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I have some US Dollar Federal Reserve notes:

Some 12 Federal Reserve Notes 100 Dollar Notes Series 2006 A
Some 40 Federal Reserve Notes 100 Dollar Notes Series 2009 A

Please tell me whether they're still valid and whether they will continue to be.

Nate Eldredge
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Thomas Larsen
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2 Answers2

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Yes, they're still valid, and should never expire. You may find that some places look suspiciously on the old designs for larger bills like that, but you can always trade them in at a bank at no cost.

Cody
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    I don't know about "you can always trade them in at a bank". My experience is that banks in the US usually won't provide such services to people who don't have accounts at that bank, which is probably the case for a traveler. – Nate Eldredge Mar 07 '17 at 21:35
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    @NateEldredge but the people looking suspiciously on the old designs are usually outside the US. I've never had trouble using an old bill in the US. – phoog Mar 08 '17 at 01:34
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    @NateEldredge - you can sometimes trade them at a bank? My brothers have reported being able to trade bills for rolls of quarters even at banks they do not have accounts with, and that is basically the same service (trade one form of money for another). So it might take a bit of asking around, but probably one bank or another can be found that will. – Megha Mar 08 '17 at 01:35
  • If a US bank refuses to honor these notes, from anyone, then you can simply report them to the FDIC (if it is a credit union to the NCUA) as they are in violation of their basic role in banking. – Burhan Khalid Mar 08 '17 at 06:05
  • @BurhanKhalid: I wasn't aware that FDIC regulations require a bank to offer such services to non-customers. Do you have a reference? – Nate Eldredge Mar 08 '17 at 14:19
  • It's has nothing to do with being a customer or not. The currency says its legal form of tender for all debts private and public and banks (other than validating the authenticity of the notes) cannot refuse to service anyone that comes with them. It's kind of the basic tenants of banking. They are of course free to charge you fees and have other reporting / regulatory requirements but they cannot refuse to exchange them. – Burhan Khalid Mar 08 '17 at 15:58
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    I don't think there's any debt involved in this situation, so I don't think the "legal tender" thing is relevant here. – Cody Mar 10 '17 at 01:25
  • @NateEldredge Banking regulations aside, I rather suspect that if someone shows up at a bank teller wanting to exchange money, the cost of verifying whether that person has an account exceeds the cost of providing the service to a non-customer. – phoog May 21 '17 at 19:49
  • @NateEldredge I used to have no problems cashing checks at US banks at which I held no account. But perhaps that is a service to the check-writer rather than to me. – Calchas May 21 '17 at 22:38
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    @Calchas: Yes, it's a service to the check writer. In fact it's really the definition of a check: when it's presented to the bank, by the payee or anyone to whom the payee has endorsed it (e.g. the payee's bank), the bank will pay it. If they don't they are liable to the writer for wrongful dishonor. But that's not relevant to the question of whether they will exchange currency. – Nate Eldredge May 22 '17 at 02:34
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Every bill and coin ever issued by the US government in its history remains valid and will be valid while the government continues to exist.

At some point, the collector value of a bill or coin will exceed its face value, but with 2006 $100 bill, that will likely be decades or centuries from now.

Michael Lorton
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  • This can be true, but some old bills may require special measures to exchange. – DJClayworth May 22 '17 at 03:20
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    Yes, if they need an expert to authenticate or for some technical reason like that, but the 14th Amendment provides that US debts "shall not be questioned". The closest thing to an exception was the "Hawaii overprint note", current in Hawaii from 1942 to 1944: each was prominently marked "HAWAII" and if that island chain fell to the Japanese, the notes could have been repudiated en masse. – Michael Lorton May 22 '17 at 07:24
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    I wouldn't use the word "never" when it comes to government promises... – JonathanReez Sep 08 '17 at 11:48