Frequently Asked Question: I believe I own a 1934 $100,000 Dollar Bill. What is it worth?
Right Answer: $0. Your note is 100% fake.
Fr. 2413 1934 $100,000 Gold Certificate with signatures of Julian-Morgenthau is naturally a curiosity for both the collecting and non-collecting public. A $100,000 bill? Who could own such a high denomination, especially circa the World War 2 era? What banks offered these notes? Is my example genuine?
To be historically accurate, yes the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing DID produce a $100,000 Gold Certificate, the highest denomination in the history of the United States. These notes were NEVER issued for public circulation. Instead, they were used to settle large cash transactions between Federal Reserve Banks and other government fiscal channels. (*This information paraphrased from HighDenomination.com’s page on the $100,000 Gold Certificate – Click Here)
Remember, this note was produced long before electronic banking began. Using a $100,000 denomination made sense because counting out $1,000 or even $10,000 notes for cash transactions reaching into the millions of dollars would be tedious and inefficient. If you’re moving $50,000,000 in cash from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, it’s much easier to move 500 $100,000 notes opposed to using a smaller denomination with the potential for counting errors or theft.
These notes were NEVER circulated publicly. They were only used by the government. According to Paper Money of the United States by Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, only 42,000 1934 $100,000 notes were printed in total. ALL notes have since be accounted for and NONE remain outstanding. Possession of an authentic note would be considered ILLEGAL. The government kept a few sheets of these notes in specimen form that are all punch canceled. This display can sometimes be viewed at major paper money shows. A handful of non-canceled single notes do exist in numismatic museums, most notably the paper money collection of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. That’s where this picture comes from:
The government also produced Fr. 2410 1928 $5,000 Gold Certificate with signatures of Woods-Mellon and Fr. 2411 1928 $10,000 Gold Certificate with signatures of Woods-Mellon. These notes are legal to posses and have green reverses. Fr. 2409 1934 $1,000 Gold Certificate and Fr. 2412 1934 $10,000 Gold Certificate with signatures of Julian-Morgenthau are illegal to own and never circulated publicly. They have orange reverses. Important: These particular gold certificates were used in the same manner as the $100,000 bill, for government cash transactions only. ALL of these notes have been redeemed and accounted for, and NONE remain outstanding. Possession of an authentic example of any of the aforementioned notes would be considered ILLEGAL.
What about $10,000 bills I see for sale at big auctions? Are these notes legal to possess? Yes, because some of these are 1934 Federal Reserve Notes, not 1934 Gold Certificates. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing did indeed issue and circulate $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 Federal Reserve Notes bearing the series years of 1928 and 1934. Although not widely available, they were fully legal for the public to possess. Most of these notes circulated between commercial banks to settle large cash transactions. Some examples did manage to escape into public hands, most notably to Benny Binion’s famous hoard of 100 $10,000 notes (linked page displays all serial numbers and position in the original Binion display). These notes all have green seals and greenbacks like any other Federal Reserve Note printed from the series of 1928 or later. The government-only high denomination 1934 Gold Certificates all have orange seals and orange backs.
Our website doesn’t specialize in high denomination notes, but we do get emails from people requesting appraisals of their $100,000 bills. All of these bills are replica or novelty items. Some people find them when settling the estate of a relative and think they’ve struck it rich, when in fact the note is no more valuable than Monopoly Money.
Buyer Beware (Funny Stories): There are people who also send us emails with laughable stories and claim they own a fist full of $100,000 notes. These people are scammers. In fact, we’ve received email from two different people in the Philippines who supposedly unearthed a “long forgotten box of cash from World War 2”, chock full of $10,000 and $100,000 notes. When asked to supply a photo to substantiate their find, it’s very clear that their notes are play money. Once this unfortunate reality is explained to them (including the fact that NO $100,000 bills remain outstanding), they will often reply with even crazier stories or justifications for the legitimacy of their find. At that point, we simply reply: “These notes are fake. If you believe they are genuine, bring them to a United States bank and exchange them for cash. You will be arrested on the spot.” That usually sends them packing. 🙂
The mythic $100,000 bill and misinformation surrounding its circulation will likely persist for years until a good Wikipedia entry is written about it containing accurate information. For now, enjoy them on display at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing booth at the next big paper money show!
Hallo i want asked u about my 5000 usd years 1934…G series…i want asked is that real or fake money? How i can detect it?
hello sir i have a 100000 dollar bill..is this fake?
WILLIAM AND THOSE THAT WANT TO KNOW IF THERE NOTES ARE REAL PLEASE CONTACT ME HERE ld.customs@tradesimport.com I can get you caught up on the latest.
Dan
Good morning Mr. Dan..i have some 100,000 dollar bill..how can we know that is fake and real one?..if ever it is real, how much the value of each piece and where we can sell it? just pm me in my FB account..
if u want to check..im willing to send you one piece so that u will personally evaluate if it for real or fake..
i have 100.000$ bill and i dont know where and how can i exchange it ?
gio contact me
Dan, do you exchange it? I have only one $100,000 Gold Certificate Bill.
Please can u tell me how much price of 100,000$ bill if someone wanna buy. Thanks.
Hi, I’m a simple collector of any currency and one of my precious collection is the $100,000 US bill, G series…1934.
Hi i have a 100,000 us bill, how to jnow if it real or fake? Pls email me
Dan i have some piece of 100,000 dollar bill..i will send you if you like for you to check if its for real or not?
I have 1934 $100.000 bill , how do I sell it.or will buy it?
i have 100,000 usd bill how may i to know if fake or not…and how may sell? or how may i change it php?
i have 100,000 usd bill series 1934…how i may to know if fake or not?how may i sell? or may i exchange it into php?
I have come across a 500 million dollars ,federal reserve note 1934 ,with Grover cleveland.how much it is worth.
I’ve one 100000$. Series of 1934
May I know if this valuable or not.
I have one 100,000 bill,it’s not fake!u can email me for picture.if fees a reward for that money I have 4 bundles of it
The content of the text that you create, leads to character assassination of an intellectual right, especially related to global assets, which is related to many people, but you, I think you have never learned from history. Precisely america and its allies expect the emergence of proof of the original certificate, but if it appears, surely, they will protect hard.
i have 100.000$ bill and i dont know where and how can i exchange it ?
I think you need to make some corrections in your article.
1. 50 $100,000 bills = 5 million dollars, not 50 million dollars
2. 1934 Gold certificate $100, $500, $1000, $5000 and 10,000 bills are illegal to own. Not 1928 gold certificates of the same denominations. The 1934 $100,000 bill is of the 1934 series where the others are illegal to own.
3. The 1928 gold certs from $100 through $10,000 are legal to own, and they do NOT have gold backs.
Hi Jude, Thanks for your comment. You are correct regarding #1 and #3. I will correct the text now.
#2 is also correct, however I was discussing Federal Reserve Notes. In the context of $500-$10,000 FRNs, I believe my text is correct. I was trying to differentiate between the many high denomination FRNs available for purchase and the less common Gold Certificates from 1928. Many people conclude that because 1934 FRNs are legal and have numismatic value, that their 1934 Gold Certificate replicas ALSO do.
I wrote this many years ago and should have edited it more carefully. Thank you for your time and assistance.
I have us dollar 100000 gold certificate series 1934. for sale
I just found 50000 one hundred thousand dollar bills. I will sell them for 50 dollars each. Text me at 918-456-fake
id like to just have one and put up . a hundred thousand dollar bill . if any one is nice enough address is welll email me an ill give the adress deason001@hotmail.com. id really like to have one . i think it would be a great history peice.
a#dd 287 hopeway somerset ky 42501. thanks …
l have one million us dollar 2015 for sale
How the value if this 100000 dollar bill?
There are NO federal reserve bank note of the $100000 denomination! The highest denomination that was produced for circulation is the $10,000 note.
There was a $500,000 gold certificates produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to be able to transfer funds between the 13 federal reserves.
Good day,my friends neighbor( tribe) from palawan(Philippines) excavated a box of 7 bundles of 100,000 us dollar series of 1934…If there’s someone interested kindly pm me on email olivercabalda12@gmail.com and I will send the picture of it also for you to know if it is real or fake…Thank you.
I want to sell a real 100,000 dollar banknote
I want to sell 100,000 US$ SERIES OF 1934
Sir!i have 6 bandle of $100,000 bills i will sent you a picture if you are interrested this is my#09558930664 tnx
Which is which illegal to own coz they are real or its a fake? The US should not be afraid of these 100k gold certificates as theyre saying all have been accounted for? Kind of confusing?
We hve found a bundle of $100,000 Gold Certificate somewhere in uslands of Southern Mindanao. Is it considered no value since the money has not been publicly circulated since 1960? Please let me know if you hve some comment. Reach me at 09067664148.
did you ever sell your 10000 dollar note? how much?
yes, I do have 1934 $100,000. how can I do change this note? where I do sell it? thank you
I do have 1934 $100000 banknotes.where I can make it valuable? where I do sell it? thak you
I have 2pcs.of $100,000 bills….how can i convert it to caca…..pls.help me..
I have 2pcs. Of $100,000 bills……how can i convert it to cash??pls.help me.
I have here 8pcs.of gold certificate but i dont know if it is original or fake…because i have no enough knowledge about this.
I would like to win the $100,000 dollars that is available on Aug 31, 2018. Shelby j. Peto
I have a 100,000 dollars series of 1934
The 1934 gold certificate $100,000 bill
How do I know if it’s fake or not.
I have 1pc. Of $100,000 bills……how can i convert it to cash??pls.help me.
Hi Sir, i have the $100,000 US dollars, how do i know if reaL or fake one, and if this $100,000 was real where i could bring and chance it.. Please email or comment
Did you read the article above? It’s a really really good article. The author is a great man, I don’t know him, but I’ve heard stories, you know, he’s a really really good person. The $100,000 bills, now this is tragic for a lot of you, I know, they aren’t worth anything, zero, zilch, nada. How do I know this, I’m the President I have to know this.
Sincerely, D. Tromp
i have 1 piece 1934 gold certificate $100,000 bill. Reach me pajeruth@yahoo.com
if its real can we sell it???
i have found a bundle of real 1934 J.P. MORGAN $100,000 with Gold Certificate in a cave, who want to buy for it contact me 09064835786
Dan, do you exchange it? I have only one $100,000 Gold Certificate Bill.
Haha! I have a bridge to sell, would anyone like to buy it? Lol
Sir dan,
your ld.customs@tradesimport.com address not found, ive been trying to contact you po
thankyou..
1 have 1pc -$100,000 old bill
I want to now if this is fakenor real.
1 have 1pc -$100,000 old bill
I want to know if this is fake or real.
I have a friend that found money in cave needs real transaction of selling at what it’s worth
you guys are all fake…and it’s not illegal to carry 100,000 bill
Is it still fake when i searched up on the internet the serial number and i saw it that its a true bill? How is this?
Is USD100000 1934 note have certification..? Because my friend have 10 bundles with certificates.
we did see this currency in basilan …a farmer stumbled in a case full of these currency while plowing his farm …some of the banknotes where ok but some where damaged due to the unknown powder inside the case …the case was full metal , and the case was locked by the combination of numbers …
the certificate was damaged by the unknown powder