Despite plans for governments around the world to transition into digital currency, the evidence shows that nations continue to use physical currency, and in fact higher grade notes such as the $1,000 bill are actually becoming more common.

Demand for Large Sized Currency Continues to Increase

Larger notes have had a good showing at auctions, and can be quite attractive with a reasonable entry price. Those that are searching for a different niche may want to consider them, as fancier serial numbers are increasing in popularity and have become well represented during auctions, especially the costlier number 1 notes.

For instance, recently a silver PMG 45 1935A certificate which W.A. Julian signed with ink sold at $404. Julian was the United States Treasurer between 1933 and 1946, before he died in a car accident. Henry Morgenthau Jr. served with him as Treasury Secretary during the same period, and ink signed a 1935 silver $1 certificate that auctioned for a price which was similar.

Autographed Currency

Currencies with autographs have also become sought after. Officials who have served together for an extended period of time in previous eras may have scarcer signatures when compared to modern ones, and their autograph notes frequently show up during currency auctions. Error notes are also well represented, especially large sized ones.  Fred Bart published a fascinating book which highlights these notes. Higher grade notes have appeared with greater frequency and previously, those which were graded at level sixty seven were exceptionally rare.

As a consequence, they would typically sell at a price which is twice that of graded 65 notes. It is believed by many experts that higher precision was achieved with the $1 silver 1957 certificates, and higher grade specimens have even been purchased for less than one hundred dollars. However, in recent years more 69 and 68 graded notes have appeared, but currency collection experts advise not going crazy with purchasing grade 68.

Reasonably priced large sized currency to look for includes the 69A Minnesota $5 Federal Reserve bill, or the 68 Minneapolis $5 2006 series FRN note. As with the silver certificate 57, these notes are very attractive and relatively simple to procure, but even the modern 69 grade notes can cost four times as much, and it can be difficult for those with an untrained eye to tell the notes apart.

How to Find the Best Large Grade Notes

The first step in finding larger grade notes is to review states or cities which are well populated. An obvious example of this would be New York, because NYC alones has over one hundred and thirty National Banks, which does not include Brooklyn. This means that currency collectors that begin their search here will often be able to find bargains thanks to the massive grouping. The current financial crisis which has engulfed much of the world has not had a substantial impact on larger size currency prices. In fact, lower grade common notes appear to be down a bit, while notes which are scarce or premium grade remain strong.