Benjamin Franklin appears on the $100 bill because the Treasury Secretary, who by law chooses whose portrait goes on U.S. currency, selected him for a résumé no other non-president could match. His face has been on the note since the first $100 Federal Reserve note was issued in 1914, and he is one of only two non-presidents on current U.S. paper money. Alexander Hamilton, on the $10, is the other.
Why Treasury Picked Franklin
Federal law gives the Secretary of the Treasury authority to decide whose portrait appears on each denomination, with one firm requirement: the person must be deceased.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5114 – Engraving and Printing Currency and Security Documents Beyond that, the choice comes down to historical stature. Franklin’s is essentially impossible to top among Americans who never held the presidency.
He helped draft the Declaration of Independence and negotiated the French alliance that proved decisive in the Revolution. When the Continental Congress created the position of Postmaster General on July 26, 1775, Franklin was the first person appointed to it.2National Postal Museum. U.S. Postmasters General Outside politics, he founded the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1731, the first subscription lending library in America, and earned international recognition for his experiments with electricity. His work spans diplomacy, science, public institutions, and the country’s early financial identity all at once, and the $100 placement has held for over a century.
What the Modern $100 Bill Looks Like
The version of the note in your wallet today was issued in 2013 and carries more anti-counterfeiting technology than any other U.S. denomination. The design comes out of an interagency process involving the Federal Reserve, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the Secret Service, with the Treasury Secretary giving final approval.3U.S. Currency Education Program. Journey to Circulation
The most striking feature is a blue 3-D Security Ribbon woven directly into the paper rather than printed on top of it. Tilt the note back and forth and small bells shift into the number 100. Tilt it side to side and the images move up and down. Near the ribbon sits a copper-colored inkwell with a small bell inside. Tilt the note and the bell shifts from copper to green and appears to disappear.4U.S. Currency Education Program. $100 Note
Hold the bill up to a light and a faint second portrait of Franklin appears as a watermark to the right of the main portrait. A thin embedded security thread runs vertically to the left of the portrait, imprinted with alternating “USA” and “100” and glowing pink under ultraviolet light.4U.S. Currency Education Program. $100 Note Microprinting appears in four spots: “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” on Franklin’s jacket collar, “USA 100” around the watermark space, “ONE HUNDRED USA” along the golden quill, and small 100s in the note borders.5U.S. Currency Education Program. $100 Note Features 2013 to Present
The paper itself is 75% cotton and 25% linen, with tiny red and blue synthetic fibers embedded throughout.6U.S. Currency Education Program. Currency Facts That blend gives real bills a texture commercial printer paper cannot match. A $100 bill lasts roughly 24 years in circulation before wear forces its retirement, far longer than a $1 bill’s seven years.7Federal Reserve. How Long Is the Lifespan of U.S. Paper Money
How to Tell a Real $100 From a Fake
Checking a $100 takes about five seconds. Three steps: feel it, tilt it, hold it up to light.
Run your finger across the note. Genuine bills are printed using an intaglio process that leaves the ink slightly raised, with a fine-sandpaper texture around the portrait. Counterfeits printed on office paper feel flat and smooth.8Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The Buck Starts Here: How Money Is Made
Then tilt the note and focus on the blue ribbon and the inkwell. The bells-to-100s animation on the ribbon and the copper-to-green shift on the bell inside the inkwell are the two hardest features to fake. A blue stripe that looks printed on the surface rather than woven into the paper is a red flag.4U.S. Currency Education Program. $100 Note
Finally, hold the note up to a light source. The Franklin watermark should appear on the right side, and the embedded security thread should show to the left of the portrait. If either is missing, smudged, or looks like it’s sitting on top of the paper, treat the bill as suspect.9U.S. Currency Education Program. Dollars in Detail
If you conclude a bill is counterfeit, don’t hand it back to the person who gave it to you. Contact local law enforcement or the nearest Secret Service field office, which handles these investigations.10United States Secret Service. Counterfeit Investigations
Older $100 Bills From the 1996 Series
Millions of $100 bills from the 1996–2013 series are still in circulation. They don’t have the 3-D ribbon or the inkwell, but they carry their own security features:11U.S. Currency Education Program. $100 Note 1996 to 2013
- A color-shifting “100” in the lower right corner that changes from green to black when tilted.
- A Franklin watermark visible from both sides when held to light.
- An embedded security thread that glows pink under ultraviolet light, imprinted with “USA” and “100.”
- Microprinting reading “USA 100” in the lower left numeral and “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” in the left lapel of Franklin’s coat.
An older bill without the modern ribbon isn’t automatically fake. Check for the features that belong to its series.
Where All Those $100 Bills Actually Are
The $100 dominates U.S. currency by both count and value. As of late 2025, about 19.9 billion $100 notes are in circulation, more than $1 bills (15.2 billion) or $20 bills (11.0 billion), and worth roughly $1.99 trillion.12Federal Reserve Board. Currency in Circulation: Volume That’s about 83% of all U.S. currency outstanding by value.13Federal Reserve Board. Currency in Circulation: Value
Most of those bills aren’t in the United States. Federal Reserve research estimates that nearly 80% of $100 notes are held overseas, where people and institutions use them as a store of value in economies with inflation, political instability, or weak banking.14Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Understanding the Demand for Currency at Home and Abroad That foreign demand is a major reason the Fed keeps printing more $100 bills than any other denomination.
Higher denominations used to exist. The Treasury issued $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 notes, but they were last printed in 1945 and officially discontinued in 1969 because almost nobody used them.15Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Historical Currency The $100 has been the ceiling ever since.
Can a Store Refuse to Take Your $100
Yes. No federal statute requires a private business to accept any particular denomination, or cash at all, as payment for goods and services.16Federal Reserve. Is It Legal for a Business in the United States to Refuse Cash as a Form of Payment The confusion comes from the phrase “legal tender.” Under 31 U.S.C. § 5103, U.S. coins and currency are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5103 – Legal Tender A creditor has to accept cash to settle a debt you already owe. A retail purchase at a register isn’t a debt until the store agrees to the sale, so a merchant can post a “no bills over $20” sign and enforce it. Some state and local laws now require merchants to accept cash for in-person purchases, but coverage varies from place to place.