Legal Question in Banking Law in Louisiana

Is it illegal for a private U.S. citizen to own gold?

What are the denominations of all printed U.S. currency bills?


Asked on 8/04/11, 9:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Adam Lambert The Law Office of Adam S. Lambert

1. Not anymore. It used to be illegal to own substantial amounts of gold bullion, but that law was repealled when the US went off the gold standard.

2. The largest bill in circulation is the $100 bill. The only bills being made are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. While they have not been printed for many years, $2 bills are actually still in circulation and not as uncommon as most people think (you can even get a bank to give you $2 bills if you ask for them). There is also a very large bill that exists ($10,000 I think) that is used only between the federal reserve and US banks. It is not valid for circulation and not legal for individuals to own.

There has been much talk over the years about adding a $1,000 bill, but it has not been done in modern times. Europe has a 1,000 Euro bill and it is one reason that many large cash transactions are handled with Euros internationally now instead of Dollars. There has also been talk of doing away with the penny and the paper dollar bill (using a coin dollar instead), although it is unlikely.

If you are interested in topics like that, I would look online at the US Federal Reserve Board and the US Mint. They have a lot of information on things like that.

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Answered on 8/10/11, 10:57 am


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