[sharkhawk]

They're fake the largest government bearer bonds are in $1,000,000.00 denominations. http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/InPerson/MajorPerson/t-bills.htm. Most Treasury bonds are book entry and don't have a physical bond to back them up. The days of little old ladies clipping coupons and taking them to the bank are long over.

I actually had 7 of these come across my desk a few years ago, people want to use them for collateral on loans. My guess is these Japanese gentleman were actually North Koreans, and they were trying to deposit them in Kim's swiss accounts. It's amazing how many bankers will fall for such an obvious scam.

[FromLori]

I was wondering myself if it could have been North Koreans

[Ken H]

The High Cost of Debt: Very-High-Denomination Treasury Notes and U.S. Treasury Debt Management, 1955-1969 

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For most of their history after World War II, Treasury notes have been issued with denominations never rising above a high of $1 million.  Yet, from 1955 to 1969, the Treasury issued Treasury notes with the added denominations of $100 million and $500 million.

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http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:dn-l4TULb_sJ:www.ehs.org.uk/ehs/conference2005/Assets/NollFullPaper.doc+bonds+denominations+%22%24500+million%22&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a