New $200, $500, & $1,000 Federal Reserve Notes

I think it would be awesome. When I go to Europe I always feel important having a 500 euro note in my pocket.

Wouldn't it at least be neat if they brought back the $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bills and only sold them at a premium to collectors that was such a high premium, that it would not be worth buying them just to spend them? Like selling a $500 bill for $1,000, and $1,000 bill for $1,500, a $5,000 bill for $8,000 and a $10,000 bill for $15,000 or something similar, and the Treasury could come out with new designs during each currency redesign for the lower denominations?

The only problem I see with this idea is counterfeiters. They would probably have a field day selling counterfeit $10,000 bills to some poor soul who can't tell a real $10,000 bill from a fake. These new $10,000 bills would have to have a secuity feature that was easy to distinguish, yet very, very hard to fake.

These high notes should be polymer and large-sized, like mini novelty cheques. Then release some more $1 coins to the public. No new $1 bills, old ones get retired with age.

But really, I don't think this is a necessity until we start using wads of $100s in everyday life to the point that you get no coins back.

@papermoney: Can't you write your dealer a cheque?

I disagree with all the respect as to what Voshus007 has said about having no financial trouble in europe and less drug dealers. Eurozone is doing terrible, Spain, Greece, Cyprus are doing bad, much worse than US is doing now. And drug dealers, unfortunatly they're everywhere trying to get rich quickly, which doesn't work, because you get cought sooner or later, but it's something that is happening not only in US, if You read, watch, listen to european country specific news you will hear about those smugglers. But all of this is not stopping European Union's Central Bank from issuing a 500, which is not used in everyday purchases, but when it comes to buy a car for example you do not have carry a briefcase. No matter what denomination there is there will be always counterfeits, it does not makes much difference, because if a counterfeiter wants to have 10 000$ he will do it with 1 dollar bills if he has to, and find a way to make them legal or smuggle them, so it's difficult to justify not having new denomination with criminal reasons, because even if we would operate on 1$ bills only it would be still an issue unfortunatly. And the way that the value of the bills are lower than their face value there is something to be done, as our paychecks do not go with buying power of the money. One hundred dollars in 2000 could get you a full cart of groceries, now it's like 200. Even in the 80's 25 cents could get you more than now, you cannot even get tic tacs for a quarter. This shows how the value of the money went down and how much they differ from their face value, it is said, but true.

Don't buy the government's line about drug dealers and criminals using cash as a reason to not issue larger bills. Lots of honest people prefer cash and don't want every transaction recorded.

Think about it. Why is the $100 bill of today worth less than the $20 of 1970 in spending power? Blame the biggest criminal of all - those who create fiat (unbacked by gold or silver) money out of thin air. As Ron Paul told Ben Bernanke "You're the biggest counterfeiter around."

It doesn't matter how easy it is for them. We should be MORE concerned for the GOOD people who will use large denominations with GOOD intentions. I don't care if we make a one million dollar bill for drug dealers and money launderers to use. (Of course, I would never see or even hold a $1,000,000 bill) And who cares if they get caught or not? Save the space in jail for murderers, terrorists and rapists and the like, and just let the druggies have their fun for all I care.

Actually, after thinking about it, I think larger bills can deter money laundering. There would be more scrutiny over $500 bills. There would be less of them which makes them easier to track. Then gangsters would want their money cleaned because they need smaller bills anyways. And think about this: would a meth-head have wads of $1,000 bills to pay for his/her habit? No. Usually a buy is under $100 and remember that drugs impoverish the addicted. So all money collected are small bills, they get gathered and used to pay the person higher on the chain. Large bills come downwards, not upwards. Expect large corporations to be the first renters of this money, and possibly it may get hoarded by them anyways.

I think with the current situation of increasing inflation that the $500 will eventually be resurected at some point in the future, whether that be 5 years or 20 years from now. The $500 of today would have less purchasing power than the $100 did back when the large denomination notes were discontinued, so the concern of the government in detering large illicit cash transactions would not really be effected in regards to the original reasoning behind their withdrawal. Furthermore the USD has been losing out in some aspects to the Euro in that for reserve currency purposes its easier (and cheaper) to keep large amounts of euros as a reserve currency as compared to the USD because of the $500 euro note. I dont think anything bigger than the $500 will return anytime soon though , unless there is a period of hyperinflation.