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Large denominations of United States currency greater than were circulated by the United States Treasury until 1969. Since then,
U.S. dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
banknotes A banknote—also called a bill ( North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issue ...
have only been issued in seven denominations: $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.


Overview and history

Large-denomination currency (i.e., banknotes with a face value of or higher) had been used in the United States since the late 18th century. The first note was issued by North Carolina, authorized by legislation dated May 10, 1780. Virginia quickly followed suit and authorized the printing of and notes on October 16, 1780 and notes on May 7, 1781. High-denomination
treasury notes United States Treasury securities, also called Treasuries or Treasurys, are government debt instruments issued by the United States Department of the Treasury to finance government spending as an alternative to taxation. Since 2012, U.S. gov ...
were issued, for example during the War of 1812 ($1,000 notes authorized by an act dated June 30, 1812). During the American Civil War Confederate currency included and notes. The earliest (1861) federal banknotes included high-denomination notes such as three-year interest-bearing notes of , , and , authorized by Congress on July 17, 1861.United States Congress. Act of July, 17 1861 Chapter V. Washington D.C.: 1861
/ref> In total, 11 different types of U.S. currency were issued in high-denomination notes across nearly 20 different series dates. The
obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, '' ...
designs of United States banknotes generally depict either
historical figures A historical figure is a significant person in history. The significance of such figures in human progress has been debated. Some think they play a crucial role, while others say they have little impact on the broad currents of thought and social ...
,
allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
figures symbolizing significant concepts (e.g., liberty, justice), or a combination of both. The reverse designs range from abstract scroll-work with ornate denomination identifiers to reproductions of historical art works.


Public vis-à-vis institutional use

Series 1934
gold certificate Gold certificates were issued by the United States Treasury as a form of representative money from 1865 to 1933. While the United States observed a gold standard, the certificates offered a more convenient way to pay in gold than the use of coin ...
s ($100; ; ; and ) were issued after the gold standard was repealed and gold was compulsorily confiscated by order of President Franklin Roosevelt on March 9, 1933 (see
United States Executive Order 6102 Executive Order 6102 is an executive order signed on April 5, 1933, by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt "forbidding the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States." The executive order was m ...
). Thus the series 1934 notes were used only for intragovernmental (i.e.,
Federal Reserve Bank A Federal Reserve Bank is a regional bank of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. There are twelve in total, one for each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts that were created by the Federal Reserve A ...
) transactions and were not issued to the public. This series was discontinued in 1940. The series 1928 gold certificate reverse was printed in black and green (see History of the United States dollar).


Passive retirement

Although they are still legal tender in the United States, high-denomination bills were last printed on December 27, 1945, and were officially discontinued on July 14, 1969, by the
Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
due to "lack of use". The and bills had effectively disappeared well before then. The Federal Reserve began taking high-denomination currency out of circulation and destroying large bills received by banks in 1969. , only 336 bills were known to exist, along with 342 remaining bills and 165,372 remaining bills. As to "cereal boxes" as a repository for ill-gotten
bribes Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...
compare " Little Tin Box" in the musical '' Fiorello!''.
Due to their rarity, collectors pay considerably more than the face value of the bills to acquire them, and some are in museums in other parts of the world. For the most part, these bills were used by banks and the federal government for large financial transactions, which was especially true for gold certificates from 1865 to 1934. However, the introduction of electronic money systems has made large-scale cash transactions mostly obsolete, and along with concerns about
counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
and the use of cash for unlawful activities (such as
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...
and money laundering), it is unlikely that the U.S. government will reissue any large-denomination currency in the foreseeable future. According to the U.S. Department of Treasury website, "The present denominations of our currency in production are , , , , , and . The purpose of the United States currency system is to serve the needs of the public and these denominations meet that goal. Neither the Department of the Treasury nor the Federal Reserve System has any plans to change the denominations in use today."


High-denomination banknote issuing data


Table of banknotes

The
National Numismatic Collection The National Numismatic Collection is the national coin cabinet of the United States. The collection is part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Overview The National Numismatic Collection comprises approxim ...
at the Smithsonian Institution contains (among other things) the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is Federal Rese ...
(BEP) certified proofs and the Treasury Department collection of United States currency. Using a combination of proofs and issued notes, a nearly complete type set of high-denomination currency was compiled. Notably missing are several types of Compound and Interest Bearing Notes. Printed during the early to mid-1860s on very thin paper, these high-denomination notes are virtually non-existent. Their issuance (1861–65) predates the BEP's responsibility for U.S. currency (1870s), so it is fortunate that any proofs exist in the current archives.


See also

*
Currency of the United States The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
*
Gold certificate Gold certificates were issued by the United States Treasury as a form of representative money from 1865 to 1933. While the United States observed a gold standard, the certificates offered a more convenient way to pay in gold than the use of coin ...
* Promotional United States fake currency * Silver certificate (United States) * Silver standard * Treasury Note (1890–91)


References


Explanatory footnotes


Citations


General bibliography

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External links


Large Denominations
from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
U.S. Department of the Treasury
{{Obsolete U.S. currency and coinage Paper money of the United States