US Banknotes

The largest circulating denomination in the US is currently $100. Up to 1945, bills were issued in denominations up to $10,000 but these were rarely used.

In terms of numeric denomination, but not purchasing power, the highest-denomination bill issued anywhere in the world was 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollars, but its purchasing power was negligible due to hyperinflation.

Verifying if a 1950 one hundred dollar is counterfeit can be done in a number of ways. Initially check for a thread pattern in the paper. US currency has paper with a rag content including visible threads. then check for a watermark. A watermark cannot be xeroxed properly. Finally, the disclosure pen found at retail stores can check the chemical content of the paper to verify authenticity.

Please check your bill again. There were no US bills dated 1967.

Please post a new, separate question with more details. There were no federally-issued $100 bills dated 1912, but at that time many private banks issued paper money. If your bill has the name of a bank on it, please include that in your new question.

American money is produced with multiple security details. A five dollar bill has a colored thread that is embedded and will glow blue under an ultraviolet light.

$1250 if worn, up to maybe $1600 if in nearly new condition. Uncirculated ones retail for about $2000

This is the serial number. Each bill has a unique serial number that identifies it.

1923 $1 US Notes are identified by their red printing and the words UNITED STATES NOTE at the top of the bill.

Auction values as of 11/2009 are $90.-$150. for circulated specimens and $400-$3500 for uncirculated ones.

A red seal indicates that the bill is a US Note, a form of paper money that was issued directly by the federal government instead of through the Federal Reserve Bank.

US Notes served effectively the same purpose as Federal Reserve Notes so both types were merged in the late 1960s.

Abraham LINCOLN, not just "Abraham", and he's ON the bill, not "in" it because he is considered to be one of America's greatest presidents for having led the country during the Civil War and preserving the Union.

US $2 Federal Reserve Notes printed since 1976 are generally only worth face value in circulated condition.

An uncirculated 2003 note might retail for all of $3.

Red seals and serial numbers indicate that a bill is a United States Notes. US Notes were very similar to the current Federal Reserve notes in that they weren't backed by gold or silver in the Treasury.

US Notes were issued from 1862 up till the 1960s. Because there was no monetary difference between the 2 forms, US Notes were phased out and all subsequent bills were issued as Federal Reserve Notes to save on printing costs.

Silver certificates were bills backed by silver on deposit with the Treasury. They could be issued only in quantities that didn't exceed the total value of that silver. At one time, when the price of silver was fixed by the government, it was possible to exchange these bills for silver bullion as well as coins. When the price of silver was deregulated in the mid-1960s silver certificates were discontinued and the practice of exchanging for metal was ended. Most silver certificates are recognizable by their blue seals.

US Notes were currency issued directly by the Federal Government (rather than through the central bank) but not backed by gold or silver on deposit. Most of these had red seals and serial numbers. They were issued from 1862 to 1966, and were discontinued only as a money-saving move to consolidate all currency production and administration under the Federal Reserve.

Federal Reserve Notes (green seals) are the only kind of currency now printed in the US. They're produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing* for each of the 12 districts administered by the Federal Reserve system, the nation's central bank. Like US Notes, they're not backed by any gold or silver but instead rely on the stability of the government to validate their acceptance in the marketplace.

(*) Regardless of common myths and misunderstandings, only the BEP makes bills. The US Mint is responsible for coins and is totally separate from the BEP.

Red-seal $2 bills were issued from 1862 to 1963 so there are lots of different dates and series combinations. There's a full list including values at the Related Link.

In general red seals indicated that the bills were United States Notes, a form of currency issued directly by the Federal Government instead of by the central bank. Some older silver certificates and Treasury notes also used red seals before colors were standardized in the 1920s.

The blue seal indicates your bill is a silver certificate, a form of paper money issued until the early 1960s. Please see the question "What is the value of a 1935 A US 1 dollar silver certificate?" for more information.

Please check again and post a new, separate question. There are no US $1 bills dated 1984.

If it's not crisp and looks pretty much like a new dollar, $2.00 to $3.00.

The biggest secret I know about it is that is is just worthless paper (or will be within the next year or so).

Other than that, you are probably refrring to the fact that there is a lot of Masonic symbology on the dollar bill, such as the pyramid on the back with the "All Seeing Eye".

Actually there is a lot of influence by the Masons in the US government and history. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were both Masons as well as many others. Even the layout of the streets in Washington DC form Masonic sybols as well as the spacing of some monuments.

If you look closely at the bill you'll see that it says United States Note instead of Federal Reserve Note. U.S. Notes were a kind of parallel currency issued directly by the government instead of through the Federal Reserve System. They used similar designs except that they didn't have a Federal Reserve seal, and were distinguished by having red serial numbers.

By the 1960s U.S. notes only made up a tiny portion of all bills in circulation. They were completely equivalent to and interchangeable with Federal Reserve Notes, so to save money production was ended in the late 1960s. Since then all US paper money has been issued as green-seal Federal Reserve Notes.

High-denomination bills ($500, $1000, $5000, and $10,000) were first printed because at the time there were few alternatives for conveniently dealing with large amounts of money. Checks were uncommon and of course things like electronic funds transfers were over a century in the future.

The two largest denominations saw limited use, mostly by very wealthy people such as industrialists or, later, casino owners. The other denominations were used by businesses in the days when most transactions were cash-only. For example, a company ordering a large number of supplies might pay for them using $1000 bills rather than multiple fifties or hundreds.

Demand for high-denomination bills remained low into the middle of the 20th century, especially as other, more-secure forms of payment came into wider use. The final series were dated 1934 but remained in print until 1945, at which time the Treasury suspended further production.

Unfortunately the convenience of using just a few bills to carry large amounts of money led to their use in various criminal activities. In 1969 President Nixon issued and executive order permanently ending production, and ordering banks to hold any large-value bills they received for return and destruction by the Treasury.

Large-value bills weren't demonetized and people weren't ordered to turn them in, but this "passive withdrawal" process effectively removed them from circulation within a few years. Any that remain are technically still legal to spend but they're now worth more to collectors.

Federal Reserve Notes are printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing at facilities in Washington and Fort Worth.

They're then distributed through the Federal Reserve banks located in 12 different cities around the country. Each bank is responsible for requesting currency and transferring it to the private banking system.

Contrary to popular misunderstandings, the US Mint doesn't have anything to do with paper money. The Mint only issues coins.

Please check your bill again and post a new, separate question with more information that might help to identify it. There weren't any US $1000 bills dated 1938.