$10,000 bill issued in 1934 auctioned for $480,000

Sept. 25 (UPI) -- A $10,000 bill issued by the Federal Reserve in 1934 vastly exceeded its face value by being auctioned for $480,000.

Heritage Auctions said the rare bill, bearing the face of Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, is one of the highest quality examples known to still exist. The auctioned bill was never circulated and was given a rating of Exceptional Paper Quality by Paper Money Guarantee.

"The $10,000 trails only the $100,000 gold certificate issued in 1934, and of the 18 examples graded by PMG, this example is tied for the highest-graded," Dustin Johnston, vice president of currency at Heritage Auctions, in a news release.

The U.S. discontinued all denominations over $500 in 1969 due to low usage. The $10,000 bills were only ever used to transfer money between Federal Reserve banks.

The bill sold for $480,000 to a private collector.