NCR dollar

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"Dollars" redirects here. This page is about the NCR currency. For a overview of currency in all Fallout games, see Currency.
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Game-specific articles
Fallout 2$1 NCR
FO: New VegasCents
$1 NCR
$5 NCR
$20 NCR
$100 NCR
$500 NCR Cut contentIcon cut.png

The NCR dollar, or simply money in Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, is the official currency of the New California Republic.

Background[edit | edit source]

The NCR introduced its own money around the turn of the 22nd century and initially it relied on coins minted from gold. By 2241, the economy of NCR dominated the West Coast and coins became universal currency, used by the three regional powers: NCR, Vault City and New Reno. During this time bottle caps had become worthless in these regions.[1]

During the conflict with the Brotherhood the Republic's gold reserves were destroyed by Brotherhood raids to the point where new gold coins could not be minted and paper money could not be properly backed with gold. NCR citizens panicked and rushed to reclaim the listed face value of currency from NCR's remaining gold reserves. Since the NCR was unable to realize these withdrawals, particularly towards the frontier, faith in their currency considerably dropped. To protect against actual economic collapse, the NCR government abandoned the gold standard and established fiat currency, not payable in specie.[2] Since then many wastelanders lost faith in it as a medium of worth, both as a result of it not being backed by anything but the government's word and the inevitable inflation.[3] In response to the loss of faith, merchant consortiums of the Hub re-established their own currency, the veritable bottle cap, backing it with water (exchanging a standardized measure of water for caps). [4][5]

By 2281, the NCR dollar is valued at about 40% of a water-backed cap[6] and only 10% of a silver Legion denarius. In the Mojave Wasteland, these notes can be seen in the $5, $20, and $100 denominations. The notes are issued by the Republic Reserve Bank located in Angel's Boneyard. In 2281, the current Treasurer of the Republic and head of the NCR Treasury is John Michael Henderton; his signature can be found on the front face of all NCR notes found in the Mojave Wasteland.[7]

Denominations[edit | edit source]

Cents[edit | edit source]

Sub-$1 denominations are used by the Republic, but do not appear in any of the released games for gameplay reasons.[8]

$1[edit | edit source]

Gameplay article:

$1 appears as a gold coin similar to US dollar coins. It is also circulated as a bill, but it does not appear in any games as an item for gameplay reasons.[8]

$5[edit | edit source]

FNV 5$ bill.png
Gameplay article:

$5 appears as a paper bill similar to a US $5 bill. It features a portrait of Aradesh on the face of the bill and a landscape image of the Shady Sands well on the back.

$20[edit | edit source]

FNV 20$ bill.png
Gameplay article:

$20 appears as a paper bill similar to a US $20 bill. It features a portrait of First Ranger Seth on the face of the bill and two pieces of New California Ranger insignias on the back.

$100[edit | edit source]

FNV 100$ bill.png
Gameplay article:

$100 appears as a paper bill similar to a US $100 bill. It features a portrait of President Tandi on the face of the bill, and an image of Tandi addressing a crowd at Dayglow on the back.

$500[edit | edit source]

When post-endgame play for Fallout: New Vegas was being considered, J.E. Sawyer intended to have NCR release a commemorative $500 bill depicting President Aaron Kimball or Chief Hanlon in the event of NCR victory at the dam.[9]


  1. Fallout 2
  6. The Courier: "You don't get paid in caps?"
    Chomps Lewis: "Nope. The NCR's been trying to switch over to using paper money, like in the Pre-War days. Trouble is that the exchange rates ain't exactly fair. For example, a hundred bucks in NCR money is valued at roughly half that in caps around here. Seems like a rotten deal for us, but work is work."
    (Chomps Lewis' dialogue)
  7. Appearance of NCR dollar bills.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Also, there are denominations of currency that we don't show/use in game because there's simply no need (e.g. NCR $1 bills and sub-$1 coinage)." J.E. Sawyer, src
  9. "Side note: in the olden days when we planned to support post-Hoover play, I did want to introduce two new forms of currency in the event that the player supported an NCR or Legion victory: an NCR $500 bill with either President Kimball or Chief Hanlon on it, depending on the ending, and something commemorating the Courier on the back, also a Legion double aureus (worth 200 caps) commemorating the Courier on the back and conquered General Oliver on the front (in the style of Vercingetorix on Roman coins following Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul)." --J.E. Sawyer, src
FNV NCR Flag.png
Fo2 NCR Seal.png