Below we have images of $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, and $100,000 bills.
Table of Contents
$500 Bill
The $500 bill was first made in 1918 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. On the front side of the bill is a portrait of President William McKinley and on the back is a vignette of the U.S. Capitol.
$1,000 Bill
The $1,000 bill was also first made in 1918 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It features a portrait of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton on the front and the back features a vignette of the U.S. Treasury building.
Later, it featured Grover Cleveland.
$5,000 Bill
The $5,000 bill was first made in 1918 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It features a portrait of President James Madison on the front and the back features a vignette of the U.S. Capitol.
$10,000 Bill
The $10,000 bill features Salmon P. Chase, who was the Treasury Secretary under Abraham Lincoln. It was first made in 1918 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The back of the bill features a vignette of the U.S. Treasury building.
$100,000 Bill
The $100,000 bill was only ever printed in 1934 and was only used for transactions between Federal Reserve Banks. It featured a portrait of Woodrow Wilson on the front and an image of the White House on the back.
The bill was never put into circulation and there are only a handful of them in existence. In 1969, the $100,000 bill was officially discontinued.
While most of us will never see a $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, or a $100,000 bill in our lifetimes, it is still interesting to know that they once existed. These bills are a reminder of a time when the United States was the world’s top rising economic power.
Why did these bills get taken out of circulation?
Many larger-denomination bills were used for organized crime.
Criminals would use these bills to transport large amounts of cash without raising suspicion. The bills were also used for money laundering.
In 1969, the $500 bill was officially discontinued. The $1,000 bill followed suit in 1974. The $5,000 and $10,000 bills were both discontinued in 1969. As for the $100,000 bill, it was never actually circulated and was only used for transactions between Federal Reserve Banks.
