How Long Were Large Size Bills Still In Regular Circulation After The Small Size Bills Were Printed.

As I recall, the first small size Series 1928 notes were not released until 1929, and most large size notes were retired within the following year although they retained their legal tender status. I doubt the large notes were encountered often in circulation after the early 1930s.

I ask my Dad about that before he died about 15 years ago.

He was a wholesale milkman in Texas from about 1946 to 1985.

He told me that he remembered getting large 5's, 10's and an occasional 20 from the smaller Mom and Pop grocery customers up thru the mid 1950's. He also talked about getting small size gold certificates and national bank notes, too. He said he just turned the big bills in at the dairy when he checked up at the end of every day.

In the early days of his career he said he remembered being told to open the register at a cafe he served and told by the owner to get the money he was owed out of the drawer and leave the $1.75 ticket in the till. He remembered taking 3 Unc 1947 half dollars and a new quarter in payment as all the coins in the till were new and shiny!

My Dad had some pretty good stories!

I asked Chat GPT, how long did large size currency circulate after 1928. This was the answer, which I suspected, 10-15 years.

Large size currency in the United States continued to circulate after 1928, but its issuance was limited. Large size notes were primarily issued in the form of Federal Reserve Bank Notes, which were produced until 1934. However, the more common small size currency gradually replaced large size notes in everyday circulation. By the mid-1940s, large size currency had largely disappeared from circulation, although it remained legal tender. So, large size currency effectively circulated for a few years after 1928 but became increasingly rare in everyday transactions during the 1930s and 1940s.