500 Dollars Federal Reserve Note, 'Redeemable in Gold'

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.