100 Dollars American Express Travelers Cheque

American Express travelers cheques occupy a peculiar position in notaphily — technically not banknotes, not checks in the legal sense, but negotiable instruments that once circulated more freely in some foreign markets than local currency. At their peak in the late 1980s, AmEx was processing roughly $30 billion annually in travelers cheque transactions. By the time this note was issued, the product was already in structural decline, undercut by the global spread of ATM networks and credit card acceptance.

De La Rue's involvement speaks to the security requirements AmEx demanded — the same printer supplying central banks worldwide. The hologram strip on this series was a direct response to counterfeiting pressure that emerged in the mid-1990s.