Fake denominations of United States currency
Encyclopedia
Fake denominations of United States currency have been created by individuals as practical joke
and do not assert that they are legal tender
. The bills often have images of their enemies or other people. The bills usually have "THIS IS NOT LEGAL TENDER FOR ANY DEBTS, THE PUBLIC, OR PRIVATE". The Federal Reserve
declares them legal to print as long as they are not presented as genuine currency.
printed $3 bills, the United States never issued one; however, a $3 coin
was issued by the U.S. from 1854 to 1889.
Legitimate three-dollar bills were also produced by various banks in the early days of the United States and by the Confederacy
. Before the creation of the Federal Reserve System
, individual banks offered their own currencies.
Various fake $3 bills have been released over time, generally poking fun at politicians or celebrities such as Richard Nixon
, Michael Jackson
, George W. Bush
, Bill
and Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama
in reference to the idiomatic expression "queer as a three-dollar bill" or "phony as a three dollar bill". In the 1960s, Mad
magazine printed a three-dollar bill that featured a portrait of Alfred E. Neuman
and read: "This is not legal tender—nor will tenderizer
help it." In the first decade of the 21st century, gay rights organizations encouraged supporters to print obviously fake $3 bills, called "Queer Dollars", and place the fake bills in Salvation Army
donation buckets as a protest against that organization's discriminatory policies.
Monopoly Junior
includes $3 and $4 denominated Monopoly money
in addition to $1, $2 and $5 notes. Like the $3 bill, the United States has never issued a $4 currency but briefly issued a $4 coin known as the "stella
" in 1879
, Fashion Bug
with a $200 bill featuring then-President George W. Bush
on the front. The back featured an image of the White House
with signs in the front lawn, bearing phrases such as "WE LIKE BROCCOLI" and "USA DESERVES A TAX CUT." The local man was later charged with forgery, theft by deception and receiving stolen property. A man in Danville, Kentucky
passed a similar counterfeit bill at a local Dairy Queen
, receiving $198 in real change.
has declared them legal to print or own and does not consider them counterfeit
because no genuine million dollar bill exists or ever has existed. At least one vendor printed the bills using the same intaglio printing process
and cotton rag stock as actual currency, using the American Bank Note Company
as their printing contractor.
In March 2004, a woman attempted to use a novelty $1,000,000 bill with a picture of the Statue of Liberty
on the front to purchase $1671.55 in goods from a Wal-Mart
in Covington, Georgia
. When she was arrested on a charge of forgery, she said she had thought the bill was genuine.
In October 2007, Samuel Porter tried to get change for a million dollar bill at a Giant Eagle
store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. The store manager confiscated the bogus bill and Mr. Porter flew into a rage. He slammed an electronic funds-transfer machine into the cashier's counter and reached for a scanner gun at the store. He was later arrested and charged for forgery
and he is serving time at the Allegheny County Jail
. The US Secret Service was also investigating this case.
In November 2007, Alexander D. Smith tried to open a bank account in Aiken County, South Carolina
, by depositing a $1,000,000 bill. The bank employee refused to deposit the bill and called the police. Smith was immediately arrested on a charge of forgery.
The Libertarian Party
makes an annual tradition of handing out informational fliers made to look like $1,000,000 bills on April 15 to draw attention to its anti-income tax
platform.
Christian
evangelist
Ray Comfort
's ministry, Living Waters Publications, produces a fake $1,000,000 bill – resembling an amalgam of the series 1996 $100 bill
and the series 2004 $10 bill
, and featuring Rutherford B. Hayes
– which is in reality a Christian gospel tract
, with the gospel message printed on the reverse. They have printed other designs in the past, including one featuring Grover Cleveland
, based on the series 2004 $20 bill
. All versions have included one or more links to the ministry's websites and the statement "This is NOT legal tender for all debts, public and private." After someone attempted to deposit one of the fake bills in North Carolina
, the Secret Service
raided The Great News Network, a sister ministry to LWP based in Denton, Texas
, on June 2, 2006. The Secret Service told workers at GNN they would locate and seize all of the million dollar bills at LWP's Bellflower, California
, headquarters. Comfort has been advised by his lawyers to refuse such an action, and no warrants yet appear to have been issued for the tracts. However, in a precautionary move, LWP also temporarily produced an enlarged "Secret Service version".
The Mad Magazine Game
features a $1,329,063 bill that serves as an Old Maid in the game, in which the players compete to lose all their money. The bill features a portrait of Alfred E. Neuman
.
and the Secret Service seized 250 notes, each bearing a denomination of $1,000,000,000 (one billion dollars) from a West Hollywood
apartment. The suspect had previously been arrested on federal charges for attempting to smuggle more than $37,000 in currency into the U.S. following a trip to Korea
in 2002.
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
and do not assert that they are legal tender
Legal tender
Legal tender is a medium of payment allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Paper currency is a common form of legal tender in many countries....
. The bills often have images of their enemies or other people. The bills usually have "THIS IS NOT LEGAL TENDER FOR ANY DEBTS, THE PUBLIC, OR PRIVATE". The Federal Reserve
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...
declares them legal to print as long as they are not presented as genuine currency.
$3
Although both the colony of Massachusetts and the Thirteen ColoniesThirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
printed $3 bills, the United States never issued one; however, a $3 coin
Three-dollar piece
The three-dollar piece was a United States coin produced from 1854 to 1889. Its value was intended to tie in with the postal system. At the time, a first class postage stamp was worth 3¢, and such stamps were often sold in sheets of one hundred stamps. Therefore, the three-dollar piece was...
was issued by the U.S. from 1854 to 1889.
Legitimate three-dollar bills were also produced by various banks in the early days of the United States and by the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. Before the creation of the Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...
, individual banks offered their own currencies.
Various fake $3 bills have been released over time, generally poking fun at politicians or celebrities such as Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Bill
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in reference to the idiomatic expression "queer as a three-dollar bill" or "phony as a three dollar bill". In the 1960s, Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
magazine printed a three-dollar bill that featured a portrait of Alfred E. Neuman
Alfred E. Neuman
Alfred E. Neuman is the fictional mascot and cover boy of Mad magazine. The face had drifted through American pictography for decades before being claimed and named by Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman...
and read: "This is not legal tender—nor will tenderizer
Meat tenderizer
A meat tenderizer is hand-powered tool used to tenderize slabs of meat in preparation for cooking the meat. Although a meat tenderizer can be made out of virtually any object there are three types that manufactured specifically for tenderizing meat. The first, most common, is a tool that resembles...
help it." In the first decade of the 21st century, gay rights organizations encouraged supporters to print obviously fake $3 bills, called "Queer Dollars", and place the fake bills in Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
donation buckets as a protest against that organization's discriminatory policies.
Monopoly Junior
Monopoly Junior
Monopoly Junior is a simplified version of the board game Monopoly, aimed at young children. It has a smaller, rectangular board and instead of being based on street names it is based on a Funfair, to make it more child-friendly.-Board:...
includes $3 and $4 denominated Monopoly money
Monopoly money
Monopoly money is a type of play money used in the board game Monopoly. It is different from American currency in that it is smaller, one-sided, and different colors until a redesign by the United States Treasury Department of U.S...
in addition to $1, $2 and $5 notes. Like the $3 bill, the United States has never issued a $4 currency but briefly issued a $4 coin known as the "stella
Stella (United States coin)
The United States four dollar coin, also officially called a Stella, is a unit of currency equivalent to four United States dollars.-History:...
" in 1879
$200
In 2001, a local man purchased $99 worth of merchandise at a Greensburg, PennsylvaniaGreensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
, Fashion Bug
Charming Shoppes
Charming Shoppes is a specialty and plus size clothing retail holding company based in Bensalem, PA. Its subsidiaries are Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, and Catherines. Clothes are sold from over 2300 retail stores in the U.S., as well as numerous catalogs and online sites...
with a $200 bill featuring then-President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on the front. The back featured an image of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
with signs in the front lawn, bearing phrases such as "WE LIKE BROCCOLI" and "USA DESERVES A TAX CUT." The local man was later charged with forgery, theft by deception and receiving stolen property. A man in Danville, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
passed a similar counterfeit bill at a local Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen, often abbreviated DQ, is a chain of soft serve and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc, who also owns Orange Julius and Karmelkorn. The name "Dairy Queen" is taken from the name of their soft serve product, which the company refers to as "Dairy Queen" or...
, receiving $198 in real change.
$1,000,000
The United States has never issued a million dollar bill. However, many businesses print million dollar bills for sale as novelties. Such bills do not assert that they are legal tender. The Federal ReserveFederal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...
has declared them legal to print or own and does not consider them counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
because no genuine million dollar bill exists or ever has existed. At least one vendor printed the bills using the same intaglio printing process
Intaglio (printmaking)
Intaglio is a family of printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface, known as the matrix or plate, and the incised line or area holds the ink. Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or...
and cotton rag stock as actual currency, using the American Bank Note Company
American Bank Note Company
The American Bank Note Company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps. Currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates.-History:Robert Scot, the first official engraver of the young U.S...
as their printing contractor.
In March 2004, a woman attempted to use a novelty $1,000,000 bill with a picture of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
on the front to purchase $1671.55 in goods from a Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
in Covington, Georgia
Covington, Georgia
Covington is a city in Newton County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 13,118. The city is the county seat of Newton County...
. When she was arrested on a charge of forgery, she said she had thought the bill was genuine.
In October 2007, Samuel Porter tried to get change for a million dollar bill at a Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle, Inc., is a supermarket chain with stores in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. The company was founded in 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Supermarket News ranked Giant Eagle No. 21 in the 2009 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2008...
store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. The store manager confiscated the bogus bill and Mr. Porter flew into a rage. He slammed an electronic funds-transfer machine into the cashier's counter and reached for a scanner gun at the store. He was later arrested and charged for forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
and he is serving time at the Allegheny County Jail
Allegheny County Jail
The old Allegheny County Jail located in the 400 block of Ross Street in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was built in 1886. The courthouse and jail were designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. In 1884, the construction of the buildings was begun by the Norcross Brothers, Richardson's construction...
. The US Secret Service was also investigating this case.
In November 2007, Alexander D. Smith tried to open a bank account in Aiken County, South Carolina
Aiken County, South Carolina
Aiken County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 142,552; in 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 160,099...
, by depositing a $1,000,000 bill. The bank employee refused to deposit the bill and called the police. Smith was immediately arrested on a charge of forgery.
The Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
makes an annual tradition of handing out informational fliers made to look like $1,000,000 bills on April 15 to draw attention to its anti-income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
platform.
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort is a New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist. Comfort started Living Waters Publications and The Way of the Master in Bellflower, California and has written a number of books.-Early life and career:...
's ministry, Living Waters Publications, produces a fake $1,000,000 bill – resembling an amalgam of the series 1996 $100 bill
United States one hundred-dollar bill
The United States one hundred-dollar bill is a denomination of United States currency. U.S. statesman, inventor and diplomat Benjamin Franklin is currently featured on the obverse of the bill. On the reverse of the banknote is an image of Independence Hall. The time on the clock according to the...
and the series 2004 $10 bill
United States ten-dollar bill
The United States ten-dollar bill is a denomination of United States currency. The first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, is currently featured on the obverse of the bill, while the U.S. Treasury is featured on the reverse. The United States ten-dollar bill ($10) is a...
, and featuring Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
– which is in reality a Christian gospel tract
Tract (literature)
A tract is a literary work, and in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the 21st century, these meant small pamphlets used for religious and political purposes, though far more often the former. They are...
, with the gospel message printed on the reverse. They have printed other designs in the past, including one featuring Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, based on the series 2004 $20 bill
United States twenty-dollar bill
The United States twenty-dollar bill is a denomination of United States currency. U.S. President Andrew Jackson is currently featured on the front side of the bill, which is why the twenty-dollar bill is often called a "Jackson," while the White House is featured on the reverse side.The...
. All versions have included one or more links to the ministry's websites and the statement "This is NOT legal tender for all debts, public and private." After someone attempted to deposit one of the fake bills in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, the Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
raided The Great News Network, a sister ministry to LWP based in Denton, Texas
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
, on June 2, 2006. The Secret Service told workers at GNN they would locate and seize all of the million dollar bills at LWP's Bellflower, California
Bellflower, California
Bellflower is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is a suburb of Los Angeles. It was incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,616, up from 72,878 at the 2000 census....
, headquarters. Comfort has been advised by his lawyers to refuse such an action, and no warrants yet appear to have been issued for the tracts. However, in a precautionary move, LWP also temporarily produced an enlarged "Secret Service version".
The Mad Magazine Game
The Mad Magazine Game
The Mad Magazine Game, titled MAD Magazine: the "What-Me Worry?" game on the cover, is a board game produced by Parker Brothers in 1979. Gameplay is similar, but the goals and directions often opposite to, that of Monopoly; the object is for players to lose all of their money...
features a $1,329,063 bill that serves as an Old Maid in the game, in which the players compete to lose all their money. The bill features a portrait of Alfred E. Neuman
Alfred E. Neuman
Alfred E. Neuman is the fictional mascot and cover boy of Mad magazine. The face had drifted through American pictography for decades before being claimed and named by Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman...
.
$1,000,000,000
In March 2006, agents from ICEU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...
and the Secret Service seized 250 notes, each bearing a denomination of $1,000,000,000 (one billion dollars) from a West Hollywood
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
apartment. The suspect had previously been arrested on federal charges for attempting to smuggle more than $37,000 in currency into the U.S. following a trip to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
in 2002.
See also
- Confusion over the (genuine) $2 bill