Discovered 1930s Notes and Bonds

July 2005

The Federal Reserve is aware of several scams involving high denomination Federal Reserve notes and bonds, often in denominations of 100 million or 500 million dollars, dating back to the 1930s, usually 1934. In each of these schemes, fraudulent instruments are claimed to be part of a long-lost supply of recently discovered Federal Reserve notes or bonds.

Fraudsters often falsely claim that the purported Federal Reserve notes or bonds that they hold are somehow very special and are not known to the public because they are so secret. Fraudsters have attempted to sell these worthless instruments, or to redeem or exchange them at banks and other financial institutions, or to secure loans or obtain lines of credit using the fictitious instruments as collateral.



The Federal Reserve has never issued any bonds or notes with coupons attached. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is not aware of any currency or debt stockpile of large denomination Federal Reserve notes from the 1930s and warns that any institution that pays out on such a claim does so at its own risk.

It should also be noted that the largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate featuring the portrait of President Wilson. These notes were printed from December 18, 1934, through January 9, 1935, and were issued by the Treasurer of the United States to Federal Reserve Banks only against an equal amount of gold bullion held by the Treasury Department. The notes were used only for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks and were not circulated among the general public.

Fraudulent Federal Reserve Note Schemes

SR 03-14, July 16, 2003

Below we have provided images of various fraudulent Federal Reserve Notes or Bonds

Sample Fraud 1 ›› (jpg - 177 kb)

Sample Fraud 2 ›› (jpg - 225 kb)

Sample Fraud 3 ›› (jpg - 177 kb)

Sample Fraud 4 ›› (jpg - 243 kb)

Sample Fraud 5 ›› (jpg - 251 kb)

Sample Fraud 6 ›› (jpg - 259 kb)

Sample Fraud 7 ›› (jpg - 111 kb)

Sample Fraud 8 ›› (jpg - 155 kb)

Sample Fraud 9 ›› (jpg - 149 kb)

Sample Fraud 10 ›› (jpg - 152 kb)

For more information about the legitimate Federal Reserve note denominations, visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's website, www.moneyfactory.com.