United States one hundred-dollar bill

One Hundred dollars
(United States)
Value $100
Width 156 mm
Height 66.3 mm
Weight Approx. .5 g
Security features Security fibers, watermark, 3D security ribbon, optically variable ink, microprinting, raised printing, EURion constellation
Paper type 75% cotton
25% linen
Years of printing 1861–present
Obverse
Design Benjamin Franklin, Declaration of Independence, quill pen, inkwell
Design date 2009
Reverse
Design Independence Hall
Design date 2009

The United States one hundred-dollar bill ($100) is a denomination of United States currency. Statesman, inventor, diplomat, and American founding father Benjamin Franklin is featured on the obverse of the bill. On the reverse of the banknote is an image of Independence Hall. The $100 bill is the largest denomination that has been printed since July 13, 1969, when the denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 were retired.[1] The Bureau of Engraving and Printing says the average life of a $100 bill in circulation is 90 months (7.5 years) before it is replaced due to wear and tear.

The bills are also commonly referred to as "Bens", "Benjamins" or "Franklins", in reference to the use of Benjamin Franklin's portrait on the denomination, or as "C-Notes", based on the Roman numeral for 100. The bill is one of two denominations printed today that does not feature a President of the United States; the other is the $10 bill, featuring Alexander Hamilton. It is also the only denomination today to feature a building not located in Washington, D.C., that being Independence Hall located in Philadelphia on the reverse. The time on the clock of Independence Hall on the reverse, according to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, showed approximately 4:10[2] on the older contemporary notes and 10:30 on the series 2009A notes released in 2013.

One hundred hundred-dollar bills are delivered by Federal Reserve Banks in mustard-colored straps ($10,000).

The Series 2009 $100 bill redesign was unveiled on April 21, 2010, and was issued to the public on October 8, 2013.[3] The new bill costs 12.6 cents to produce and has a blue ribbon woven into the center of the currency with "100" and Liberty Bells, alternating, that appear when the bill is tilted.

The $100 bill comprises 77% of all US currency in circulation,[4] although according to former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, more than two-thirds of all $100 notes are held outside the United States.[5]

Large size note history

(approximately 7.4218 × 3.125 in ≅ 189 × 79 mm)

Series 1878 $100 silver certificate
1880 $100 Legal Tender
1914 $100 Federal Reserve Note
1922 $100 Gold Certificate

Small size note history

(6.14 × 2.61 in ≅ 157 × 66 mm)

Joseph-Siffred Duplessis portrait of Benjamin Franklin used on the $100 bill from 1929 until 1996.
H.B.Hall engraving of Joseph-Siffred Duplessis portrait of an older Benjamin Franklin used on the $100 bill 1996 onward.
Comparison between a Series 1990 note with a 2013 note (1996 design not shown).

Removal of larger-value bills ($500 and up)

The Federal Reserve announced the removal of large denominations of United States currency from circulation on July 14, 1969. The one-hundred-dollar bill was the largest denomination left in circulation. All the Federal Reserve Notes produced from Series 1928 up to before Series 1969 (i.e. 1928, 1928A, 1934, 1934A, 1934B, 1934C, 1934D, 1950, 1950A, 1950B, 1950C, 1950D, 1950E, 1963, 1966, 1966A) of the $100 denomination added up to $23.1708 billion.[9] Since some banknotes had been destroyed, and the population was 200 million at the time, there was less than one $100 banknote per capita circulating.

As of June 30, 1969, the U.S. coins and banknotes in circulation of all denominations were worth $50.936 billion of which $4.929 billion was circulating overseas.[10] So the currency and coin circulating within the United States was $230 per capita. Since 1969, the demand for U.S. currency has greatly increased. The total amount of circulating currency and coin passed one trillion dollars in March 2011.

Despite the degradation in the value of the U.S. $100 banknote (which was worth more in 1969 than a U.S. $500 note would be worth today), and despite competition from some more valuable foreign notes (most notably, the 500 euro banknote), there are no plans to re-issue banknotes above $100. The widespread use of electronic means to conduct large scale cash transactions today has made large-scale physical cash transactions obsolete and therefore, from the government's point of view, unnecessary for the conduct of legitimate business. Quoting T. Allison, Assistant to the Board of the Federal Reserve System in his October 8, 1998 testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Committee on Banking and Financial Services:

There are public policies against reissuing the $500 note, mainly because many of those efficiency gains, such as lower shipment and storage costs, would accrue not only to legitimate users of bank notes, but also to money launderers, tax evaders and a variety of other law breakers who use currency in their criminal activity. While it is not at all clear that the volume of illegal drugs sold or the amount of tax evasion would necessarily increase just as a consequence of the availability of a larger dollar denomination bill, it no doubt is the case that if wrongdoers were provided with an easier mechanism to launder their funds and hide their profits, enforcement authorities could have a harder time detecting certain illicit transactions occurring in cash.[11]

References

Further reading

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