Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Dollars Federal Reserve Note, 'Redeemable in Gold'
| Issuer | Federal Reserve System |
|---|---|
| Year | 1928-1934 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar (1785-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green intaglio, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate central guilloche oval enclosing the numeral 500, flanked by symmetrical acanthus scroll work and lathe-work ornamental panels. The denomination in numerals appears at all four corners and along the top and bottom borders, with the spelled-out value centered below the main vignette. |
| Reverse lettering | 500 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 500 FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The "Redeemable in Gold" clause printed on these notes was rendered legally meaningless almost immediately. When FDR signed Executive Order 6102 in April 1933 and then the Gold Reserve Act in January 1934, private gold redemption was eliminated — but the notes themselves stayed in circulation until the Federal Reserve retired the $500 denomination entirely in 1969. The redemption promise became dead text while the notes kept circulating for decades.
Surviving examples overwhelmingly come from Federal Reserve bank holdings rather than public circulation — $500 was roughly two weeks' wages for most Americans in 1928, so actual hand-to-hand use was rare. The San Francisco Fed reportedly held substantial quantities in vault reserve well into the 1940s.