Can you still use a $100 dollar bill from 1996?
All U.S. currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued. Hold the note to light to see an embedded thread running vertically to the left of the portrait. The thread is imprinted with the letters USA and the numeral 100 in an alternating pattern and is visible from both sides of the note.
It is U.S. government policy that all designs of Federal Reserve notes remain legal tender, or legally valid for payments, regardless of when they were issued. This policy includes all denominations of Federal Reserve notes, from 1914 to present as per 31 U.S.C. § 5103.
No, you do not have to trade in your old-design notes for new ones. All U.S. currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued.
They are worth $100. A typical $100 bill printed in 1996 has no value beyond its face value. One with some unusual feature — such as a "star" after the serial number — could be worth more to a collector.
Can I still use older-design notes? It is U.S. government policy that all designs of U.S. currency remain legal tender, or legally valid for payments, regardless of when they were issued.
All U.S. currency issued since 1861 remains valid and redeemable at full face value.
Obverse Image: Portrait of Benjamin Franklin in center of note, seal of the United States (left side of note). Reverse Image: Independence Hall with trees.
It's one of those bills that you hold up to the light and see a faint image of whoever is on the bill. Take it to a bank. If it's fake they will tell you and probably confiscate it. If it's genuine they will swap it for a new one.
Most of the $100 bills that sell for five figures, six figures or more are vintage currency from the pre-1914 era when bills became Benjamins. But plenty of C-notes from the modern era can also be worth big money — and they usually derive their value from their serial numbers.
Exchanging old banknotes
Many banks accept withdrawn notes as deposits from customers. The Post Office will also accept withdrawn notes as a deposit into any bank account you can access at the Post Office. And you can always exchange withdrawn notes with us.
How much is a 1996 dollar worth today?
$1 in 1996 has the same purchasing power as $1.92 in 2024. Over the 28 years this is a change of $0.92.
Any one hundred dollar bill from 1950 or newer is basically going to just be worth the face value of $100 dollars. You have to remember that billions of one hundred dollar bills have been printed since 1950.
At U.S. Coins & Jewelry, we buy and sell a large selection of collectible US Currency from small size silver certificates to large size treasury notes, banknotes, and even confederate currency.
The Federal Reserve Bank will then store the damaged bills for destruction. When enough old bills have been collected, the Federal Reserve Banks will shred them. If you take a tour of a Federal Reserve Bank, you can sometimes take home your very own unique souvenir: a bag of shredded paper money!
The CBN later extended the validity of the old notes to December 2023 but the apex bank, with a new governor Yemi Cardoso, says the old currency notes are now legal tenders indefinitely.
Banks that allow you to exchange paper notes will generally allow you to deposit the money into the account that you hold with them. Banks and building societies happy to exchange the old notes include Halifax, Lloyds, Nationwide, Barclays, NatWest and Santander - though keep in mind they may have a cut-off date.
1963: Because dollar bills were no longer redeemable in silver, beginning with Series 1963A, WILL PAY TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND was removed from the obverse of the $100 Federal Reserve Note and the obligation was shortened to its current wording, THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE.
In genuine currency, both the watermark image and the portrait are the same person AND are facing in the same direction. The counterfeit $100s are facing opposite directions and are different images. The counterfeit $100 bills have the watermark of Hamilton when it should be Franklin.
For $100 bills, you may be used to checking with a marking pen. In addition, a way to verify a legitimate bill is to double check the 100 in the corner of the bill. The color change of copper/green to black on the 100 in the lower right corner will help you verify an authentic $100 bill.
the image of the person whose portrait is on the bill can be found on all $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills series 1996 and later. The watermark is embedded in the paper to the right of the portrait, and it can be seen from both sides of the bill.
How can you tell how old a $100 dollar bill is?
Serial Number
A unique combination of eleven numbers and letters appears twice on the front of the note. Each note has a unique serial number. The first letter of the serial number corresponds to the series year.
Banks typically accept old and worn-out bills, even if some machines might not. They can verify the authenticity of the bill and exchange it for a newer one or deposit the amount into your account.
Though that may make them seem valuable, coupled with the fact that you have likely never seen one, Johnson notes they “are rarely worth a significant premium over face value.” The money you have in your wallet or pocket right now is also likely worth its face value and nothing more.
If they are old, paid bills and you're asking how to throw them away, just shred them.
Unless it has a unique feature, like a low serial number or misprint, a newer $2 bill likely isn't worth much more than $2, even if it's uncirculated.
