US Banknotes

The general nickname is "greenbacks" because green ink is used for most of the image on each denomination's reverse side.

In common speech, most individual denominations are simply referred to by their value - a one, a five, a ten, etc. Nicknames for specific denominations aren't commonly used, with one exception - the $100 bill is often called a "Benjamin" because it carries a picture of statesman, inventor, and Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.

These other nicknames exist but most are very old-fashioned and are rarely used:

$2: deuce

$5: fin

$10: sawbuck (from a very old design with the Roman numeral X, resembling a crossbuck)

$100: C-note (again, from a Roman numeral)

It's still worth exactly $50.

No. The U.S. has never printed a $1,000,000 bill. Any you might find are simply novelties.

The largest U.S. bill ever printed was a $100,000 gold certificate, and it was never put into general circulation.

It will still be worth at least two dollars. While they aren't printed in the same numbers as other denominations, they also aren't rare enough to have additional value.

Both the $1 and $2 bill lack security features such as watermarks and threads because the denominations are so low that counterfeiting isn't a concern. No one prints fake $1 bills.

A standard currency bundle larger than $1.00 bills contains 100 bills.

The thread displays the words "USA 100" repeated many times. It glows pink under UV light.

Uncommon, yes. Rare, no. About 134.4 million Series 2009 bills have been printed so far which by itself is a large number, but that's still only about 1% of all denominations.

The US only 42,000 $100,000 for internal government use. They were never circulated and it's illegal to own one privately, so it's impossible to determine a collector value. All but a couple of them were later destroyed. One sample is in the Smithsonian.

OTOH, the bills were gold certificates so in purchasing power they would be worth ~4.6 million dollars if converted to gold in 1934 and sold at today's gold price.

4654830.1329394387$ = (100,000$ / 33.85$ (1934 gold price)) = 2954.20974 oz * 1575.73$ (current gold price 17 may 2012)

Please check your bill again and post a new, separate question with more information that might help identify it. The US didn't print any $1000 bills dated 1929. According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing the nearest dates are 1928 and 1934.

1922 $100 Gold Certificates are somewhat common. They are found mostly in low grades, and mid-grade and uncirculated examples are a little harder to find. The value very much depends on the condition. This is something that needs to be seen for an accurate value. But just for reference, certified VF-30 examples are in the $2,000.00 retail price range.

The blue seal indicates your bill is a silver certificate. Please see the question "What is the value of a 1934 A US 5 dollar silver certificate?" for more information.

A red treasury seal indicates that the note is issued by the United States, instead of the Federal Reserve

President Ulysses S. Grant

No. The largest denomination the U.S. ever printed was $100,000. Any million dollar bill you might find is a novelty only worth its weight in paper.

It's still worth $10.

Yes. The U.S. printed higher denomination bills until the 1940s. They've all long since been removed from circulation and collector value exceeds face value.

The US didn't print any $2 bills dated 1981. Please check again and post a new, separate question.

Presumably by "old buck" you mean an old $1 coin. However saying a coin is "old" isn't enough to have any idea of its value. The date, possible mint mark, design, and condition are all very important.

Please either:

- check your coin again and post a new, separate question with that information

- look for existing questions with the wording "What is the value of a <date> US silver dollar, where <date> is the date on your coin.

No. 1,000,000 million is 1 trillion. The largest US bill ever printed was $100,000, or one ten-millionth of that amount.

Any "American bill" with a higher value is a novelty item or an outright fake.

More information is needed to ID the bill. The first official US $2 bills were issued during the Civil War.

On the off-chance that the date you see is 1776, it's quite possible you're looking at the back of a modern $2 bill. The image is an interpretation of Trumbull's painting of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence which of course happened in 1776. The bill's printing date is on the front.

Yes, a very significant penalty. Like the more famous 1933 double eagle coin, private ownership of these bills is illegal. They were printed for transferring large amounts of cash between government departments and were never put into general circulation.

Before 1990 US bills didn't incorporate high-tech features such as watermarks, UV strips, or microprinting. About the best you can do at home would be the following:

> Look for tiny blue and red fibers embedded in the paper. These are tiny bits of very fine thread that were mixed in with the paper because they're difficult for a counterfeiter to reproduce.

> Check the teeth (points) around the Treasury Seal. They should be sharp and evenly spaced.

> Look closely at the engraving of Grant's face. Again, the lines should be sharp and clear. The image should have a certain amount of apparent depth to it.

This error occurred during the printing phase that adds the seal and serial numbers to a bill. Either the bill never went through that part of the process, or it may have been flipped over accidentally. If it was flipped the seal and serial numbers would appear on the back of the bill.

Either way it's a significant error that could sell for $100 or more. You'd need to have the bill examined in person by an expert in error currency to get a specific value.