The bill, which features the face of President Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, dates back to 1934
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:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_42371-ec8b1feb12f54301b8a42f3036e36013.jpg "Rare $10,000 Bill Dating Back to the Great Depression Sells for $480,000: 'An Absolute Prize' (1)")
Anna Lazarus Caplan is a writer-reporter for PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work previously appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, Eater and other publications.
Published on September 21, 2023 02:40PM EDT
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(748x142:750x144)/rare-10000-bill-auction-1-092123-138292ebd71941a990cfd994e87f04fa.jpg "Rare $10,000 Bill Dating Back to the Great Depression Sells for $480,000: 'An Absolute Prize' (2)")
A rare $10,000 bill dating back to 1934 was sold at auction last week for $480,000, officials said.
The item topped the Long Beach Expo US Currency Signature Auction hosted by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, according to a news release from the auction house.
"Large-denomination notes always have drawn the interest of collectors of all levels," Dustin Johnston, vice president of currency at Heritage Auctions, said in a statement.
Johnston added that this particular item, which was issued during the Great Depression, is noted for its Exceptional Paper Quality and certification by Paper Money Guaranty.
"The $10,000 trails only the $100,000 gold certificate issued in 1934, and of the 18 examples graded by PMG, this example is tied for the highest-graded,” Johnston said about the bill. “Among all small-size $10,000 FRNs, PMG has graded only four equal and five higher, so this is an absolute prize that will command a share of the spotlight in its new collection home."
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The 1934 $10,000 bill features the face of then-President Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, according to CNN.
The $10,000 bill was the highest denomination currency ever circulated in the U.S., according to the Museum of American Finance.
A $100,000 bill with Woodrow Wilson’s portrait once existed but its use was limited to Federal Reserve banks, per the museum.
The highest denomination note since 1969 has been the $100 bill, according to the Federal Reserve.
