$5000 (Five Thousand Dollars) with Self-Portrait, 2001

This rare, high denomination banknote features an engraved portrait of J.S.G. Boggs by Thomas Hipschen, official portrait engraver for the US Bureau of Engraving & Printing. The steel plate was produced in 1997 and allowed Boggs to incorporate his own portrait into banknotes to create what he called ‘Boggs Bills’. It was his dream that the latter would become an official currency one day. Around this time, Boggs’ legal fees from his Supreme Court appeals hearings were due, and he considered using this digital note as payment for the services he received.