The value of a U.S. Treasury issued dollar bill is supposed to be the same in each denomination. A $1 bill is fungible in that each bill in circulation has exactly the same value, even when considering the condition. The world keeps hearing the term non-fungible for Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs. The value of currency is supposed to be fungible. A $5 bill can be swapped for any other $5 bill, or even five $1 bills. Collectors Dashboard has seen firsthand that the formerly issued $1,000 dollar bill is not worth $1,000 any longer. They are also not quite fungible in the sense that you cannot trade ten $100 bills nor for one-thousand $1 bills.

The actual market value of each example of $1,000 varies from day to day, based on many issues. So, just how fungible is a $1,000 bill? Or how non-fungible is each example?

The United States used to issue the prized $1,000 bill that is so desirable to collectors. It has already been determined that the market price of each $1,000 bill is worth much more than the printed face value. Each bill’s market value depends on years, regional issue, serial numbers, condition, and other special designations (stars for one).

Collectors Dashboard evaluates many facets of high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class, and numismatics, which also includes paper money on top of coins, fits right into focus here.

Series 1928, 1934, and 1934A $1,000 notes are unique in the currency-collecting realm. No bill of that size was printed after 1945. The Nixon administration put a halt on circulation of the $1,000 bill in 1969, citing its popularity with organized crime. The $1,000 bill did not fade away from society and circulation instantly. These bills continued to be found in circulation into the 1980s, and even when they would pop up at banks they really did not command much over face value. The physical size of the $1,000 bill is equal to any other denominated bill in your billfold.

Collectors Dashboard is not alone in noting that the purchasing power of all current notes in circulation diminishes in time due to inflation. The $1,000 bill is something else entirely. It has appreciated handily from the 1980s.

The Currency Dealer Newsletter’s volume 1 number 1 from September 1980 listed average circulated series 1928, 1934, and 1934A as something a dealer would only bid $1,020 dollars on. The asking (for sale) price would be $1,075 in a shop at the time, but the same series began to be noticed by collectors.

Examples that were uncirculated started to be valued $300 to $400 dollars above face value, as listed in the Grey Sheets as the publication is nicknamed. As grading has helped clear up the transparency of many aspects within collectibles, about uncirculated roughly translates to a PCGS 50 grade. Zoom forward in time and a 1934A note in the same condition sold for $4,499 dollars on March 7, 2021.

Low serial numbers and star notes command premiums today above notes that are certified by PMG. Otherwise, the three series are somewhat affordable and have consistent value. What must be understood by collectors and investors alike is the contrast in value by circulated and worn bills that did not command much value over face in the 1990s has risen handily since that time.

The money and metals site APMEX sells $1,000 bills at the lower end of grading and ungraded for $2,895 to $2,995 per note. That said, most of the $1,000 bills in ungraded condition sell for $3,695 per bill.

eBay has become a top selling destination for buyers and sellers alike within numismatics. With ample supply and a look that commands attention from all currency collectors, eBay will continue to be a destination for sales.

On April 11, 2021 a 1934 series PMG graded note in Very Good condition sold for $2,395. The New York issued note is unremarkable and well worn in appearance but supported visually in its protective certified PMG case.

On March 12, 2021 a visually nicer and by all appearances a higher graded note issued by the same federal bank sold without PMG certification for just $1,800.

On February 17, 2021 a 1934 series Very Fine condition $1,000 dollar bill with a low serial number, which is a key feature of higher premiums, sold for $5,998.95.

Fast forward to August 2021 Collectors Dashboard wanted to find what the base price range would be on a standard nondescript $1,000 bill. This is where non-fungible comes into play. Any collector or investor who wants to own an ungraded $1,000.00 bill without much care about special characteristics and without demanding the higher conditions has had to pay anywhere from $2,676.00 to $2,900.00. These were from eBay auctions completed and with at least 5 to 10 bids (some were 40 bids):

• Rare High Grade 1934 Atlanta $1000 ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR BILL Fr.2211 sold for $2,676.00 on August 1st, 2021 after 38 bids.
• 1934 $1000 One Thousand Dollar Chicago Federal Reserve Note sold for $2,676.00 on July 4, 2021 after 41 bids.
• 1934 A $1000 Federal Reserve Note, Middle Grade, Original One Thousand Dollars sold for $2,700.00 on August 8, 2021 after bids.
• Excellent New York 1934 $1000 ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR BILL 500 Fr.2211 B00148194A sold for $2,700.00 on June 10, 2021 after 23 bids.
• Chicago 1934A $1000 ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR BILL Fr.2212 G00242848A sold for $2,772.00 on June 12, 2021 after 16 bids.
• 1000 dollar bill, 1934 A, CHICAGO sold for $2,800.05 on July 5, 2021 after 11 bids.
• Fabulous New York 1934 A $1000 ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR BILL 500 Fr. 2211 B00422511 A sold for $2,851.00 on August 4, 2021 after 9 bids.
• 1934-A $1000 ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR BILL Fr.2212-A A00038175A VF CONDITION sold for $2,850.00 on June 9, 2021 after bids.
• 1934 $1000 One Thousand Dollar Dallas Federal Reserve Note Fr#2211K sold for $2,874.00 on June 21, 2021 after 9 bids.
• 1934 $1000 dollar bill sold for $2,900.00 on August 1, 2021 after 25 bids.
• 1934 $1000 One Thousand Dollar Bill San Francisco Note PCGS VF 20 sold for $2,900.00 on May 28, 2021 after 18 bids.

The “fungible” aspect diminishes as the graded examples command higher prices. While the base price range for owning one of these notes is between $2,676.00 to $2,900.00, this also is a no-frills range.

Collectors Dashboard would warn all buyers (and sellers) that certification is a necessary process to maintain the value and to certify authenticity of most valuable collectibles. That said, ungraded samples of these bills still manage to command a premium to the stated value. Either way, an ungraded $1,000 bill just does not have the same provenance as a graded example even if the ungraded bill is in better condition.

A copy of the 6th edition (2014) of Warman’s Coins and Paper Money Identification and Price Guide listed the prices as low as $2,000 in XF condition for the 1934 notes and a range of $2,500 and $3,000 in CU condition.

In 2017 and 2016, Heritage Auctions had multiple PMG graded $1,000 bills sell for under $3,000 each. Image below offered by Heritage Auctions (HA.com).

As with all high-end collectibles, assuming they are in-demand, scarcity matters. The website CurrencyandCoin.com has noted that there were just 165,000 of $1,000 bills which remain in circulation or in private hands as of 2009. Their prices are from $4,990 as of last look.

A U.S. $1 bill states “THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE.” A sample of the $1,000 says the exact same but it further adds “AND IS REDEEMABLE IN LAWFUL MONEY AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, OR AT ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK.”

If you happen to find a $1,000 bill hiding when you are cleaning out an old relative’s house, do not dare redeem it at face value. All of a sudden these bills do not sound that fungible in the classical sense of the term. Maybe a 1-carat stone weighs the same regardless of the type, but diamonds and rubies aren’t always worth the same thing. Sometimes their values are night and day.

There are also U.S. denominated bills at the $5,000 and even the $10,000 mark from the same period. Those command even higher premiums, but that is another story entirely.