Sunday, February 17, 2013

Top 8 Largest Banknote Denominations (In Terms of Real Value)

There are banknotes that have gigantic nominal value but little real value, such as the Zimbabwean 100 trillion dollar note and the Hungarian 1 sextillion pengo note.  But there also exist banknotes which are amoung my favorite of all time that have rather large nominal value, as well as gigantic real value (aka you can buy a ton with just one note).  The face value in US$ I mention refers only to it's value in US dollars at face value, and not its value when its price as a collectors item is considered.

These are the Top 8 Largest Banknote Denominations (In Terms of Real Value)




8. - The United States 5,000 dollar note


Face value in US$: $5,000

I've written about large denomination currency in the US several times already, but the US used to issue dollar bills much larger than $100.  Number 8 on the list is the $5,000 bill.  Featured is the portrait of US President James Madison.  Yes, there will be other larger US dollar bills on this list, as the United States has printed quite large value denominations in comparison to other nations.




7. - The Brunei 10,000 dollar note



Face value in US$: $8,091

While most modern nations have stopped issuing currency of denominations this large into general circulation out of fear of money laundering and other reasons, the nations of Brunei and Singapore defy this trend.  The Brunei $10,000  bill is the tied as largest banknote that is still regularly printed by its nation's central bank and released into circulation.  It is also the worlds most valuable banknote that's made of polymer as opposed to paper.  The portrait of Sultan Hassanal Bolkia is on the note, the currently long ruling leader of Brunei.




6. - The Singapore 10,000 dollar note



Face value in US$: $8,091

Now this is actually tied with the Brunei $10,000 bill and has the same exact real value, but I put this at one position higher due to the Singapore dollar being the more widely used of the two currencies.  The Singapore $10,000 bill is often cited as the most valuable banknote, though it is pegged in value to the Brunei dollar, and there do exist more valuable banknotes that are either no longer printed or have only been issued internally.  The man on the bill is Yusof bin Ishtak, the first president of Singapore.  All denominations of Singapore dollar bills are in different colors, and this one is appropriately printed in gold.



5. - The United States 10,000 dollar note


Face value in US$: $10,000

Yep here it is yet again, the US $10,000 bill.  The portrait is of Salmon Chase, the secretary of the treasury under Abraham Lincoln and the man who designed the first set of US banknotes.  This bill is notable for being the largest denomination of dollar bill issued to the public in the United States (but not the largest printed ever).  Like most denominations of the dollar above $100, this bill was mostly used for payments between large banks and businesses, but ceased production amid fears of organized crime and carrying large bills like this one.



4. - The Thailand 500,000 baht note


Face value in US$: $16,743

This banknote was a comemmorative banknote in Thailand and possibly the most valuable banknote that is legal to be owned by an individual as opposed to a bank of government.  The largest regular issue of banknote in Thailand is the 1,000 baht note and so this is a tremendous jump from what is typically used as legal tender in Thailand.  This note was issued to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Royal Wedding of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, and was issued both in 50 baht and 500,000 baht.




3. - The United States 100,000 dollar note


Face value in US$: $100,000

This is the third time this bill has shown up in my blog but this should be the last time for awhile.  The third largest bill in existence and the largest denomination of the US dollar in existence is the $100,000 bill.  Only printed as part of the 1934 gold certificate series, it's only been used for payments between federal reserve banks and the US treasury.  Woodrow Wilson's portrait is on the bill.  It is unknown how many of these bills are still in existence, as the federal reserve is known to still holds billions of dollars in gold certificates.




2. - The United Kingdom 1,000,000 pound note


Face value in US$: $1,552,100

Now we arrive at the absolutely gargantuan value banknotes that are not well known to many, and to most a banknote of this value seems completely absurd.  However, they do indeed exist.  The reason for this bill's existence is due to an anomaly in the British banking system.  The Banks of Scotland and Northern Ireland are permitted to issue their own version of the British pound, but in order to ensure public confidence in their ability to be used in transactions, the Bank of England (the central bank in the UK) requires that every pound issued by these national banks be backed pound for pound by Bank of England issued pounds.  Therefore the Bank of England holds banknotes in its vaults of enormous value, including the 1 million pound banknote denomination.  Within the Bank of England, these are named "giants" and there are 4,000 of them printed.




1. - The United Kingdom 100,000,000 pound note


Face value in US$: $155,210,000

In addition to the 1 million pound banknote, the Bank of England also has stashed away 40 banknotes for the same purpose named "titans" with a value of 100 million pounds each.  Whereas the 1 million pound note is A5 in size, the 100 million pound note is the larger A4 size.  This is by far the largest (known) banknote in the world in terms of real value.  I think it's pretty fascinating that such a giagantic amount of value can be legally assigned to a single piece of paper.

27 comments:

  1. Nice write ups and photos. Other than Singapore dollar that is currently in print, any other currencies that are large in 'real value' that are also in print? I understand Euro 500 is still around and printing, but any other good ones?

    I mean, if Singapore $10k is the largest and highest note in real value, what is the number 2?

    I'm also interested in these big notes like you and just started to find out like them, and hope to collect some. :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey thanks for commenting!

      As far as notes that are still printed and circulated, after the Singapore $10k there is the Brunei $10,000 which has the same real value since the currencies are pegged to each other. After that some still-printed large ones are the 1000 swiss franc note and the 500 latvian lat note.

      Though they aren't still printed, notes larger than $100 of the US dollar are still technically in circulation, though the $100,000 notes are still only held by the federal reserve. Canada also has a legal tender $1000 note that can still be found but isn't printed anymore.

      Also just for the heck of it, some currencies that got replaced by the euro had some large value banknotes as well, like the 5000 Austrian shilling, the 1000 German mark, and the 10000 Belgian franc. This currencies aren't still in use but might be able to be exchanged for their converted value in euros.

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    2. Nice replies and nice blog! Looking forward to see more of you.

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    3. Btw, just for shares. Brunei $10k note may be good, but during the Great recession in 2008 period, there was a short moment where Brunei currency was 'off-peg' to SG dollars - Brunei currency drop in real value. Just something to share.

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    4. Actually, Singapore's $10,000 has also ceased production

      Source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-to-stop-issuing/1229986.html

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    5. Swiss 1000 CHF banknote is widely used. 10% of swiss banknotes are 1000 CHF even, totalling 62% of the country's banknote value. http://www.snb.ch/en/iabout/cash/id/cash_circulation

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  2. Is there anyone interested 10,000 Singapore Orchid Series ? Characteristic features is appropriate from MAS instruction ( 2 security threads ) and not REPRODUCTION.
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  3. Mark Twain wrote a neat short story called "the 1,000,000 pound note" which I believe is in reference to the above mentioned note.

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  4. its so expensive,,, but that didnt use anymore...
    it had been historied

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  5. Do you have the same information on coins?

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  6. Austria issued a 100,000 euro giant gold coin and Canada issued a $1 million collar giant gold coin. Both weigh around 40 pounds and have a precious metal value of several times their face value. They are examples of "non-circulating legal tender"; money that is technically legal tender but never intended to circulate.

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Hong Kong still uses the 1000 Hong Kong dollars note as of 2017, a value that is pegged to US dollar and valued higher than the US $100 note. However many shops do not accept this note out of fear it may be counterfeit. Individuals commonly use it for cash bank transfers and as gifts in red envelopes during Chinese New Year.

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