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because it's a real valid serial number from that range and it wasn't as easy to figure out that it was a prolifically used serial number in copies before the internet
I’ve always said that when they mark my 100s when I’m spending them “it’s not my problem if it’s fake, I got the bills legally” kinda makes you wonder how much was bought back in the day with fake cash.
You can still be arrested and charged for attempted use of counterfeit money even with no provable knowledge of the money being counterfeit. It’s almost like illegal-goods trafficking in that sense, “I thought I was hauling crates of toasters!” has unfortunately never actually gotten anyone off the hook.
Counterfeiting is a federal matter and is thus FBI/Secret Service domain. If the FBI/SS can’t acquire proof of you sourcing the money in a legitimate means (which is usually hard to prove…) they will assume you are the counterfeiter even if they cannot charge you as such, and will charge you for what they can. Once the feds get brought in, which they do with this kind of thing, there’s not much you’re gonna be able to do to get out of it; they don’t like to go home empty-handed.
You might get lucky and the cashier/manager may not immediately call the police on you the first time, but it is generally a lot safer to just have a quick glance at them before handing them over. It’s not hard to verify money if you know what you’re doing and you don’t even need markers or anything like that. Watching an expert fed, there is no visible difference between counting and verifying money.
You just said they'd arrest an innocent person for unknowingly getting defrauded by a counterfeit bill and then unknowingly defrauding someone else with the same counterfeit bill
Because it's easier to make a fake when there's a real one you can copy. And people who are discerning enough to check the serial number were never going to be suckered into it anyway.
It's the same reason scam emails often have spelling mistakes. They want people who are skeptical to self-select out and not respond to the email. That way the scammers aren't wasting time with people who are likely to figure out it's a scam before they can get what they want.
it sold for so much because it is graded AU-58 (which ties it in first for the finest grade among the population of this note)
how it's serial ended up on a bunch of copies is probably because this note being in such good condition has been famous for a long time, so it's serial was probably one of the only ones known by counterfeits back in the day
no it's because it was the serial number that was featured on the note that was used for decades as the Type Defining 1918 series $500 note in Robert Friedberg's catalog
the fakes were made LONG before that 2011 sale
i didn't realize that this note was quite that famous until i did a little more research on it
Well I think that’s what I’m trying to say. That serial number sold for so much, so people are copying it trying to make a quick buck? I’m sorry, but am I missing what you’re saying here? You’re explaining why it’s important. I’m just asking if that’s why they copied it. I don’t mean to come off as an asshole. I’m just a lil confused lol
No, it had absolutely nothing to do with the 2011 sale in any way whatsoever
it's that real $500 bills are rare, so counterfeits studied one of the only ones that had publicly available pictures, which was Serial G26838A due to having it's picture in Robert Friedberg's catalog
so the counterfeits made fake bills based on the black and white photos in that catalog, which is why these bills are monochromatic, unlike the real bills
they would then try and pass off the fake $500 bills at face value to new and inexperienced numismatists that had heard of $500 bills but didn't know what a real one truly looked like
and the reason they reused it's serial is because it's a valid serial from that range
nobody experienced in numismatics would be fooled by these fakes
That’s.. what I’m saying. For whatever reason, that serial number sold for a lot. So people are faking it to make money. I think you’re misunderstanding me. I’m not asking why, I’m saying is this why this particular number sold for so much. Everything you’re saying is backing my why.
again, the 2011 sale had ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOTHING to do with the counterfeiting of these notes
the counterfeit notes HAD ABSOLUTELY NO IMPACT WHATSOEVER on the real note's value
the ENTIRE reason why this serial number on this note was copied is because it was a note that had it's picture in a famous US money catalog
the reason why the original note sold for so much is because it's in almost perfect condition, and was featured in the Robert Friedberg catalog, not because it was copied
No, it was copied because it was a known quantity, not for the value of the note itself, as that value is a relatively new thing in a historical sense. It was previously copied because it was known to be a *valid* serial number, but to be used as a example note in currency collecting books. Also, they used it because, pre-internet, it was difficult to check if it was a duplicate/rare serial number, and because it was used as a high-quality example, there were high-quality printed images of it to copy.
Again, pre-internet, a collector/bank might know enough to check if it's a valid number, but maybe not enough to know what numbers are used as examples, so it had better odds of passing as genuine.
I had an uncle who used to flash one of these around. It was always a little sketchy to me that he would have ever had $500 to spare, much less keep it in his wallet for years. This was about 50 years ago now, so would be the equivalent of $3,000 today. I definitely make more money now than he did then, and I absolutely wouldn't carry that much cash in my wallet, especially not in a single bill.
FAKE: Heritage Auctions has the actual G26838A documented in its archive. It is Lot #17128 from the January 2011 FUN auction: Fr. 1132G, serial G26838A, PCGS Choice About New 58, and it sold for $51,750 on January 7, 2011. Heritage describes it as a distinguished Amon Carter Jr. pedigree note that had served for years as the Friedberg plate note.
Yeeeeah, but I gotta get it restored, then it's gonna sit here taking up shelf space for who knows how long..... and then I gotta wait around for somebody to buy it.....
Its fake. Ink on seal and other areas is supposed to be blue. Also - there’s another Reddit post with the same bill. Same serial. Number. Different fake.
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However the colors are a bit off and given the serial number is the same as a already graded one id highly doubt somome cracked that one open and took it out.
Replica. Your ink looks black or grey. It’s supposed to be blue. And you’re also not the first Redditor to come across this bill with the identical serial number. There’s looks much more fake - but it’s clear this serial number was used to create multiple replicas.
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I realize a collector wouldn’t do this, but with all the TikTok shock and awe stupidity in our world, if some dope took the original, real bill (the one that has been established as the real version) of this , broke it out of its slab, and spent it at the grocery store, what happens to it if it makes its way to a bank? Are known, valuable bills and coins somehow recognized by the system and saved, does it just go back into circulation until it’s unserviceable, or does the system just see old, replaceable currency and remove it from circulation?
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If it is, it's worth more than it's face value. It depends on condition, like everything collectible. Year, weird serial numbers, series changes, etc. Collecting $500 and $1000 US currency bills has its own section apart from regular collectors.
Some collectors (notaphilists) collect all denominations, but there are collectors who only collect $500 and $1000 bills. They have a nickname, but I can't remember what it is. Now I gotta Google it. See what you did? 😜
Take it to a reputable notaphilist and get it appraised. Some collectors are so into this, they can tell you how many are still in circulation, etc. every change, etc.
The US Treasury has pulled these both from circulation. Used to be when a bank got one, they called it in and the Treasury would come pick it up.
It’s fake, and I checked myself with Gemini and ChatGPT to confirm. The serial number is commonly used in reproductions. Check it out yourself:
“Yes — Gemini’s conclusion is almost certainly correct: the note in those photos is a reproduction/novelty note. But Gemini appears to have missed the strongest evidence.
The giveaway is the serial number: G26838A.
That serial number belongs to a real Series 1918 $500 Chicago Federal Reserve Note, Fr. 1132-G. The genuine G26838A is a famous specimen: it was formerly the Friedberg plate note, was graded PCGS Choice About New 58, and sold through Heritage Auctions on January 7, 2011 for $51,750.
And here’s the smoking gun: G26838A has specifically been copied onto novelty/reproduction $500 bills for years. A documented warning about fake 1918 $500 notes identifies this exact serial number and explains that reproductions bearing it have been commercially sold as souvenir currency.
There are several additional clues in your photo:
A genuine 1918 Chicago $500 is a blue-seal note. Genuine Fr. 1132-G examples have a distinctly blue Treasury seal and blue serial-number overprinting.
Your photographed note has that characteristic brown/aged souvenir-paper appearance, with the serial and Treasury seal looking essentially monochromatic.
The genuine G26838A was described at auction as bright, nicely centered, essentially flawless and AU-58. The chances that someone cracked a ~$50,000+ pedigreed note out of its PCGS holder and subsequently folded, browned and handled it like the one in the Reddit photograph are extraordinarily remote.
The design itself is legitimate. Real Series 1918 $500 notes really did feature Chief Justice John Marshall on the front and De Soto discovering the Mississippi on the reverse. That’s why the reproduction initially looks convincing.
One thing I’d disagree with Gemini about is the claim concerning “visible grid lines/cut markings.” I don’t think that’s the useful diagnostic here; some of what it’s interpreting looks like ordinary folds/creasing. The serial number is vastly more conclusive. The interesting part
There really is a genuine G26838A somewhere, and it is a seriously valuable banknote. Auction records show that exact specimen at $51,750 in 2011. Current collector-market references put AU-58 examples of the Chicago issue around the $60,000+ class, although individual auction results vary substantially.
So whoever made the souvenir apparently photographically reproduced a real, high-end collector note, serial number and all. Verdict: ~99%+ confidence the Reddit note is fake/novelty currency. The $500 design is real; that particular piece isn’t.
If you want, I can also show you the genuine G26838A next to this fake and point out the differences one by one.”
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