6 Famous Discontinued and Uncommon U.S. Currency Denominations
6 Famous Discontinued and Uncommon U.S. Currency Denominations
By JAMES CHEN (In Honor of Presidents Day)
Updated February 19, 2022 Reviewed By Samantha Silberstein Fact Checked By Timothy Li
A completely cashless society sounds appealing to some, and although we've made strides to making it possible, it is not yet a reality. Despite the magic of PayPal, Square, credit cards, and mobile wallets, some of us need to carry around cash. While we can choose from a rich array of singles, fins, sawbucks, Jacksons, $50s, and Benjamins, there are several other denominations that the U.S. Treasury has discontinued—or that are just plain rare. Here are the most notable ones.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
There are still 1.2 billion $2 notes in circulation. A $500 or $1,000 bill may be worth more than its face value.
Recalled in 1969, there are fewer than 400 $5,000 bills in existence. The $10,000 bill was the largest denomination ever to be printed for public consumption. Collectors cannot legally hold a $100,000 bill.
$2 bill Public Domain
The first $2 bills were printed in 1862. They originally featured a portrait of Alexander Hamilton but were later redesigned to portray Thomas Jefferson. Aesthetically, the $2 bill is something to behold. The reverse side features a reproduction of one of the most famous paintings in American history—"Declaration of Independence" by John Trumbull. 1
Excluding the decade from 1966 to 1976, $2 bills were printed uninterruptedly since the Civil War. 2 Yet the average American who doesn't handle cash for a living can go years without seeing one. While the $2 note is still in circulation and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing recognizes it as legal tender—it is considered to be the rarest currency denomination in the U.S. 1 There were still 1.3 billion notes in circulation in 2019. 3
$500 Bill Public Domain
The Treasury minted several versions of the $500 bill, featuring a portrait of President William McKinley on the front. The last $500 bill rolled off the presses in 1945, and it was formally discontinued 24 years later in 1969. 4
Like all the bills featured here, the $500 bill remains legal tender. Most $500 notes in circulation today are in the hands of dealers and collectors. That being said, should you come into possession of a $500 bill, you'd find that its market value far exceeds its face value, with even worn specimens commanding upward of a 40% premium on the open market. Although no longer in circulation, the $500 bill remains legal tender.
$1,000 Bill Public Domain
The original $1,000 bill featured Alexander Hamilton on the front. When someone presumably realized that it might be confusing to have the same former Secretary of the Treasury on multiple denominations, Hamilton was replaced with that of another president—the 22nd and the 24th, Grover Cleveland. Like its smaller cousin, the $500 bill, the $1,000 bill was discontinued in 1969. 4 And like the $500 bill, the $1,000 bill would seem to have a lot more use now than it did then.
Why? Inflation, of course. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was at an estimated 36.8 back in 1969. As of December 2019, U.S. CPI sat at over 256, meaning a $1,000 bill today would be the equivalent of a relatively modest $153 bill during the Summer of Love. 5 Does it make any sense that we've lost larger denominations as the value of a dollar has gotten progressively smaller? The Treasury argues that keeping the denominations inconveniently small minimizes the possibility of money laundering.
That being said, hold onto a $1,000 bill that finds its way into your palm even more tightly than you would a $500 bill. There are only 165,372 of these bills bearing Cleveland's visage still in existence.
Martha Washington is the first and only woman to appear as the primary portrait on U.S. paper currency. Her image appeared on the $1 Silver Certificate starting in 1886. It was discontinued in 1957 and was the second-longest issued paper money. 6
$5,000 Bill Public Domain
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