Papermoney Wiki

Denominations: $1 • $2 • $5 • $10 • $20 • $50 • $100Federal Reserve Banks: Boston • New York • Philadelphia • Cleveland • Richmond • Atlanta • Chicago • St. Louis • Minneapolis • Kansas City • Dallas • San Francisco

Paper money is the pieces of currency we use to buy goods and media. Today, there are seven different denominations: the $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills.

## How it works

Using the old Currency Overprinting and Processing Equipment (formerly conventional equipment as of 1976 on all denominations), paper money is printed in 32-subject sheets. During the mid-2000s, each sheet of $1 bills comprised of serial numbers with the third and fourth digits ranging from the first number to that plus 31.

For $1 bills using LEPE, every sheet has the fifth and sixth digits ranging from **00** to **49**. Therefore, the first sheet comprises of "0001", "0101", "0201", etc., and all the way up to "4901". The second sheet comprises of "0002", "0102", "0202", etc., and all the way up to "4902". The 50th sheet comprises of "0050", "0150", "0250", etc., and all the way up to "4950". The 100th sheet comprises of "0100", "0200", "0300", etc., and all the way up to "5000". Thus, there are 100 sheets per 5,000 $1 bills.

The 101st sheet comprises of "5001", "5101", "5201", etc., and all the way up to "9901". The 102nd sheet comprises of "5002", "5102", "5202", etc., and all the way up to "9902". The 150th sheet comprises of "5050", "5150", "5250", etc., and all the way up to "9950". The 200th sheet comprises of "5100", "5200", "5300", etc., and all the way up to "0000" at the next 10,000th number.

Thus, there are 200 sheets in every 10,000 $1 bills.

There are 16,000 bills, or 320 sheets, in a pack of cash, and there are 40 packs of cash in one skid, for a total of 640,000 bills. Thus, a single print run of $1, $2, $5, $10 and $20 bills would comprise of 10 skids, while for the $50 and $100 bills, it's five skids.

New currency usually arrives to circulation about two months after they are printed.

## Federal Reserve Banks

There are 12 in all, each representing the Federal Reserve Districts created by the Federal Reserve Act, a year before all 12 banks were officially opened on November 16, 1914. The banks are:

1. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
2. Federal Reserve Bank of New York
3. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
4. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
5. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
6. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
7. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
8. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
9. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
10. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
11. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
12. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Until late 1987, the BEP usually printed $1, $5, $10 and $20 bills for more than half of all 12 Federal Reserve Districts per month; after that, it was less than half.

## Denominations

### $1

The $1 bill contains the smallest value of all Federal Reserve Notes today. Before 1963, this denomination was always a Silver Certificate for 30 years, until when the Silver Certificates were replaced by all Federal Reserve Notes, which have remained unchaged since.
The first COPE serial numbers were printed on $1 bills in 1971, while the last conventional notes were printed exclusively as Star Notes in September 1979, as Series 1977 notes. Serial numbers higher than 99840000 on $1, $5 and $10 bills were last printed in 1977, before the uncut sheets.

According to inflation rates, an uncirculated $1 Silver Certificate would be worth at least $8 as of August 2017, but most old currency auction sites only buy them for $1.50 in average circulated condition, which would be about 19% of the intended retail price.

A $1 United States Note with a red seal printing would be worth at least $20 as of June 2018, but they can actually be sold for as much as $50 or more, depending on the condition.

### $2

The rarest of all Federal Reserve Notes still in use today is the $2 bill. Prior to 1976, the $2 bill was always a United States Note with a red seal, and it first became a Federal Reserve Note when it was reintroduced in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The first $2 bills with green seals were released to circulation on April 13, 1976.

According to inflation rates, a $2 United States Note would be worth at least $15 as of April 2014, but most old currency auction sites only buy them for $2.50, which is about 17% of the intended retail price.

### $5

The $5 bill is less common than the $1 bill, but way more common than the $2 bill. Until 1964, this denomination came in three different kinds of notes: Federal Reserve Note, United States Note and Silver Certificate; afterwards, the first modern-day notes were delivered to the Federal Reserve for release to circulation on September 16, 1964.
All denominations of $5 and higher were given COPE notes starting in 1976, and the last conventional notes for $5, $10 and $20 bills were printed exclusively as Star Notes in July 1979.
Also like bigger denominations, the $5 bill was given anti-counterfeiting security features as well as new designs, the most recent on March 13, 2008.

According to inflation rates, an uncirculated $5 Silver Certificate or United States Note would be worth approximately $40 as of 2017, depending on the series year.

### $10

The $10 bill is even less common than the $10 bill, but also a lot more common than the $2 bill. This denomination also had a Silver Certificate until 1962, when it transitioned to just a Federal Reserve Note, with the first modern-day notes delivered to the Federal Reserve on April 24, 1964.
Anti-counterfeiting security features including new designs were given to the $10 bill over the years, the most recent on March 2, 2006.

According to inflation rates, an uncirculated $10 Silver Certificate's price ranges between $80 and $90 as of 2017, depending on the series year.

### $20

The $20 bill is the mostly used Federal Reserve Note for purchasing more expensive items. In fact, this denomination has always been a Federal Reserve Note for over 80 years, after all obsolete types of the note were discontinued. The first modern-day $20 bills were delivered to the Federal Reserve on October 7, 1964.
The last notes with serial numbers higher than 99840000 were printed in August 1976, before the uncut sheets.
Over the years, the $20 bill was given anti-counterfeiting security features including new designs, the most recent on October 9, 2003.

### $50

The least common of the six main denominations used today is the $50 bill. Like the $20 bill, this denomination was always a Federal Reserve Note for more than 80 years, after the discontinuation of all obsolete types of the note.
For both the $50 and $100 bills, the last conventional serial numbers were printed in October 1978, exclusively as Star Notes.
The $50 bill was given anti-counterfeiting security features including new designs throughout the years, the most recent on September 28, 2004.

### $100

The $100 bill is the largest denomination in circulation today. There was a brief run of United States Notes for the $100 bill in 1968 and 1971, but nowadays, like all other denominations, the $100 bill is now only a Federal Reserve Note. The $100 bill was the first to be given anti-counterfeiting security features in 1991 and 1996, and the last for its most recent design on April 21, 2010 (although circulation did not begin until October 8, 2013).

According to inflation rates, uncirculated $100 United States Notes printed in 1968 would be worth about $700 as of 2017, while those printed in 1971 would be worth $600.

## Currency in circulation

(in billions of notes, as of December 31 of each year)

Note: Years before 1990 are just my own estimates.

The average annual increases for each denomination are as follows: 200 million more per year for $1 bills, 1.03 times for $5 bills, 1.02 times for $10 bills, 1.04 times for $20 bills, 1.04 to 1.05 times for $50 bills, and 1.09 to 1.1 times for $100 bills.

## What's best for your wallet?

I recommend carrying this much money in your wallet that have a capacity of ten bills: