# Highest face value ever on money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273 "2010-11-11T03:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/1 "2010-11-11T03:53:36Z")
The Canadian government is now issuing 100kg gold coins that have a face value of one million Canadian dollars. They have to be special ordered and the buyer has to pay for the bullion value above the face value. But five of them have been purchased and they do have a legal face value. [cite](http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/05/03/goldcoin.html) Is one million Canadian dollars the highest face value that’s ever been on a piece of money? I know that some currencies have had higher numbers during periods of hyperinflation but these bills had relatively little value. And I also know that some coins and currency has a higher value due to their worth as collectibles. But has there ever been a coin or bill with a higher face value? ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/2 "2010-11-11T04:00:01Z")
IIRC correctly, my mothers countrymen (the Hungarians) once released a million-billion Pengo bill, before they abandoned the pengo in place of the forint. [http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/largest39.html](http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/largest39.html) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/3 "2010-11-11T04:10:41Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > IIRC correctly, my mothers countrymen (the Hungarians) once released a million-billion Pengo bill, before they abandoned the pengo in place of the forint. > > [http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/largest39.html](http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/largest39.html) Like many other hyper-inflation bills, this one has little real value in the real world. I’d be surprised if anyone can best the Canadian example in post #1 ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/4 "2010-11-11T04:15:42Z")
I was beaten to Hungary. But still, just think about that for a minute. Prices doubled in Hungary every 15 hours. When the pengo was replaced by the forint, the official exchange rate was 4x10^29 (4 octillion) pengo to 1 forint, which in turn was set at the rate of 11.74 forints to 1 dollar. Almost 48 octillion pengo to a single dollar. It staggers the imagination. The old saw about needing a wheelbarrow full of money for a loaf of bread was quite literally true. Still, it would be nice to have a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar bill, if only for the novelty of it. They got close to Hungary, but didn’t quite get it done. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/5 "2010-11-11T04:19:28Z")
Zimbabwe had the [100 Million Dollar bill.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:100_million_front.JPG) In real terms, I believe that it is/was worth approximately nothing. eta: Monty Burns used to have a trillion dollar bill - but I’m not sure if fictional money counts for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/6 "2010-11-11T04:22:08Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Like many other hyper-inflation bills, this one has little real value in the real world. > > I’d be surprised if anyone can best the Canadian example in post #1 I did, in terms of numerical value. Now, if you’re talking actual VALUE, look further down the page on that link. Woodrow Wilson’s $100,000 bill, illegal for a civilian to own and only used in inter-governmental transactions. I don’t see why a bank draught couldn’t suffice…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/7 "2010-11-11T04:26:30Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Zimbabwe had the [100 Million Dollar bill.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:100_million_front.JPG) Haha, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen Times New Roman on a bill. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/8 "2010-11-11T04:30:25Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Haha, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen Times New Roman on a bill. When you have to change bill designs so often, I guess you stick with Microsoft Word defaults? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/9 "2010-11-11T04:31:26Z")
In 1934 the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced $100,000 legal tender Gold Certificate notes. These were only for transactions between banks, but they were really _used_, as I imagine the monster Canadian golds won’t be. Anyway, US$100,000 USD in 1934 is about C$1,600,000 now. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/10 "2010-11-11T04:47:56Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > I was beaten to Hungary. But still, just think about that for a minute. Prices doubled in Hungary every 15 hours. When the pengo was replaced by the forint, the official exchange rate was 4x10^29 (4 octillion) pengo to 1 forint, which in turn was set at the rate of 11.74 forints to 1 dollar. Almost 48 octillion pengo to a single dollar. It staggers the imagination. > > The old saw about needing a wheelbarrow full of money for a loaf of bread was quite literally true. Wheelbarrow hell - a boxcar would not have been enough. In such situations, people typically have turned to barter long since. Here’s what 48 octillion looks like: **48,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000**. Holy shit. ---
**Author:** ![J\_Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/11 "2010-11-11T06:17:28Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Wheelbarrow hell - a boxcar would not have been enough. In such situations, people typically have turned to barter long since. > > Here’s what 48 octillion looks like: **48,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000**. Holy shit. The worst part is that gas cost 47,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999.999 a gallon. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/12 "2010-11-11T06:26:24Z")
Guys, I specifically mentioned the highest face value not the biggest number. So a bill worth eleventy-one-bazillion googles doesn’t win unless that amount is worth more than one million Canadian dollars. The US$100,000 bill is an interesting case. C$1,000,000 is worth considerably more than that now (about US$995,520). But $100,000 bills were printed in 1934 and with inflation that’s the equivalent of about $1,630,140 in 2010 dollars. But I’m going to rule that doesn’t count. After all, I’m talking about face values here. A $100,000 bill from 1934 would still have a face value of $100,000 in 2010 even though a dollar buys less. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/13 "2010-11-11T07:40:03Z")
Well, but are you talking about the bigness of the number or the buying power? Sounds like you’re trying to have it both ways… ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/14 "2010-11-11T07:49:05Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Still, it would be nice to have a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar bill, if only for the novelty of it. I have one; you can get them on ebay quite easily for just a few bucks, and they make great decoration in a frame on the wall, especially if you’re working in banking. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/15 "2010-11-11T07:52:50Z")
Coming back to the OP: According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banknotes_of_the_pound_sterling#High-value_notes), there are £1 million and £100 million notes of the Bank of England. The background to this is that for historical reasons, some privately owned Scottish and Northern Irish banks have the right to issue their own notes, which they have to back, however, with reserves in the form of Bank of England notes. To facilitate this, these very high denomination notes are used, but only internally within the banks. I remember seeing a (cancelled) £1 million Bank of England note from the 19th century on display in the Bank of England museum in London. Considering the enormous loss of purchasing power which sterling suffered over the decades, this must be an astonishing amount converted into presnet-day currency. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/16 "2010-11-11T12:15:05Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Well, but are you talking about the bigness of the number or the buying power? Sounds like you’re trying to have it both ways… The OP specifically says “face value” – the bigness of the number. In the current era, it would be hard to beat the Third Zimbabwe Dollar’s 100 trillion note, as commented on by **Sarge Doors**. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/17 "2010-11-11T12:21:36Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > When you have to change bill designs so often, I guess you stick with Microsoft Word defaults? Particularly if the government is printing them on their trusty Inkjets. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/18 "2010-11-11T12:50:01Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > In 1934 the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing produced $100,000 legal tender Gold Certificate notes. For the win, whose picture was on it? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/19 "2010-11-11T13:00:11Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > For the win, whose picture was on it? Woodrow Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273/20 "2010-11-11T13:16:33Z")
Sorry to continue the hijack, but once Zimbabwe got into the trillions they went back to [proper designs](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Zimbabwe_$100_trillion_2009_Obverse.jpg). (The teetering pile of rocks is a good symbol for any dictator’s ruined national bank.) To answe the OP, all cites I can find are that the $1m coin is the highest face value ever minted. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/highest-face-value-ever-on-money/560273.md?page=2)