No, you cannot get a $500 bill from the bank. The Treasury discontinued the denomination on July 14, 1969, and commercial banks are required to pull any $500 note that comes across the counter out of circulation and send it to the Federal Reserve for destruction rather than hand it back out. If you want one today, the only place to find it is the private collector market.
Why Your Bank Won’t Give You One
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing last produced $500 bills in 1945, and the Treasury formally retired them in 1969 due to lack of use.1Engraving & Printing. Historical Currency The $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 denominations were retired at the same time. The Federal Reserve now issues only $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 notes for public circulation.2Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Which Denominations of Currency Does the Federal Reserve Issue?
When a $500 bill does turn up at a bank, usually from an estate deposit or an old safe, the teller is required to remove it from the drawer. The note is set aside and eventually forwarded to a Federal Reserve Bank, which pulls it from the modern currency stream and destroys it. The Federal Reserve replaces the retired value with current-denomination notes so the money supply is unchanged. Every $500 bill that enters the banking system leaves it permanently, which is why no teller can order one for you.
The Bill Is Still Legal Tender
Discontinued does not mean invalid. Every surviving $500 bill remains legal tender under federal law, and that includes all discontinued Federal Reserve notes.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5103 – Legal Tender You could hand one to the IRS toward a tax bill and the government would credit its full $500 face value.
Private businesses are a different story. No federal law requires a store to accept any particular denomination, or cash at all, unless a state law says otherwise.4Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Is It Legal for a Business in the United States to Refuse Cash as a Form of Payment? A cashier can turn down a $500 bill because they can’t verify it, can’t make change, or simply don’t want to take it.
Don’t Deposit One at Face Value
If a $500 bill turns up in a relative’s belongings or an old safe, the worst thing you can do is walk it into a bank. The bank will credit your account with exactly $500 and send the note off to be destroyed. On the collector market, virtually every $500 bill sells for well above face value. Even heavily circulated 1934-series Federal Reserve Notes, the most common variety, typically trade for several hundred dollars over face. Better-preserved examples and rarer series such as the 1928 Gold Certificate can bring thousands, and pristine uncirculated notes have sold at auction for tens of thousands.
Before doing anything else with a $500 bill, get it evaluated by a reputable currency dealer or a professional grading service. A short conversation with an expert can be the difference between a $500 deposit and a five-figure private sale.
Where to Actually Buy or Sell One
Since banks are not an option, the numismatic market is where these notes change hands. Professional currency dealers, auction houses that specialize in paper money, and online marketplaces built around collectible currency all handle $500 bills regularly. The notes you will see most often are the 1928 and 1934 series Federal Reserve Notes, which carry a portrait of President William McKinley and a green Treasury seal. Earlier issues, including the 1918 Federal Reserve Note, the 1922 Gold Certificate, and the 1928 Gold Certificate, are considerably scarcer.
Price depends on series, seal color, and condition. A well-circulated 1934 green seal generally starts a few hundred dollars over face value. Notes in very fine or better condition often sell for $2,000 or more. Gold certificates and pre-1928 issues start higher, around $2,750 in average condition, and climb sharply from there.
Authenticate Before You Pay
Counterfeits and altered notes circulate in the high-denomination market, so authentication matters as much as price. The safest path is to buy notes that have already been graded and encapsulated by a professional third-party service. PMG (Paper Money Guaranty), for example, reviews each note for authenticity, attributes it to a reference catalog, and grades it on a standardized scale, with the note kept separate from the submitter’s paperwork to prevent bias. Notes flagged as counterfeit or altered are returned unencapsulated rather than graded.5PMG. PMG Grading Process
$500 bills predate the modern security features on today’s currency, so watermarks, color-shifting ink, and security threads are not available to check against. That makes visual inspection alone unreliable for high-value purchases, and it makes paying for professional grading almost always worthwhile given the sums involved.
If You Sell, Expect a Tax Bill
The IRS treats collectible currency the same as coins, art, and other collectibles. Sell a $500 bill for more than you paid, or more than its fair market value on the date you inherited it, and the profit is a capital gain. Net capital gains on collectibles are taxed at a maximum federal rate of 28 percent, higher than the 15 or 20 percent rate that applies to most other long-term capital gains.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses If you held the note a year or less, the gain is taxed as ordinary income at your regular rate.
Keep records of what you paid or, for an inherited note, the appraised value at the time you received it. A professional appraisal establishes the cost basis when no purchase receipt exists. State income taxes may apply on top of the federal rate.
Insuring and Storing a $500 Bill
A note worth thousands of dollars needs coverage the default policies don’t provide. Standard homeowners and renters policies typically cap coverage for cash and collectible currency at $1,500 to $2,500 total, which is often less than a single $500 bill is worth. If yours exceeds that sublimit, ask your agent about scheduling the item or adding a valuable-items rider.
A bank safe deposit box gives you physical security but no insurance. The FDIC insures deposit accounts, not the contents of safe deposit boxes, so a note lost or damaged inside one is generally not reimbursed by the bank.7FDIC.gov. Five Things to Know About Safe Deposit Boxes, Home Safes and Your Valuables A separate policy is still needed for collector value. A fireproof home safe paired with proper insurance is another route, with its own theft exposure to weigh.