You’ve probably held a Benjamin. Maybe you’ve even seen a $500 or $1,000 bill tucked away in a museum or a high-end coin shop. But the **$100,000 bill** is a different beast entirely. It’s the white whale of American currency. Most people think it’s a myth, like a Bigfoot sighting or a reasonable cable bill. It isn't. It is very real, very gold, and very illegal for you to own.
The $100,000 bill was never meant for your wallet. It wasn't for buying groceries or even for buying a house in 1934, despite what some internet forums might claim. It was a "Gold Certificate." Basically, it was a high-speed lane for the Federal Reserve to move massive amounts of money between its own banks without literally hauling crates of gold across the country in armored trucks.
Money is weird.
If you found one in your attic today, you’d be in a lot of trouble with the Secret Service. That’s because these notes were never released to the general public. Ever. They are technically the property of the U.S. government, and if you have one, they’ll want it back—and they probably won't pay you for the favor.
Why the $100,000 Bill Existed in the First Place
Back in the early 1930s, the world was a mess. The Great Depression was tearing through the economy, and the banking system was essentially on life support. To stabilize things, President Franklin D. Roosevelt took the U.S. off the gold standard for individuals. You couldn't just walk into a bank and swap your paper bills for gold coins anymore. But the government still needed a way to account for gold reserves internally.
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Enter the Series of 1934 Gold Certificates.
They printed them in various denominations, but the $100,000 bill was the crown jewel. It features Woodrow Wilson on the front. Why Wilson? Well, he was the guy who signed the Federal Reserve Act into law back in 1913. It was a nod to the architect of the system that was now shuffling these massive notes around.
These weren't printed on fancy plastic or anything modern. They were printed on the same paper as your $1 bills, but with a distinct orange-gold ink on the back to scream "This is gold!" To the Treasury, these were basically just accounting entries with a physical form. During the height of their use, they were used strictly for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks.
Think of it as a pre-digital wire transfer. Instead of clicking a button, a guy in a suit handed another guy in a suit a piece of paper that represented enough money to buy an entire fleet of ships.
The Woodrow Wilson Note: Design and Security
The design is surprisingly understated for something worth a literal fortune. It’s got that classic 1930s engraving style. Woodrow Wilson looks appropriately somber, staring out at a world that was economically collapsing. The back is a bright, vibrant orange.
There were exactly 42,000 of these notes printed.
That sounds like a lot, right? But because they were never meant for circulation, their lifecycle was strictly controlled. They were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) between December 1934 and January 1935. Once the banking system modernized and digital ledgers became a thing, the need for a physical $100,000 bill vanished.
The government didn't just stop using them; they destroyed them.
Almost all of those 42,000 notes were shredded or burned under heavy guard. Only a few specimens remain today, and they are all accounted for. You can see them at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Collection or at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. If you see one anywhere else, it’s either a fake or a crime in progress.
Can You Actually Spend a $100,000 Bill?
No. Short answer: definitely not.
First off, it’s not legal tender for public use. If you tried to buy a Tesla with one, the dealership would probably call the cops before you even finished the paperwork. These notes are classified as "non-circulating" currency.
Secondly, the "Gold Certificate" status is a relic. Since the U.S. abandoned the gold standard entirely in 1971 under Nixon, the promise to pay the bearer in gold is effectively a historical footnote.
There is a weird subculture of people who hunt for "lost" high-denomination currency. You’ll hear stories about $500 or $1,000 bills found in old safes. Those are different. The $500, $1,000, $5,000, and even the $10,000 bill (featuring Salmon P. Chase) were actually circulated. You could have walked into a bank in 1940 and withdrawn a $1,000 bill if you had the balance. They are still legal tender today, though they are worth way more than face value to collectors.
But the $100,000 bill never crossed that line. It stayed behind the velvet rope of the Federal Reserve.
Misconceptions and Internet Hoaxes
You’ll see them on eBay. You’ll see them at flea markets. "Genuine $100,000 bill - 1934 Series!"
They are almost always "novelty" items. Some are gold-plated plastic. Others are clever offset prints that look aged. The real ones have very specific security features that only a high-level numismatist or a Treasury agent would recognize instantly.
One common myth is that there are "secret" stashes of these bills in the Philippines or buried in bunkers from the war. This is a classic "advance-fee scam" setup. Scammers will show a grainy photo of a crate of what looks like $100,000 bills and ask for "processing fees" to help move the money.
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Don't fall for it.
The Treasury Department has been very clear: no $100,000 gold certificates are missing. Their accounting on this specific denomination is airtight. Unlike the $100 bill, which is the most counterfeited note outside the U.S., the $100,000 note is so rare that any attempt to "spend" a real one would be like trying to sell the Mona Lisa at a yard sale.
The Role of High-Denomination Bills Today
Why don't we have these anymore? Why is the $100 the biggest bill we've got?
Crime. Mostly crime.
In 1969, the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve began withdrawing high-denomination notes from circulation. They didn't stop being legal tender, but the banks were told to stop handing them out and send any they received back to the Fed for destruction.
The logic was simple: it’s really hard to hide a million dollars in $20 bills. It takes up a lot of space. It’s heavy. But a million dollars in $10,000 bills fits in an envelope. Moving massive amounts of cash became the preferred method for money laundering and tax evasion. By capping the currency at $100, the government made it significantly more difficult for cartels and tax cheats to move liquid assets.
Honestly, even the $100 bill is under fire. Some economists, like Larry Summers, have argued for years that we should kill the $100 bill too. They argue it would make it even harder for "bad actors" to operate. For now, the Benjamin is safe, but the days of the $100,000 bill are long gone, replaced by encrypted digits and blockchain ledgers.
Identifying a Fake $100,000 Gold Certificate
If you happen to be at a museum or an authorized exhibit, look closely at the printing.
Real U.S. currency uses "intaglio" printing. This is a process where the paper is pressed into the engraved plate with tons of pressure. It creates a distinct texture. If you run your fingernail over Woodrow Wilson’s coat on a real bill (not that they’d let you touch it), you’d feel those ridges.
Fakes are usually flat. They are printed using lithography or digital inkjets.
Also, check the serial numbers. On the $100,000 bill, the serial numbers and the Treasury seal are in a specific shade of orange. Most fakes get the "gold" color wrong—it either looks too yellow or too brown.
Actionable Steps for Currency Enthusiasts
If you’re fascinated by the history of American money and want to see the real deal, don't look on the dark web or at shady auctions. Do this instead:
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- Visit the Smithsonian: The National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. has one of the few surviving specimens. It’s the best way to see it up close without getting tackled by security.
- Check Federal Reserve Museums: Several regional Fed banks have "Money Museums." The San Francisco Fed and the Chicago Fed often have displays featuring high-denomination notes, including the $10,000 and sometimes the $100,000 certificate.
- Study Numismatic Literature: If you’re serious about collecting, pick up a copy of "A Guide Book of United States Paper Money" (the "Red Book"). It’s the industry standard for understanding what is legal to own and what is a federal crime.
- Report Scams: If someone offers to sell you a "real" $100,000 bill, report it to the U.S. Secret Service. They take currency fraud extremely seriously.
The $100,000 bill remains a fascinating relic of a time when the government was trying to figure out how to manage massive wealth in a collapsing economy. It’s a piece of art, a piece of history, and a reminder that money is only as valuable as the system that backs it up. You’ll never have one in your pocket, but knowing why it existed tells you a lot about how the modern financial world was built.