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100 Dollars Federal Reserve Note, small portrait
| Issuer | Federal Reserve System |
|---|---|
| Year | 1928-1934 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio-printed vignette of Benjamin Franklin in an oval frame at center, executed in black on a fine guilloche underprint. The Federal Reserve Seal and Treasurer's signature appear to the left of the portrait, while the Treasury Seal and Secretary's signature are positioned to the right. The obligation text and issuing authority legends are arranged across the upper and lower registers in letterpress. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is engraved in green intaglio and centers on a detailed architectural vignette of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, flanked by trees and outbuildings within an elaborate scrollwork border. The denomination numeral 100 appears in large counters at both the left and right margins, set against fine guilloche lathe-work. The building name caption INDEPENDENCE HALL appears below the central vignette, with the value spelled out in full along the bottom border. |
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| Comments |
The "small portrait" designation distinguishes these notes from the large-format series that preceded 1928 — the physical reduction was a cost-cutting measure, not a design preference, driven by a Treasury Department study estimating millions in annual savings from smaller paper stock. The change was deeply unpopular with the public, who associated larger notes with institutional authority and had been handling the old format for decades.
The 1928–1934 date range spans the Federal Reserve's most chaotic period: the Crash of 1929, the bank holiday of March 1933, and the subsequent withdrawal of gold-redeemable currency under Executive Order 6102. Notes from this series that predate the gold clause removal were technically illegal to hold in quantity after 1933.