$1,000,000 Silver certificate - is it real???

[jean9]

To all the experts out there...

Yesterday an acquaintant came to our house with two other people from the province and showed us an old silver certificate. BTW... I'm from the Philippines.

It looked old, had the blue numbers on it and had all the requirements for a real silver certificate. The certificate was issued in 1928.

The only thing that disturbes me about it is that when I looked it up on the internet, I couldn't find any silver certificates worth a million dollars! (Only play money silver certificates with the liberty on it.) Anyway, the one the people brought to us had the picture of Pres. Franklin on it.

Here is the definition of a silver certificate:

Seal and Serial Number Color

The seal and serial number on many of the first silver certificates issued was red or brown. It was not until Series 1899 for the $1, $2, and $5 denominations that the seal and number colors were officially, and permanently, changed to blue. (This occurred at different points for denominations above $5.)

Obligation

The obligtion of a note states how much of a specific commodity the government of a country will "pay to the bearer." On most large-size silver certificates, the obligation reads: "This certifies that there have/has been deposited in the Treasury of the United States of America (number) silver dollar(s) payable to the bearer on demand." On small-sized silver certificates beginning with Series 1934, in order to denote current location of deposit, it was changed to read: "This certifies that there is on deposit in the Treasury of the United States of America (number) dollar(s) in silver payable to the bearer on demand."

http://www.answers.com/topic/silver-certificate

Now... I ask you experts.... is it real? Is it still of value? If it is, how much?

 

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[JakePhelps]

Welcome to the forum! I think its a fake because bills didnt go that high, they only went up to around 10,000 and those were used to transfer money between banks and such.

 

[Snee]

I saw a $1M bill before. Unfortunately it had George W. Bush's face on it...or was it Bill Clinton smoking a cuban cigar...or was it Monica Luinski... I don't remember, one of them.

 

[Snee]

http://www.ebay.ph/viItem?ItemId=7368001645

 

[jean9]

http://www.ebay.ph/viItem?ItemId=7368001645

Thanks Snee,

Looked it up but there was no picture.. nobody bought it and not much info.

I think it's a fake too but who knows? It might be real right?

 

[strykerstalker]

hello all, and yes im new to this but i guess thats why this one cought my eye,ive seen it in a old paper money book on pricing that they did make them, "but" they only made so many. ill give you a clue as to how many they made its the amount of "fingers" you have on one hand...did you guess correctly it's 4!!! they only made four of them, and the amount it read for them was alittle over the 1mill price only because of how many were made.... either way i wish i had one of them...lol any how nice to meet everyone and i enjoy this site alot.

 

[Snee]

jean9 and strykerstalker, welcome to the forum!

There is a picture on that ebay auction when I look at it.
I honestly don't know if it's real or not, but my first instinct would be to say it isn't. On the other hand, that is the way I deal with things like that. If I have low expectations, everything is better than I expected!

 

[IrishCharlieM]

Here's the picture from ebay

 

[PBK]

A bunch of these turned up in Twin Falls, Idaho not long ago:

http://www.dumbcrooks.com/1-billion-in-fake-money/

www.ktvb.com/news/magicvalley/stories/ktvbn-oct0305-silver_certificates.bc34a074.html

Also, a woman tried to pass a different fake $1 million bill in Georgia:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4489683/

 

[Vrent]

Here is an answer and question page from the treasury dept and the address to their site


http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/denominations.html#q2FAQs:

Currency
Denominations

What denominations of currency are in circulation today? Will any new denominations be produced?

What was the highest denomination of United States currency ever produced?

What denominations of currency notes is Treasury Department no longer printing?

Did the Treasury Department ever produce $1 million currency note? I have one I want to know about.

Why did the Treasury Department remove the $2 bill from circulation?

Question What denominations of currency are in circulation today? Will any new denominations be produced?

Answer The present denominations of our currency in production are $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. The purpose of the United States currency system is to serve the needs of the public and these denominations meet that goal. Our present currency in circulation satisfies the public at large, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) has no plans to change the denominations in use today.

^ TOP

Question What was the largest currency denomination ever produced?

Answer The largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) 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.
Question Did the Treasury Department ever produce a $1 million currency note? I have one that I want to know about.

Answer We receive many inquiries asking if the Treasury Department ever produced a $1 million currency note. People have sent in copies of these notes. We have found that they are nonnegotiable platinum certificates known as a "One Million Dollar Special Issue." These notes were from a special limited copyrighted art series originally sold by a Canadian firm for $1.00 each as a collectible item. They are not official United States currency notes manufactured by our Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). As such, they are not redeemable by the Department of the Treasury.

You may be interested to know that the BEP learned of these certificates in the spring of 1982. All related correspondence was forwarded to the United States Secret Service to decide if there were any violations of Federal currency laws. The Secret Service subsequently advised, however, that these certificates did not violate any United States law.

 

[Monty]

And....Franklin was never a president! Monty

 

[Southcacalaky]

Some interesting answers to your question. Still an unusual item. HH Art...

 

[EDDE]

thats y he is smerking monty hehehe smart enough not to be one.lmao

 

[DigEmAll]

Just FYI, You can't counterfeit a bill that was never produced by the Government.

 

[Snee]

Well, I think making a bill out to look like one is still considered counterfeit.
There was one guy who got arrested for using a two dollar bill at a grocery store a few months back. They realized they were idiots for not knowing that such a bill exists and let him go!

 

[JakePhelps]

But two dollar bills do exist

 

[jeff of pa]

But two dollar bills do exist

YES

I get them Every Year around Christmas to Add to The Kids Christmas Gifts.

Just Go to your Local Bank and ask for some.

 

[rjnail]

YES FAKE, SORRY, WHEN I WAS LIVING THERE IN CEBU, HAD A GUY TRY AND SELL ME US,SILVER DOLLARS, FOR 40 CENTS EACH, OR 20 PESOS TOLD ME THE MONEY CHANGER ONLY TOOK BILLS, WELL HE PICKED THE WRONG AMERICAN , THEY FELT GOOD IN WEIGHT, BUT LOOKED MORE GREY THEN SILVER, LOL. AND HE WOULD NOT LET ME SCRACH THEM WITH A KNIFE TO TEST THEM. AND WHY WOULD SOMEONE SELL SILVER AT 40CENT AN OZ. LOL. BUT IM SURE HE GOT SOME AMERICANS WITH THEM, I MUST SAY I WAS GOING TO BUY ONE AS A JOKE, BUT THEN THOUGHT IF I GET CHECK AT CUSTOM WITH A FAKE US COIN IM IN TROUBLE.

 

[packerbacker]

Dang it strykerstalker, you tricked me!!! I guessed "5" fingers.

 

[strykerstalker]

only 4 fingers, and one thumb.lol!!