# What is the largest standard currency note available worldwide? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919 "2007-09-20T21:47:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/21 "2007-09-21T12:55:02Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] Canadian Triganic Pu, anyone? No? Anyone? Dust? Anyone? 😃 [/QUOTE] Triganic Pu, yes; dust? Not getting that one. We have found the beginning of my ignorance, in one of its infinite directions anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/22 "2007-09-21T13:05:28Z")
On the subject of €500 notes. I recently read a report saying the majority of them are in Spain. This is due to the property boom in that country where many builders demand payment in cash, and the habit of Spanish farmers of keeping all their saving under the mattress. In both cases this is to avoid the attentions of the tax authorities. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/23 "2007-09-21T13:25:13Z")
[QUOTE=T\_SQUARE] As far as I know, the public never circulated that note. It was used to transfer money between banks. [/QUOTE] As were two still extant Bank of England £1 million pound notes, dated ‘before 1812’. A Treasury £1 million pound note dated 30 August 1948 came to light in November 1977. It was sold by private treaty in Australia for $A 18,500. Source: _The Guinness Book of Records_. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/24 "2007-09-21T17:32:34Z")
So Switzerland really has the largest currency bill? Go home team! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/25 "2007-09-21T17:55:31Z")
[QUOTE=DesertDog] Pockets, hell. How would you pick the thing up? I mean other than sliding it to the edge of the (substantial) table so you could get your fingers under it (and beware of pinching). [/QUOTE] If you can afford one (I believe they’re sellng at about $2.5 million), you can afford the forklift truck and the padded pallet to go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/26 "2007-09-21T18:49:27Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] So Switzerland really has the largest currency bill? Go home team! [/QUOTE] Not so fast. As at 1998 the largest currency bill was, in fact, issued by the Philippines to commemorate that country’s Centennial of Independence. It measures 355.6 mm by 215.9 mm (8.5 inches by 14 inches). I bet that’s bigger than anything you’ve got. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/27 "2007-09-21T18:55:47Z")
[QUOTE=Chez Guevara] Not so fast. As at 1998 the largest currency bill was, in fact, issued by the Philippines to commemorate that country’s Centennial of Independence. It measures 355.6 mm by 215.9 mm (8.5 inches by 14 inches). I bet that’s bigger than anything you’ve got. [/QUOTE] That’s a “legal”-size sheet of paper! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/28 "2007-09-21T19:18:02Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] It’s not a note, but the Royal Canadian Mint did produce a [million dollar gold coin](http://www.mint.ca/royalcanadianmintpublic/index.aspx?requestedPath=/en-CA/Home/default.htm) this year weighing in at a hundred kilos. You’d have to have pretty good pockets. [/QUOTE] I love the link - “Why did the RCM make the world’s purest and largest gold bullion coin? Because we can.” 😃 [QUOTE=Sunspace] That’s a “legal”-size sheet of paper! [/QUOTE] Imagine the lines at Kinko’s when that came out. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/29 "2007-09-22T09:34:33Z")
[QUOTE=Dead Cat] Triganic Pu, yes; dust? Not getting that one. We have found the beginning of my ignorance, in one of its infinite directions anyway. [/QUOTE] Don’t feel bad, it’s a reference to the TV show [_Little Britain_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Britain#Catchphrases). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MerryMagdalen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@MerryMagdalen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MerryMagdalen)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/30 "2007-09-22T09:51:21Z")
I slightly misread the OP, but the largest (physical) currency I know of is on the isle of [Yap](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yap) where they use enormous stones as currency. They trade these for expensive things, like houses. The stone may stay in the same place, but ownership is tracked. However, from what I remember of my economics textbook, the other major currency on the island is Budweiser. Easier to move around and keep track of. Usually used to pay for labor, etc. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/31 "2007-09-22T10:13:24Z")
Anyone know the dimensions of that 100 Kg Canadian gold coin? Couldn’t find them at the website linked above. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/32 "2007-09-22T10:16:55Z")
[QUOTE=dtilque] Anyone know the dimensions of that 100 Kg Canadian gold coin? Couldn’t find them at the website linked above. [/QUOTE] [Here you go:](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270133,00.html) > [@](#): > > …53 centimetres (21 inches) in diameter and over 3 cm (1.2 inches) thick… ---
**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:** [September 22, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/33 "2007-09-22T16:43:13Z")
> [@](#): > > …53 centimetres (21 inches) in diameter and over 3 cm (1.2 inches) thick… They’re going to have to recalibrate all their soda machines now. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/34 "2007-09-22T20:22:05Z")
I know of someone who tried to cash a One million dollar bill. The bill was certified by a bank, but the person had to prove its origin, which he couldn’t. It’s a kind of international denomination that only governments or large corporations use. Don’t remember the details. Maybe somebody has more info ? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/35 "2007-09-22T21:20:55Z")
[QUOTE=Gymnopithys] I know of someone who tried to cash a One million dollar bill. The bill was certified by a bank, but the person had to prove its origin, which he couldn’t. It’s a kind of international denomination that only governments or large corporations use. Don’t remember the details. Maybe somebody has more info ? [/QUOTE] That sounds like the internal government-to-government notes described upthread. My impression with those was that anyone else could have used them, but even most rich people in those days didn’t have enough cash on hand for them. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/36 "2007-09-23T08:05:07Z")
I found some info here: [http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is\_there\_a\_1\_million\_dollar\_bill](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_there_a_1_million_dollar_bill) \*Printing of other high-denomination bills was discontinued in 1946, but the bills continued to circulate until 1969, when they were officially withdrawn. The $5,000 and $10,000 effectively disappeared well before then: there are only about 200 $5,000 and 300 $10,000 bills known, of all series since 1861. Most of the $10,000 bills are due to the preservation of 100 ($1,000,000) of them by Benny Binion, the owner of Binion’s Horseshoe casino in Nevada. For many years, they were displayed in a glass case in the casino. The case is no longer there, and the bills were sold to collectors. Circulation of high-denomination bills was halted in 1969 by executive order of President Richard Nixon, in an effort to combat organized crime. \* However the guy who owned the bill offered a friend of mine 30% of the value if he could cash it. (That’s an indication of how difficult it is!). That was last April. So apparently they are still in circulation. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/37 "2007-09-23T08:17:38Z")
The largest we have here is a 1000-baht note. At the current exchange rate, that’s about US$29. Since paying by check is almost unheard-of here – certainly no stores will take personal checks – and people carry around big piles of cash to pay for something expensive, it’s amazing that there’s not more of a theft problem than there already is. Those are new, too, introduced about eight years ago. Before that, the 500-baht note was the highest denomination. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/38 "2007-09-23T08:37:12Z")
I have never encountered the 1000 SF note. Is it really in common circulation? I would have said the five hundred Euro. The old 500 DM was a great bill, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/39 "2007-09-23T08:57:38Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] I have never encountered the 1000 SF note. Is it really in common circulation? I would have said the five hundred Euro. The old 500 DM was a great bill, by the way. [/QUOTE] Officially it’s CHF (CH stands for Switzerland). It’s common here in Switzerland but probably not abroad. A US friend of mine was surprised to see that people here would give a 1000 franc bill to pay for their groceries as normally as you would a $100 bill in the US. For large payments at the post office, I withdraw one or two 1000 CHF bills at the bank. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919/40 "2007-09-23T13:40:12Z")
[QUOTE=Gymnopithys] Officially it’s CHF (CH stands for Switzerland). It’s common here in Switzerland but probably not abroad. A US friend of mine was surprised to see that people here would give a 1000 franc bill to pay for their groceries as normally as you would a $100 bill in the US. For large payments at the post office, I withdraw one or two 1000 CHF bills at the bank. [/QUOTE] Jeez! How much does it cost to mail a letter in Switzerland? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-largest-standard-currency-note-available-worldwide/419919.md?page=3)