The $500 bill is now considered a relic of American monetary history, long since removed from active circulation and no longer produced by the federal government.
Its origins stretch back to 1861, placing its debut in the turbulent opening years of the Civil War and giving the denomination a remarkably deep historical footprint.
The last $500 bills rolled off the presses in 1945, though the note lingered within the broader financial system for many years beyond that point.
Despite the end of production, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing continued releasing these notes until 1969, more than two decades after manufacturing ceased.
The denomination was never really intended for the average American. Its primary function was to streamline large transfers between financial institutions rather than serve as everyday spending money.
That same year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury decided to retire all currency denominations above $100, a sweeping policy shift that effectively sealed the bill’s fate.
From 1969 onward, any $500 bill deposited at a bank was required to be forwarded to the Treasury for destruction rather than returned to circulation, a policy that has steadily reduced the number of surviving examples.
An earlier version of the note bore the portrait of John Marshall, widely regarded as one of the most consequential Chief Justices in the nation’s judicial history.
That design was also physically imposing, printed on paper measuring roughly 3.1 by 7.5 inches, noticeably larger than the currency Americans carry today.
The redesigned notes issued in 1928 and 1934 adopted the compact dimensions that remain standard for U.S. currency, and they replaced Marshall’s likeness with that of President William McKinley.
McKinley’s portrait became the face most commonly associated with the $500 bill in popular memory.
Because the note circulated so narrowly, a large portion of the American public never had occasion to hold one, even during the years it was technically still legal tender.
Surviving examples now command serious attention from collectors, with their value driven in part by how aggressively the government worked to remove them from circulation.
Economist Jay Zagorsky raised the idea in 2017 of reviving the $500 bill as a contingency measure, arguing that high-denomination paper currency could help sustain commerce if a catastrophe crippled the digital payment infrastructure.
More recently, in June 2024, Representative Paul Gosar introduced legislation to reissue the denomination. His proposal called for placing Donald Trump’s image on the redesigned bill, a suggestion that drew considerable controversy given the sharp departure it represents from the tradition of featuring historical figures.