Where Does Old Money Go? (2024)

FAQs

Where Does Old Money Go? ›

When enough old bills have been collected, the Federal Reserve Banks will shred them. If you take a tour of a Federal Reserve Bank, you can sometimes take home your very own unique souvenir: a bag of shredded paper money! The recycling process isn't a small-scale operation.

Central banks routinely collect and destroy worn-out coins and banknotes in exchange for new ones. This does not affect the money supply, and is done to maintain a healthy population of usable currency. The practice raises an interesting possibility.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, commercial banks will exchange your damaged, or “unfit” currency, for another, after some checks are made.

Your bank or credit union

Many banks and credit unions offer coin exchange services, including national banks such as Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, U.S. Bank and more.

Bills that have red, brown, or blue seals printed between 1862 and 1917 could be worth up to $1,000, per IndyStar. And, the older a bill is, the rarer it's usually considered. Serial numbers and condition of the bill are also important, per MarketWatch.

Under regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury, mutilated United States currency may be exchanged at face value if: More than 50% of a note identifiable as United States currency is present.

However defacing or altering money with the specific intent to deceive is considered to be a crime under federal law. Examples would be bleaching a bill to reuse the paper for counterfeiting, or altering the date or mint mark on a coin to simulate a valuable item. Only if you rip dollars all day long.

Most of the $100 bills that sell for five figures, six figures or more are vintage currency from the pre-1914 era when bills became Benjamins. But plenty of C-notes from the modern era can also be worth big money — and they usually derive their value from their serial numbers.

As previously reported by GOBankingRates, rare $50 notes issued during the 19th century can fetch tens of thousands of dollars on the collectibles market. But even more modern $50 bills in wider circulation are worth $250 or more in average condition.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) redeems mutilated currency as a free public service. Please find more information about this service at BEP Currency Redemption Services.

Are $2 bills worth anything? ›

A circulated $2 bill, even if it's from the 1800s, may only be worth a few hundred dollars, the auction service reports. Newer bills, like one printed in 2003, could also have significant value. A $2 bill recently sold at an auction for $2,400, according to Heritage Auction. (It later resold for $4,000.)

A $2 currency note printed in 2003 sold online in mid-2022 for $2,400 on Heritage Auctions. The same bill sold again for $4,000 roughly two weeks later, according to the Texas-based auction house. Other $2 notes from 2003 have fetched prices in the hundreds of dollars and higher.

More recently, the USCA lists a value of $500 on certain uncirculated $2 bills from 1995.

According to online auction service U.S. Currency Auctions, if the bill was minted and printed before 1976, it could actually be worth as much as $4,500. That eye-popping price also depends on if the bill was uncirculated.

“A serial number '1' for a 1976 $2 bill would be worth $20,000 or more. But [for] a majority of those people holding 1976 $2 bills, they are only worth face value. There are very few that actually exceed face value.” Other high-value serial numbers include what collectors call “solid” or “ladders.”

If your $2 bill dates back to 1886 and has a red seal with a silver certificate, you're in luck. That bill is worth $4,500. A number of other iterations of the $2 bills with a red seal can also fetch well over a $1,000.

When currency is deposited with a Federal Reserve Bank, the quality of each note is evaluated by sophisticated processing equipment. Notes that meet our strict quality criteria--that is, that are still in good condition--continue to circulate, while those that do not are taken out of circulation and destroyed.

Money is created within the banking system when banks issue loans; it is destroyed when the loans are repaid. An increase (decrease) in reserves in the banking system can increase (decrease) the money supply.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the old naira notes will remain legal tender beyond December 31, 2023 — and no longer have a deadline. CBN said this in a statement signed by Isa AbdulMumin, director, corporate communications, on Tuesday.

Is It Illegal to Throw Away Money? In the United States, it is illegal to damage or destroy currency, and while the law may not say directly that it is illegal to throw money away, tossing any U.S. currency in the trash will likely be treated as destroying the money.