Why did the U.S. Government quit printing $1000 and $500 notes: Don't they know we could use them to buy groceries and fuel.
To keep better tabs on people and their money. TO deter drug dealers. Counterfeitting possibilities. These are the reasons I have heard. I don't know if they are true though.
This is right off the BEP web site!! "Currency notes of denominations above $100 are not available from the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve System, or the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. On July 14, 1969, the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve System announced that currency notes in denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 would be discontinued immediately due to lack of use. Although they were issued until 1969, they were last printed in 1945." "These notes are legal tender and may be found in circulation today; however, most notes still in circulation are probably in the hands of private numismatic dealers and collectors." RickieB
The larger denomination bills, 5000 and up were mainly used for transfers between banks. The BEPs story about lack of use? I'm sure in the forties Joe Citizen had no use for large denominations, probably well into the sixties also. I believe in the late sixties Uncle Sam didn't like the idea of shady characters being able to move tens or hundreds of thousands in their billfolds. I've been casually asked at customs if I have 10K or more on my person or in my bags. 10K is the limit for undeclared cash. I wish I had that kind of money.
I learn something new everyday! $1000's would have made me feel alot safer when I got 44k from the bank the other day. It would have made the teller happier as well.
Don't declare that cash, and it is an automatic forfeiture in the USA and most countries. One of the main reasons for larger paper money denominations then was when larger purchases, transfers etc. took place, there were not electronic means of transfer ie wire transfers, or even credit cards. For many purchases, including homes for a lot of people, personal loans did NOT exist, those came along later, beginning in the 1940's. So if you were making a larger purchase, a $7000 house or something, it was more convenient to carry 7 $1000 bills than 70 $100 bills etc. The $5000 denomination was usually only used in banks, and that is now the rarest denomination extent, the $10000 is actually more common than the $5000. There were 100 of the $10000 notes in the Ted Binion collection at the Horseshoe Casino until they were sold years ago, they are the primary source for that denomination available. Up until a few years ago the $500 and $1000 went for about $100 or so over face in VF, now they are trading quite a bit higher and even more so for better grades. Usually most people that own the $500 and $1000 are not even collectors of paper money, but keep them for the conversation value.
Don't forget the Series 1900 $10,000 Gold Certificate, the only US Note worth less than it's face Value!!
Now it would be feasable for a $500 or $1000 bill ,back when poeple were makining $2 an hour it wasn't needed , but today people who make less than $500 are considered poor , or need both spouses working . Then again with credit cards one doesn't really need to carry a couple grand around . rzage
As long as the topic is open It's actually a gold certificate. For more drool inducing images: http://www.purpleslinky.com/Offbeat...t-Dollar-Bills-in-United-States-History.82847
They are... every piece of paper money the US government (or Federal Reserve) ever issued is still legal tender (gold and silver certficiates are no longer redeemable for gold and silver... but are still legal tender at their face value). The Fed is likely to destroy any $500 and higher bills that goes back to them, but they are still legal tender. (It's not too likely people would deposit these, but it does happen on rare ocassions). The $100,000 gold certificate though was never issued to the general public and was only designed for large cash transers between Federal Reserve banks. None are in private hands, and it is not legal to privately own. The few surviving ones are in various museums (for example, the Smithsonian).
The 1900 $10000's are all cancelled remainders that were thrown out in the street in 1935 when there was a fire in the US Treasury. Passersby picked them up and kept them as souvenirs, they were not pursued because the notes had been punch cancelled when they were redeemed in earlier years. Up until about 10-15 years ago you could get an example for about $6-700 or so, some even had fire damage on them. Now they are a bit pricier and people collect them.
Well that is the exception, I admit (honestly forgot about that one!)... though one can argue that any bills the Treasury destroyed are not legal tender either, and that cancelling these notes is the equivalent of destroying them (actually, marking them to be destroyed later, in theory), so in a way it's not precisely an exception to the rule... (shredded notes are not legal tender either... these could be said to be notes that were meant to be destroyed that they simply hadn't got around to destroying yet.) The cancelled notes are technically not legal to own, because they are deemed destroyed... though ones thrust out of the building during the 1935 fire have ended up in public hands, and the Treasury hasn't bothered to seize any (though they have the legal right to do so). It's the equivalent of several coins of questionable legality (ie., the 1913 Liberty nickel) which the Treasury has chosen to turn a blind eye to. Since they were cancelled anyway the Treasury hasn't bothered to pursue the matter. They're pretty pricey today, but can still be had for less than face value, since the bills have 0 nominal value due to being cancelled.
The late sixties was when the Federal Reserve finally ran low on $500's and $1000's, which hadn't been printed since the last 1934-series printings in about 1945. In order to make more, they would've had to update those two denominations' designs for the 32-subject dry-intaglio presses, before they could print 1969-series versions. The Fed and Treasury collectively decided that it wasn't worth the trouble, when these bills were so rarely used that the previous printing had lasted twenty-odd years. There was a serious proposal in Congress in the '80s to discontinue production of the $100 bill, due to concerns about drug trafficking and such. I think that's when people started to get this idea that similar concerns had been the reason for the end of the $500+ denominations a couple of decades prior.
To answer OP's question, they quit issuing the $500 and $1000 bills because they cancelled "Let's Make A Deal".
