US Banknotes

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

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

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.

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.

Unless it's a wartime note overprinted for use in Hawaii or North Africa, any obvious damage would reduce it to barely above face value. Enormous numbers of 1935 $1 silver certificates were printed and even today most are only worth $2 to $4.

There's more information at the Related Questions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

1928-C is one of the more valuable bills in this series. As of 04/2013 approximate retail values are:

Average condition: $10 - $20

Uncirculated: $90 - $100

The red seal indicates that your bill is a United States Note, a form of paper money issued until the mid-1960s

No, the U.S. has never printed a $1,000,000 bill. Any you might find are novelties, not worth anything.

The small number in the lower-right corner is called a plate serial number. It identifies which printing plate was used to print each bill. Check various $1 bills and you'll see different serial numbers.

Other marks include a letter/number combination like C7; these are position indicators that identify which row and column the bill occupied on the printing plate. If the position indicator has a tiny "FW" in front of it, that means the bill was printed in Fort Worth rather than Washington.

The U.S. hasn't printed $1,000 bills since the 1940s.

Alexander Hamilton

The first $20 bills issued in 1861-62 carried a picture of Lady Liberty. Alexander Hamilton was the first person depicted on the denomination, starting in 1869.

A number of other portraits followed, including Commodore Stephen Decatur, President James Garfield, Chief Justice John Marshall, President Grover Cleveland, and President George Washington.

The 1928 currency redesign and standardization program replaced Cleveland with Andrew Jackson whose portrait has been on the bill ever since.