A circulated 1934 or 1934A $1,000 bill with Grover Cleveland's portrait sells for about $2,500-4,500 as of October 2026, and a crisp uncirculated one for roughly $6,000-15,000. A 1928 Federal Reserve Note with the "redeemable in gold" clause runs about $3,500-6,000 circulated, and the 1928 gold seal Gold Certificate about $5,000-12,000. Large size $1,000 notes from before 1929 are rare and start in the five figures.
So a $1,000 bill is always worth more than its face value, but rarely the fortune people hope for. The Federal Reserve last printed it in 1945 and stopped issuing it in 1969, and more than 165,000 are still out there, almost all of them Series 1934 and 1934A notes from the Chicago and New York districts. The price comes down to series, seal, district, grade and serial number.
Quick answer
- 1934 and 1934A green seal, circulated: about $2,500-4,500. Uncirculated: roughly $6,000-15,000. Gem top grades: higher, such as a 1934 Minneapolis note in PMG 67 that sold for $51,240 in January 2026.
- 1928 green seal "redeemable in gold": about $3,500-6,000 circulated, more uncirculated.
- 1928 gold seal Gold Certificate (Fr. 2408): about $5,000-12,000 circulated. Greysheet lists the type from $4,500 up to $125,000.
- Star notes, scarce districts and low serials add a lot. Large size notes before 1929: five figures and up.
How to identify and value a $1,000 bill, step by step
- Measure it. A small size note is 6.14 by 2.61 inches, the same as a modern dollar. A large size note, issued before 1929, is about 7.4 by 3.1 inches. Large size $1,000 notes are rare and belong to a different price bracket.
- Read the series year. On a small size note it sits to the right of the portrait: Series 1928, 1934 or 1934A. A few later 1934 sub-series exist but are rarely seen. All small size $1,000 bills show Grover Cleveland on the front and the words ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in an ornate panel on the back.
- Look at the seal color. Green means a Federal Reserve Note. Gold (a yellow-orange color) means a Gold Certificate, which in small size means Series 1928. A gold seal $1,000 dated 1934 was used only between Federal Reserve Banks and was never released to the public, so one offered for sale is almost always a fake or a novelty print.
- Read the promise. A 1928 Federal Reserve Note says it is "redeemable in gold on demand at the United States Treasury, or in gold or lawful money at any Federal Reserve Bank". A 1934 note says "redeemable in lawful money". This is the quickest way to separate the two series.
- Find the district. The seal on the left names the Federal Reserve Bank, shown as a letter on 1934 notes and as a number on 1928 notes, and the number is repeated in the corners: A1 Boston, B2 New York, C3 Philadelphia, D4 Cleveland, E5 Richmond, F6 Atlanta, G7 Chicago, H8 St. Louis, I9 Minneapolis, J10 Kansas City, K11 Dallas, L12 San Francisco. Chicago and New York are by far the most common. Minneapolis, Dallas and Kansas City are among the scarcer ones.
- On a 1934, check the seal shade. Series 1934 green seals come in a light, almost lime green and a darker green. Series 1934A uses the dark seal. Collectors list them separately, but the price difference on a circulated note is modest.
- Read the serial number. A star in place of the prefix letter marks a replacement note, and $1,000 stars are rare enough to multiply the price. Serials under 100, solid numbers such as 22222222 and ladders are also worth checking.
- Grade it honestly. Count the folds, look for pinholes, tears, writing and stains, and note whether the paper is still crisp. A single center fold on otherwise crisp paper is About Uncirculated, not Uncirculated, and that one fold is worth thousands on a note like this.
What $1,000 bills are worth
Prices are typical retail and auction results as of October 2026. Dealers buying from the public pay less, usually a meaningful discount from these figures.
| Note | Friedberg number | Circulated (Fine to VF) | Extremely Fine to AU | Uncirculated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 green seal, light or dark | Fr. 2211 | $2,500-4,500 | $4,500-6,500 | $6,000-15,000 |
| 1934A green seal | Fr. 2212 | $2,500-4,500 | $4,500-6,500 | $6,000-15,000 |
| 1928 green seal, redeemable in gold | Fr. 2210 | $3,500-6,000 | $6,000-10,000 | roughly $10,000-35,000 |
| 1928 Gold Certificate, gold seal | Fr. 2408 | roughly $5,000-12,000 | roughly $12,000-25,000 | high five to six figures |
| Star notes, any small size series | various | several times the regular note | sales are thin | sales are thin |
| Large size 1918 Federal Reserve Note, Hamilton | Fr. 1133 | five figures | five figures | high five to six figures |
| Large size 1907 and 1922 Gold Certificates, Hamilton | Fr. 1219, 1220 | five figures | five figures | six figures |
The 1928 and Gold Certificate ranges are hedged, because fewer of them trade and each sale depends heavily on grade. The top end is real: a 1934 Minneapolis $1,000 in PMG 67 Superb Gem realized $51,240 at Heritage's FUN auction in January 2026, from a district that issued only 12,000 of them, and a 1928 Gold Certificate in PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated brought $117,000 at Heritage in May 2024. Those are prices for near perfect, scarce notes, not typical ones.
At the very top of the large size series sits the 1890 Treasury Note nicknamed the "Grand Watermelon" for the green zeros on its back, one of which sold at Heritage for $3.29 million in 2014. Seven are known of the type. If you have a large size $1,000, stop here and talk to an auction house.
Why the $1,000 bill was withdrawn in 1969
The short answer is lack of use. According to the Federal Reserve, high denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 were last printed in 1945 and, on July 14, 1969, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury announced they would be discontinued "due to lack of use". From then on, banks sent any they received back to the Federal Reserve to be destroyed, which is why the supply only shrinks.
They were never demonetized. A $1,000 bill is still legal tender for $1,000, so it is never worth less than face. A bank will credit it at face and the note will be retired, which is why no one who knows its collector value takes it to a teller. Federal Reserve figures reported on Wikipedia counted 165,372 $1,000 bills outstanding as of May 2009, a number that includes notes lost or destroyed decades ago.
What changes the price
| Factor | Effect on value |
|---|---|
| Grade | The largest factor. A VF note and a Choice Uncirculated note of the same series can differ by $5,000 or more |
| Series | 1928 over 1934 and 1934A; the gold seal 1928 over both |
| District | Chicago and New York are the baseline. Minneapolis, Dallas, Kansas City and other scarce districts add a premium that grows with grade |
| Star note | Rare on $1,000s; several times a regular note |
| Serial | Low numbers, solids and ladders add a premium |
| Third-party grading | PMG and PCGS Banknote holders make a note easier to sell at full price; buyers discount raw notes |
| Damage | Pinholes, tears, stains, writing and "washed" or pressed paper reduce the price sharply and are noted on the label |
Say you find a $1,000 bill in a safe
Say you are clearing a parent's safe and find a $1,000 bill. It is the size of a modern dollar, so it is small size. The series reads 1934A, the seal is green with a G in it, and the serial starts with G and ends with A, no star, and a 7 sits in each corner. That is a Chicago Series 1934A Federal Reserve Note, Fr. 2212-G, the most common $1,000 bill there is. It has been folded in half and in quarters, with soft corners but no tears or writing, which grades around Fine to Very Fine. Retail on a note like that is about $2,800-4,000 as of October 2026, a little more in a grading holder. A dealer buying it outright might offer $2,200-3,200. Selling it through a currency auction takes longer and usually nets more.
Had the same note said "redeemable in gold" and shown a gold seal, it would be a 1928 Gold Certificate and worth roughly two to three times as much. Had it carried a star, it would be worth a specialist's look before anything else.
Common mistakes
- Taking it to the bank. You get $1,000 and the note is destroyed.
- Assuming it is fake because it seems too good to be true. Real $1,000 bills turn up in safes, estates and old savings regularly.
- Assuming it is real because it looks old. Novelty $1,000 notes, souvenir copies and movie prop money are common. A real one is on currency paper with tiny red and blue fibers, the portrait is sharp intaglio you can feel, and the size is exact. Our guide to spotting counterfeit money covers the paper and printing tests.
- Pressing, washing or flattening the note. Graders spot it and the label will say so, which lowers the price.
- Pricing from asking prices. Dealer asking prices for 1934 notes in VF often sit at $4,000-4,500; what a private seller is paid is lower.
- Pricing a 1928 Gold Certificate like a 1934. The gold seal note is a different, scarcer item, covered in depth in our gold certificate guide.
How WorthPic reads $1,000 bill photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From a clear photo of the front it reads the series, the seal color and shade, the district letter and number, the signatures, the obligation wording and the serial number, including any star. From the back it confirms the denomination design and looks at folds, soiling and edges. It then gives an honest value range with a most likely figure for that series, district and apparent grade, and says which extra photo would settle a question, such as an angled shot to show whether a fold breaks the paper. What it cannot know from a photo is whether the note has been pressed, washed or repaired, the exact feel of the paper, or whether a very good copy is genuine. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise. A $1,000 bill is worth having graded by PMG or PCGS Banknote, or checked in hand by a currency dealer, before it is sold.
What to photograph
- The whole front, flat, in daylight, with all four edges visible.
- The whole back, the same way.
- A close up of the left seal with its district letter and number.
- A close up of the serial number on both sides of the portrait.
- The note tilted toward the light, which shows folds and any pressing.
- For a large size note, a ruler next to it.
When to get it looked at in person
Every genuine $1,000 bill is worth enough to justify an expert, because the gap between grades runs to thousands of dollars. For a common 1934 or 1934A note, a reputable currency dealer or a member of the Professional Currency Dealers Association can give an offer, and a PMG or PCGS Banknote holder will usually pay for itself on resale. For a 1928 note, a gold seal, a star, a scarce district in high grade or any large size note, go to a major auction house with a currency department such as Heritage or Stack's Bowers. Our guides to old $100 bills and star notes cover the lower denominations often found alongside one, and old dollar bills explains the series and seals in general.
Sources
- Federal Reserve: currency FAQ on $500 and larger notes: last printed in 1945, discontinued July 14, 1969 "due to lack of use".
- Wikipedia: Large denominations of United States currency: Friedberg numbers, Cleveland portrait, 1934 Gold Certificates used only between Federal Reserve Banks, 165,372 notes outstanding in 2009.
- Collectibles Currency: $1,000 bill inventory: dealer pricing on graded 1934A notes (PMG 25 St. Louis at about $3,300), with most listings Chicago notes.
- Heritage Auctions: 1934 $1,000 Minneapolis, PMG 67 EPQ, lot 22252: sold January 16, 2026 for $51,240; Minneapolis issued 12,000 Series 1934 $1,000 notes.
- Heritage Auctions: 1928 $1,000 Gold Certificate, Fr. 2408, PMG 63: sold May 9, 2024 for $117,000.
- Wikipedia: Treasury Note (1890-1891): the 1890 $1,000 "Grand Watermelon", seven known, $3,290,000 at Heritage in 2014.