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The Vault - Fallout Wiki
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For the overview of all forms of currency throughout the Fallout series, see currency.
Icon info
This is a lore summary, presenting intradiegetic or in-universe information about the subject. For game characteristics and similar data, consult the table on the right.
Game-specific articles
Fallout 3Pre-War money
FO: New VegasPre-War money
Fallout 4Pre-War money
Fallout 76Pre-War money
 
Gametitle-FO3Gametitle-FNVGametitle-FNV DMGametitle-FO4Gametitle-fo4nwGametitle-F76
Gametitle-FO3Gametitle-FNVGametitle-FNV DMGametitle-FO4Gametitle-fo4nwGametitle-F76

United States dollars, commonly called pre-War money, were the official currency of the United States of America. They appear as stacks of banknotes of various denominations in Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76.

Background[]

United States dollars (USD) were the pre-War currency of the United States of America.[1][2] The inflation presumably caused by the Resource Wars was severe, leaving banknotes as the primary medium of exchange. Although the Great War eliminated the United States and its economy, reducing stacks of green bills to little more than collector's items and scrap parchment, certain pre-War devices continue to recognize them as valid currency. These are typically limited to areas like the Sierra Madre casino or the Nuka-World amusement park.[3]

Variants[]

Banknotes (green strap)[]

Pre-war money
Gameplay articles:

A stack of pre-War bills, bound with a green band.

Bank notes (red strap)[]

Money Prewar 20151205 19-07-36
Gameplay article:

A stack of pre-War $20 bills, tied together by a red currency strap.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Pre-War money has a variable value in Fallout: New Vegas, modified by the player's Barter skill.
  • High resolution textures for Fallout 4 identify the banknotes as $20 bills. The strap is placed over the portrait, but the design of the bill is a combination of the 1928 $20 small-size Federal Reserve Note (general design) and the 1914 $20 Federal Reserve Note (red seal).
  • Based on the value listed in the Skylanes smuggling manifest, each in-game pre-War money bundle had a value of $100 on October 23, 2077. This is further backed up in Fallout 76, with a random G.A.S. Prize Certificate players can receive, in which $100,000 is given in the form of 100 pre-War money bundles.

See also[]

References

  1. The Courier: "I have a right to know more."
    Robert House: "That's simply not true. I am the only person to hold any rights pertaining to the Chip. I designed it, and I paid for it - dearly. To develop that Chip, I spent a sum of U.S. dollars - not the bottle caps that pass as currency these days - but a sum beyond counting. For decades, I paid salvagers to comb the ruins for it. And when it was finally discovered, tens of thousands of caps spent to have it brought here. We know how that turned out. Complete your contract and it will be the last time I pay for the Chip. Save your questions for then."
    (Robert House's dialogue)
  2. Presidential sub level terminals; Maintenance Department Terminal, Log Entry AK197872: "After debating for a few days, the powers that be have decided to change out the vocal interface on the Xoted Mainframe from male to female. Why? So they can give it a cute acronym and name it "Margot." Then they can trot it around for the press so we can all see where our hard-earned taxpayer dollars went. Wow, what a colossal waste of my time. Now I have to pull the mainframe's circuit array and flush the memory all to get a new voice installed... great, just great"
  3. Gameplay use of pre-War money.
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