{"id":3899,"date":"2020-04-09T10:17:43","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T10:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atozcrypto.org\/?p=3899"},"modified":"2020-04-09T10:17:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T10:17:43","slug":"6-famous-discontinued-and-uncommon-u-s-currency-denominations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atozcrypto.org\/6-famous-discontinued-and-uncommon-u-s-currency-denominations\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Famous Discontinued and Uncommon U.S. Currency Denominations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rarest of Bills<\/span><\/h2>\n
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A completely cashless society sounds clean and convenient, and although we’ve made huge strides, we’re not quite there yet. Despite the magic of\u00a0PayPal,<\/a>\u00a0Square,\u00a0credit cards<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0mobile wallets<\/a>, some of us need to carry around a handful of greenbacks. While we can choose from a rich array of singles, fins, sawbucks, Jacksons, $50s, and Benjamins, there are several other denominations that the\u00a0U.S. Treasury<\/a> has discontinued\u2014or that are just plain rare. Here are the most notable ones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

$2 Bill<\/span><\/h2>\n
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The $2 bill originally featured a portrait of Alexander Hamilton, but was 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Excluding the decade from 1966 to 1976, $2 bills have been printed uninterruptedly since the Civil War. Yet, the average American who doesn’t handle\u00a0cash<\/a>\u00a0for a living can go years without seeing one. While the $2 note is still in circulation and the\u00a0Bureau of Engraving and Printing<\/a>\u00a0recognizes it as\u00a0legal tender<\/a>\u2014it is considered to be the rarest currency denomination in the U.S.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

$500 Bill<\/span><\/h2>\n
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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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Like all the bills featured here, the $500 bill remains\u00a0legal 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\u00a0face value<\/a>, with even worn specimens commanding upward of a 40%\u00a0premium<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0open market<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

$1,000 Bill<\/span><\/h2>\n
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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\u00a0Secretary of the Treasury<\/a> on multiple denominations, Hamilton’s visage 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. And like the $500 bill, the $1,000 bill would seem to have a lot more use now than it did then.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Why?\u00a0Inflation<\/a>, of course! The\u00a0Consumer Price Index<\/a>\u00a0was at an estimated 36.8 back in ’69, while it’s at about 240 now, meaning that a $1,000 bill today would be the equivalent of a relatively modest $153 bill during the Summer of Love. Does it make any sense that we’ve\u00a0<\/em>lost\u00a0larger denominations as the value of a dollar has gotten progressively smaller? The Treasury argues that keeping the denominations inconveniently small minimizes the possibility of\u00a0money laundering<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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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.<\/p>\n