For more decades than I’d like to admit, I’ve been among those immersed in the retail excitement at Christmastime. It’s contagious and makes people do crazy things. Holiday music playing on sound systems. Decorations throughout the aisles. Special discounts on alluring items. And, of course, shelves filled with endless new toys....
Admittedly, several retail traditions have changed. First, at some stores is the elimination of check writing. I’m actually thankful for that as is everyone who has ever stood in lines while a person at the checkout takes forever to scribble out a check. Second, holiday mail order catalogs. Those were once a Christmas staple. Beginning at Thanksgiving we would daily receive stacks of them in the mail. Now, a few trickle in every so often. It may be more “green,” but it’s not the same.
To the point of “green,” that raises new mandates reportedly from retailers Target and Wal-Mart in Michigan. If true, these are a complete mystery. In fact, they are counter-intuitive. Not only that, the new directive could be financially foolish.
From what I understand, Michigan Target and Wal-Mart stores have been directed to no longer accept high denomination bills. They don’t mean a $50 bill that a child might consider large. Or, a $100 bill that most adults deem substantial.
Although they are technically legal tender, bills that will now reportedly be refused at Michigan Target and Wal-Mart stores include – I’m not making this up – denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000.
Okay, I’ve no clue as to why this decree was initiated. In my life, I’ve never known anyone to carry around or try to spend any one of those denomination bills. An online story claims “these bills are still in circulation.” Uh, sorry. No, they’re not.
The closest I’ve ever known came many years ago when I received a call from a banker friend of the family. He knew I wrote about collectible currency, coins, stamps, etc. He phoned to say someone had turned in at the bank a $1,000 bill. It features the portrait of Grover Cleveland. The bill was definitely genuine. The banker wanted to know if I’d like to buy it for face value. Perhaps.
Some of those bills, depending on where they were issued can be worth upwards of $15,000 or $20,000. Those must be in top condition. Otherwise, they’re worth about their face value. The bill the banker had was visibly worn. At most it might have been worth $1,100. At that time, interest rates were over five-percent per year. That means the bill would need to increase at least $50 per year for it to be a viable investment. Chances of that were slim. I wisely passed.
The appearance of that $1,000 bill was an anomaly. It just doesn’t happen. They and the higher denomination bills haven’t been around since the Series of 1934. Even back then, few people carried and passed such high denomination bills. They were used mainly in corporate transactions.
As for a $5,000 or a $10,000 note, I don’t even know what to say. The appearance of either would be a windfall that could make the Christmas wishes of any Target or Wal-Mart employee come true many times over. That’s assuming it’s not counterfeit.
$5,000 bills feature a portrait of James Madison. All were printed in Washington, DC, but distributed in various Federal Reserve cities. Only a precious few notes were distributed to each locale. The most was 11,200 from New York. The least was 360 bills in Dallas. In circulated condition, many of those $5,000 bills now have a collector catalog value of nearly $100,000. In crisp uncirculated shape they can bring $250,000.
As for the $10,000 bills, the sky’s the limit. Those are beyond rare. One may occasionally be on display at a major coin show. They have a portrait of former Supreme Court Justice Salmon P. Chase. The collector value for those is $100,000 climbing to $500,000. (One sold last year for $480,000.)
The bottom line…if someone wants to spend one of those lofty bills, assuming it’s genuine, I’d take it! There might be some scrambling to OK it with the store manager. But, the upside is huge.
Then again, the actual prospects are slim. After all – and yes, I’m about to be judgmental – if someone actually had a $5,000 or $10,000 bill, what are the odds their first stop would be Wal-Mart? Then again, as I said, Christmastime can make people do crazy things.
For more collecting information and advice, log on to: http://prexford.com/.