Check Your Pockets: These $50 Bills Are Worth A Ton Of Money

Although many $50 bills are simply worth face value, some can be worth much more due to their age and/or scarcity. Paper money is much more fragile than coins made of sturdier metals, so paper currency typically has a shorter lifespan. When paper money ends up in poor condition — because of a lack of readability, tears, or even holes — the Federal Reserve shreds the damaged bills. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, roughly 5% to 10% of all $50 bills that enter the Fed end up shredded.

When a $50 bill does survive all of this, though, it can be worth quite a bit of extra cash when sold. For example, a $50 bill from 1934 has an estimated value of $55 to 120 when circulated, and over $150 when uncirculated (meaning that the general public never used this bill). Meanwhile, a circulated bill from 1969 could sell for $60 to $75, or over $90 when uncirculated. Even bills released as recently as 2013 can be worth more than face value. For example, according to Silver Recyclers, one with a Mint State 63 rating (out of 70) can be worth $65 while ones with a star can go for $135. Stars indicate a replacement bill, which is rarer. As for $50 bills that are dated 1928 or earlier, the physical size of these bills is actually larger than today's versions — so don't necessarily assume that it's counterfeit if you come across one. Many of those bills can be quite valuable.

One $50 bills are so rare that some auction houses don't even list a value. One such example is an interest bearing $50 bill issued between 1861 and 1865. These years coincide with the Civil War, with the interest-bearing bills meant to help fund the war's expenses. People bought these bills from the government to support the war effort, with the government using this influx of cash to pay war-related costs. Unlike modern day currency, these bills served as an investment and earned interest — one cent daily. When the fighting ended, most people cashed in any interest-bearing notes they owned, which effectively took these bills out of circulation. However, in 2021, Stack's Bowers Galleries put one of these bills, from 1861, up for auction. Believed to be the only example of this series still left in private hands, it was expected to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000, but it ended up selling for slightly more than one million dollars.

Despite the fact this bill was believed to be the last one in private hands, it isn't impossible for someone to someday find an interest-bearing bill from this time period mixed in with their family's Civil War-era belongings. After all, in Kentucky in 2023, a man found more than 700 coins from this era — including ones made from silver and gold — when plowing his corn field.

Although $50 bills often become scarcer over time, the opposite issue can occur bills like the $2 bill — meaning, an oversupply. When reissued in 1976, after a 10-year break, many people thought that the U.S. Mint planned to issue the $2 bill for only a limited time. As a result, many hoarded and squirreled away these bills in safe places like collectors' binders, safety deposit boxes, drawers, and even safes. In 2023, about $3.2 billion worth of $2 bills were still in circulation per the U.S. Currency Education Program. Due to the strong supply in both collections and in circulation, the garden variety $2 bill is often only worth it's face value, although older versions of $2 bills can be more valuable. 

U.S. Currency Auctions list a value of $4,500 for uncirculated 1890 $2 bills, a value of $3,800 for 1869 uncirculated bills, a value of $2,800 for uncirculated 1862 $2 bills, and $1,000 for uncirculated 1928B $2 bills. According to local Dallas station, WFAA, Heritage Auctions sold a 2003 $2 bill in 2023 for $2,400. This particular bill had quite a low serial number, which increased interest, and garnered significant attention from coin collectors across the country. Shortly after the bill sold at auction, it sold again — this time for $4,000.