Pre-War money (Fallout 76)

For a cross-game overview, see Pre-War money.

Pre-War money is a junk item in Fallout 76.

Background[]

United States dollars (USD) were the pre-War currency of the United States of America.^[1]^[2] Pre-War money appears as a bound stack of banknotes, and is used to represent undisclosed large sums of cash.^[3]^[4] Although the United States and its economy were eliminated in the Great War, automated pre-War vendors such as those at the Sierra Madre Casino & Resort or the Nuka-World amusement park continued to recognize the validity of the dollar.^{[Non-game 1]} Outside of this limited usage, pre-War money is essentially worthless in the wasteland, its value lying entirely in its utility as scrap paper or kindling.^[5]

Characteristics[]

Formerly used as the official currency by the U.S. government, pre-War money has no longer any monetary value in Appalachia and can merely be scrapped for crafting components.

Crafting[]

Pre-War money can be broken down into its individual components for use in crafting:

Locations[]

Commonly found in safes and cash registers.
Commonly found on settler corpses.
Within secure transport containers carried by cargobots. The cargobot at the end of Collision Course contains up to 100.
A varying amount (usually between 40 and 50) can be found in a supply drop during Dropped Connection events.
A stack of 10 to 20 can be found during Back on the Beat at stash M-3 (the bank building) in Morgantown.
Turning in a Pleasant Valley claim ticket with the bellhop at the Pleasant Valley Ski Resort can yield 10-40 as a reward.
Can be reliably looted from contestants in The Most Sensational Game expedition.

Behind the scenes[]

Pre-War money may have been based upon the $20 U.S. "Technicolor" Gold certificate, due to similarities in design.

References[]

↑ 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)
↑ Presidential sub level terminal entries; maintenance department terminal, Log Entry AK197872
↑ G.A.S. prize certificate; second prize
Note: 50 pre-War money is given to the player character by the Mr Prize-bot in this random encounter. As the grand prize is $100,000, this would indicate each stack represents $2,000.
↑ Skylanes smuggling manifest
Note: The hidden compartments in the Skylanes flights both contain 25 pre-War money. As the cargo is described as containing $2,500, this would indicate each stack represents $1,000.
↑ Scavenger: "Damn, no caps! Looks like there is almost 200 dollars in here though. I guess it'll make good kindling."

Non-game

↑ Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Rulebook p.84: "Pre-War money can still be found, but it’s more of a novelty or collector’s item these days. Those stacks and bundles of green banknotes can be traded for a tidy little stack of caps if you know who to sell them to, and there are a few places— often with still-functioning vending machines— which still accept these old notes as money."

[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 terminal entries; maintenance department terminal, Log Entry AK197872

[sweepstakes-3] G.A.S. prize certificate; second prize
Note: 50 pre-War money is given to the player character by the Mr Prize-bot in this random encounter. As the grand prize is $100,000, this would indicate each stack represents $2,000.

[4] Skylanes smuggling manifest
Note: The hidden compartments in the Skylanes flights both contain 25 pre-War money. As the cargo is described as containing $2,500, this would indicate each stack represents $1,000.

[6] Scavenger: "Damn, no caps! Looks like there is almost 200 dollars in here though. I guess it'll make good kindling."

[5] Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Rulebook p.84: "Pre-War money can still be found, but it’s more of a novelty or collector’s item these days. Those stacks and bundles of green banknotes can be traded for a tidy little stack of caps if you know who to sell them to, and there are a few places— often with still-functioning vending machines— which still accept these old notes as money."

[1]