Most Expensive Piece of Paper Currency: 1890 United States Small Seal $1000 Treasury Note

Price: $3,290,000

This piece, the only copy in private hands, is referred to as the “Grand Watermelon” design due to the unusual resemblance of the zeroes on the reverse of the note to watermelons. The piece was such an unusual issue when printed, numbering less than 200 original pieces, that the selection of historical figures to put on the front of the bill was limited from Presidents and Founding Fathers to U.S. Civil War general George Meade, commanding officer of the victorious Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, but a figure that was constantly overshadowed by the General in Chief, and future President, Ulysses S. Grant. The note’s rarity, high denomination, and condition grade led to the record-setting sale by Heritage Auctions in early 2014.