Did you know there are $100 bills that are worth up to $2 million? I know this might seem strange, but there are some rare and old bills that have become truly treasures for collectors. These bills are considered the most valuable of the history of the U.S. Can you imagine being the owner of one of these? That would be incredible, but let’s learn more about them just in case you have one and you have no idea!
Take a closer look at your cash
Every day, billions of dollar bills are used in the U.S., many people keep them in their wallets or use them to pay at stores without thinking that much about them. However, numismatic experts recommend observing them with attention because you could have one of these rare pieces of paper money on your hands.
Some of them can be so valuable because of a rare serial number, a printing mistake, or an unusual pattern can make an ordinary bill worth a small fortune. For example, collectors look for the ones with “ladder” numbers (like 12345678), “binary” numbers (made up of only two digits), or “solid” numbers (all digits the same). These kinds of details can turn a simple piece of cash into a collectible item worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
But, there are some cases that are way more extraordinary in which the value of a bill doesn’t depend only on its serial number or condition; but its history. This is the case of gold certificates.
Gold certificates
Before, moving huge amounts of physical gold (coins or bars) was complicated and dangerous. This is why the U.S. government created these special certificates that represented an equivalent amount of gold kept at the National Treasure. That meant that if someone owned a $100 gold certificate, they could exchange it for $100 worth of real gold coins.
According to KOMO News, gold certificates started to be printed in 1863 during the U.S. Civil War. At this time, it was discovered and deposited huge amounts of gold in the entire country. So, using these bills instead of transporting real gold was more practical and safer. This way gold certificates became a way of common money back then.
Why are they so valuable now?
With the passage of time, gold certificates stopped circulating and they were so difficult to find. Any certificate that had been printed before 1880 is considered a truly historic gem today. However, among all of them, the $100 gold certificates from 1863 stand out as the most expensive and sought-after bills in U.S. history.
These bills are easy to recognize because of their design. They were printed in black ink on gold-tinted paper and included the words: “One hundred dollars in gold coin.” That phrase showed that the bill represented actual gold — not just paper money. Because of their beauty, history, and connection to real gold, these bills are considered priceless by collectors.
The most expensive $100 bills worldwide
Currently, we only know three $100 bills of this type in the entire world and 2 out of these 3 belong to the Smithsonian Museum, one of the most important institutions of the U.S. The third one is part of a collection of a private collector.
In April of 2023, that unique piece of paper money that wasn’t at the museum was auctioned by the company Heritage Auctions. It was sold for… $2,115,000!!!
So, next time you have $100 bills, you’d better take a look at them because you never know if you could have a piece of history worth a lot of money.