US Banknotes

• There's a novelty item that LOOKS like a $1M bill, but the largest denomination of REAL money currently printed in the U.S. is $100. Any U.S. $1,000,000 bills you see are worth about as much as the paper they're printed on. The highest denomination that has been printed was a $100,000.00 bill. It was only printed from late 1934 to early 1935 and was only used to transfer money between government departments. It was never intended for circulation.
• Today, the currency of the United States, the U.S. dollar, is printed in bills in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.

• At one time, however, it also included five larger denominations. High-denomination currency was prevalent from the very beginning of U.S. Government issue (1861). $500, $1,000, and $5,000 interest bearing notes were issued in 1861, and $10,000 gold certificates arrived in 1865. There are many different designs and types of high-denomination notes.
• The high-denomination bills were issued in a small size in 1929, along with the $1 through $100 denominations. Their designs were as follows:
• * The $500 bill featured a portrait of William McKinley
• * The $1,000 bill featured a portrait of Grover Cleveland
• * The $5,000 bill featured a portrait of James Madison
• * The $10,000 bill featured a portrait of Salmon P. Chase
• * The $100,000 bill featured a portrait of Woodrow Wilson
• The reverse designs featured abstract scrollwork with ornate denomination identifiers. All were printed in green, except for the $100,000. The $100,000 is an odd bill, in that it was not generally issued, and printed only as a gold certificate of Series of 1934. These gold certificates were issued after the gold standard was repealed and gold was compulsorily redeemed by presidential order of Franklin Roosevelt on March 9, 1933 (see United States Executive Order 6102), and thus were only used for intra-government transactions. They are printed in orange on the back, and are illegal to own. All known pieces are in government museums. This series was discontinued in 1935. The other bills are printed in black and green.
• Printing of other high-denomination bills was discontinued in 1945, but the bills continued in use until 1969, when circulation of high-denomination bills was halted in 1969 by executive order of President Richard Nixon in an effort to combat organized crime. $5,000 and $10,000 bills had effectively disappeared well before then: there are only about 200 $5,000 and 300 $10,000 bills known, of all series since 1861. Most of the $10,000 bills are due to the preservation of 100 ($1,000,000) of them by Benny Binion, the owner of Binion's Horseshoe casino in Nevada. For many years, they were displayed in a glass case in the casino. The case is no longer there, and the bills were sold to collectors.
• The introduction of the electronic money system has made large-scale cash transactions obsolete. When combined with concerns about counterfeiting and the use of cash in unlawful activities such as the illegal drug trade, it is unlikely that the U.S. government will re-issue large denomination currency in the near future.

Fake denominations

Other denominations of bills have been created by individuals as practical jokes or as genuine attempts at counterfeiting.

In 2001, a man bought a sundae at a Dairy Queen with a $200 bill (with George W. Bush on it) and received $198 in change.

In September 2003, an unknown individual in North Carolina used a $200 bill (also with George W. Bush's likeness on it) at a Food Lion to purchase $150 in groceries. The cashier obligingly cashed the fake bill and presented the perpetrator with $50 in change.

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 then arrested.

Though not actually meant to be used as actual legal tender, Christian evangelist Ray Comfort's ministry, Living Waters Publications, produces another fake $1,000,000 bill, which is in reality a Christian gospel tract.

Various $3 bills have been released, generally poking fun at politicians or celebrities such as Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, or Hillary Clinton; this likely stems from the American idiom "queer as a three-dollar bill."

The largest denomination of US currency ever made was the 100,000 dollar bill. Currently, the largest denomination printed is the 100 dollar bill. Many novelty shops sell fake 1,000,000 dollar bills but these are "valuable" only as jokes.

Please see the related links for more information.

As of 02/2011, average-condition 1950 US $20 bills with no series letter, or an A, B, C, or D next to the date are worth about $24. Nice uncirculated ones could sell for $35 or so.

In God We Trust

That motto wasn't added to US bills until the late 1950s and early 1960s, so it's perfectly normal for it to be missing from 1950-series bills.

Serial Numbers

A bill's serial number is a counter and a security feature. In most cases it doesn't affect a bill's value or help to identify it.

DISCLAIMER: The values quoted are market averages as of the date shown, but may be different for an individual bill due to variations in quality and other factors. Also the wholesale (buying) price of a bill will be less than the selling (retail) price. A reputable currency dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on an in-person inspection.

Gold certificates were the only federally-issued $10 bills dated 1922. Your bill should have a gold seal and the words Gold Certificate.

If so, you should have it appraised in person by a currency dealer or appraiser. As of 03/2012 approximate prices are:

Circulated: $85 to $225 depending on the bill's condition

Uncirculated: $500

Serial Numbers

A bill's serial number is a counter and a security feature. In most cases it doesn't affect a bill's value or help to identify it. Some collectors specialize in bills with low serial numbers (e.g. 00000005) or unusual patterns (12344321) so these can bring above-average prices.

DISCLAIMER: The values quoted are market averages as of the date shown, but may be different for an individual bill due to variations in quality and other factors. Also the wholesale (buying) price of a bill will be less than the selling (retail) price. A reputable currency dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on an in-person inspection.