Fake denominations of United States currency

Fake denominations of United States currency have been created by individuals as practical jokes, by money artists such as J. S. G. Boggs, or as genuine attempts at counterfeiting.

Before the passage of the National Banking Act of 1863, individual banks in the United States were permitted to issue their own currency. Many banks did so, resulting in a proliferation of banknotes of various denominations, and the need for merchants to have books explaining the characteristics of various notes.

$0

Several people have produced $0 bills as a joke, with pictures of Barack Obama^[1] and other people. The bills usually say "ZERO DOLLARS" in big letters.

$3

Various $3 bills have been released, generally poking fun at politicians or celebrities such as Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, or Hillary Clinton, in reference to the idiomatic expression "queer as a three-dollar bill".

In the 1960s, Mad magazine printed a three-dollar bill. On the bill, which had a portrait of Alfred E. Neuman, a line read: "This is not legal tender—nor will tenderizer help it."^[2]

Legitimate three dollar bills were produced by various banks in the early days of the United States and by the Confederacy.^[3] Prior to the creation of the Federal Reserve System, individual banks offered their own currencies.^[4] The faces on the various currencies were standardized across the country, but designs varied per bank.^{[citation needed]}

In episode 14 of the 5th season of The Office, the character Creed Bratton gives fellow co-worker Jim Halpert a $3 bill with a portrait of George W. Bush.

$22

Lawrence Wagner, a street entertainer in Key West, Florida, is known for printing his own $22 bills.

$200

In 2001, a man purchased $99 worth of merchandise at a Greensburg, Pennsylvania Fashion Bug with a $200 bill featuring then-President George W. Bush. The man was later charged with forgery, theft by deception and receiving stolen property.^[5] Also, in Kentucky, a man purchased $2 worth of food at a local Dairy Queen, receiving $198 in change.^[5]

$1,000,000

Many businesses print million dollar bills. They are sold as novelties, and do not assert that they are legal tender. The Federal Reserve has declared them legal to print or own and does not consider them counterfeit because no genuine million dollar bill exists or ever has existed.

In March 2004, Alice Regina Pike attempted to use a $1,000,000 bill with a picture of the Statue of Liberty on the front to purchase $1671.55 in goods from a Wal-Mart in Covington, Georgia, for which she was arrested.^[6]

In November 2007, Alexander D. Smith tried to open a bank account in Aiken County, South Carolina, by depositing a $1,000,000 bill. The bank employee refused to deposit the bill and called the police. Smith was immediately arrested on a charge of forgery.^[7]

The Libertarian Party makes an annual tradition of handing out informational fliers made to look like $1,000,000 bills on April 15 to draw attention to its anti-income tax platform.

Though not meant to be used as actual legal tender, Christian evangelist Ray Comfort's ministry, Living Waters Publications, produces a fake $1,000,000 bill – resembling an amalgam of the series 1996 $100 bill and the series 2004 $10 bill, and featuring Rutherford B. Hayes – which is in reality a Christian gospel tract, with the gospel message printed on the reverse. They have printed other designs in the past, including one featuring Grover Cleveland, based on the series 2004 $20 bill. All versions have included one or more links to the ministry's websites and the statement "This is NOT legal tender for all debts, public and private." After someone attempted to deposit one of the fake bills in North Carolina, the Secret Service raided The Great News Network, a sister ministry to LWP based in Denton, Texas, on June 2, 2006. The Secret Service told workers at GNN they would locate and seize all of the million dollar bills at LWP's Bellflower, California, headquarters. Comfort has been advised by his lawyers to refuse such an action, and no warrants yet appear to have been issued for the tracts.^[8][9] However, in a precautionary move, LWP also temporarily produced an enlarged "Secret Service version".^[10]

$1,329,063

The Mad Magazine Game features a $1,329,063 bill that serves as an Old Maid in the game, in which the players compete to lose all their money. The bill features a portrait of Alfred E. Neuman.

$1,000,000,000

In March 2006, agents from ICE and the Secret Service seized 250 notes, each bearing a denomination of $1,000,000,000 (one billion USD) from a West Hollywood apartment.^[11] The suspect had previously been arrested on federal charges for attempting to smuggle more than $37,000 in currency into the U.S. following a trip to Korea in 2002.

In July 2006, Ray Comfort's ministry developed and began printing a $1,000,000,000 bill (one billion USD) similar to its fake $1,000,000 bill. Its color scheme more closely resembles the series 2004A $10 bill, although the background resembles the series 2004 $20 bill (like their "million-dollar bill"). The tract contains a similar gospel message and features to the million-dollar tract, but the picture is instead that of 19th century British evangelist Charles Spurgeon, whose portrait obscures the last two zeros on the upper-left corner of the "bill".^[12] There have yet to be any repercussions from the Secret Service regarding this new tract.

See also

• Confusion over the (genuine) $2 bill

References

External links

• Fake $200 bill
• Fake Million Dollar Bill
• Fake Billion Dollar Bills

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