gotten it all in 2's, but honestly can't ever remember a $50 bill. I always have at least one $100 bill in my wallet and don't ever recall getting a $50 in change, has to be the least common note. But now I'm thinking waaaaay back and does the President on it have a big mustache? Time to see what a $50 looks like.
It would be a "unique" situation. Most AMTs (not all, but most) only dispense $20 bills, the rarer ones will dispense $5s or $10s, and they're rare enough that I make a note of them. I have never encountered an ATM that gives a $50.
Your best bet of happening into a $50 is if you go to a bank for an in-person withdraw and they ask you for preferred denominations. Generally the money is dispensed in $20s even there unless specified.
Your second best bet would be if you're selling something "on the side" and the purchaser uses a $50 in a transaction, which I would say is also rare these days, most people use Venmo or equiv.
Your best bet of handling a $50 is probably as a bartender, or of course as a bank teller.
I have held $50s a few times in my life, and even my reaction is "huh, a $50, don't see those often"
Huh, the Wells Fargo ATMs here in San Francisco actively offer me $50 bills on a regular basis! I wonder how much this various by bank, by region, or by ATM manufacturer.
