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Depression-era $10,000 bill goes for $480,000 at auction

It was a record-setting bid for the now-defunct currency.

HOUSTON — You may not be able to buy anything with a $10,000 bill, but one was sold at auction for nearly 50 times that amount!

The $10,000 bill, which was the highest denomination ever put into circulation, dates back to the Great Depression. Heritage Auctions said it sold the bill for a record $480,000.

Bills that were $500 or higher were phased out in 1969, making the $100 bill the highest since that time.

Who was on the $10,000 bill?  What about the $100,000 bill?

A side note – while the $10,000 was the highest bill in circulation, there was a $100,000 bill, but it was only used to transfer money between federal reserve banks. The face on the $100,000 bill is that of Woodrow Wilson.

And if you don't recognize the face on the $10,000 bill above, there's a reason. Unlike most bills that featured presidents, the $10,000 bill had the face of Salmon P. Chase, who was the secretary of the treasury under President Abraham Lincoln.

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