They've been intriguing me for 2 years now lol. Good luck with that... You'll pull 15 other series old style $20's before you get a '95 haha. But whatever you do get, if you feel like it, share it.
Going through one of my recent cash payments for a job I did, I noticed I had some old $100's in the mix. Not having dealt with many of these in my time I was, at first, suspicious. I am aware of recent trends in paper money printing to avoid counterfeit copies being made and do not see any such measures on these particular bills I have. The reason I'm posting in this thread is that they are all bills from the 1980s. 1981, 1981 A, and a 1985 Series $100. My first thought was "Ah crap, I got scammed." But then, being that I know nothing of older $100s, I figured I should do some research before dismissing these as fakes. After jumping around on the internet I can't seem to find a place to go where I can find out if these are genuine or not. I could post some pictures of the bills if necessary. Here's hoping someone here knows a thing or two about 1980 series $100s.
Look for any blue or red fibers enbedded in them. These fibers would be hard and tough to find. These $100's wouldn't have any strip or any face or anything like that because that was only adopted on the pos-series 1990 bills. Most likely, they are genuine, but who knows. Really, I'd have to see pictures of them to see if they are fake or not. Are they like brand new or do they look like they have a few miles on them?
As for condition, two of them are in fairly good condition. 1985 has a single crease. 1981A has about 4 creases, and the 1981 looks like it spent a bit more time in circulation. I'll snap some pictures and load 'em up. As for the red and blue fibers. Do they look like small strings kinda smashed into the paper? If so, I think I see them. Regardless, I'll post some pics when I get em. Thanks for the help!
Welcome to the forum, Noivous. A couple of things come to mind, to check to see if your 1980's series $100's are genuine. The first is to check the paper. If the paper has little red and blue fibers embedded in it, and scattered throughout the note, than chances are, your note is real. When doing this, a magnifying glass does help, but is not necessary. Also, I've found using a flashlight to find these fibers, on notes that are very dirty, or worn, will help you spot them, easier. Notes printed before series 1990, do not have things like watermarks, or security ribbons, and these tiny security fibers, were really the only way to check authenticity, before those features came out. The second thing you can do, is log onto www.uspapermoney.info and check the serial numbers. You can also check the to make sure that the signatures match up with the series date. Sometimes, depending on how much a counterfeiter pays attention to detail, things like this can be overlooked. The above mentioned site is also helpful for finding out how many of a particular note has been printed, which doesn't do much for checking authenticity, but is kind of neat info to have, to see if you have a scarce note, or not. The last thing you can do, is just go down to your bank, and ask them if it is real. Chances are, they will have at least one seasoned teller around, who can help you out. Again, welcome, and I hope this helps. -Jason.
Exactly what I said lol except for going to the bank to have it checked and checking out the serial number at USPaperMoney.Info. More than likely, if you can see the blue and red fibers embedded in them, they are in fact genuine. As I said before though, it is possible that I may be able to spot something in the pictures you post right away such as discoloration, signatures and Series year not matching (yes, this is a common counterfeiter mistake), etc. I have example of both 1981A and 1985 $100's. Let me kow if you'd like me to post picures.
I'm terrible with putting in pictures and links so I just threw all the pictures in a Flickr set. Don't mind the coin though. That's for a different thread. http://www.flickr.com/photos/17763181@N00/sets/72157627857071753/
Sorry about that, Travis. I didn't mean to essentially repeat what you said word for word. Guess I should have checked the replies first! Oh well, my bad. :smile Anyway, Noivous, based on your photos, I have to agree that your $100's are legit. So, no need to worry.
I did get a near-mint 1988A G-C $1 in change from a grocery store this summer. I search through several hundred $1s every few days, and have turned up only a handful from the 80s. Nothing particularly collectible. I ask tellers for oldstyle $5-and-up bills on a regular basis, and they very rarely have them. Sometimes an interesting new-style bill catches my eye as I watch them go through their piles. Even if not particularly collectible, I still take them. (though I did pass on a 1981 $100 in bad shape) * Less confusing to the tellers I'm asking. * Sometimes get a nominal premium or at least face value plus postage. * As a WheresGeorge user, I sometimes enter/mark/spend stuff like that
So, a little bit of bad news here.... Wife helped herself to the $100 bills on my desk for her Costco run. My apologies to any collectors out there. I only found out after the fact when I brought them up to her one day in the car. She replied with, "Oh those, I spent those at Costco today." *stunned silence* Whut? *facepalm* I never got to checking the serials for scarcity, but it's all moot now. Thank you all for your help.
I've found a few 1988A's myself, and they have all been from Chicago, as well. The block letters for mine were G-P, G-T, and G-X. I kept the G-P note, and spent the others, as it was the best one condition wise, out of the bunch. No problem, Noivous. Sorry to hear this Sounds like you need to invest in a safe! Have a good one. :smile
I got my first $1 1981A LD today. I have been on the lookout for one for a while and I was happy to find my first today. Just one more $1 series that I have for my collection. It's weird that I have found plenty of 1981's and 1985's but only one 1981A. Has anybody out there found any '81As in circulation.
I've found a couple of '81A's in circ, but they are always in rotten condition. How's the one that you found? Is it nice?
This is what I've found this year for $1 1981As: 1981A-3 (A-B, B-E, L-E) 2010: 0 2009: 1 (J-A) in nearly mint CU condition from a bank in Colorado. That's out of around 54,000 singles searched from those three years combined. I didn't realize how few 1981As I've found until I checked my stats just now. Two days ago I was at a restaurant in Death Valley and this guy had several singles out and as I was walking by his table I saw a 1981 or 1981A Boston note but I am not sure which. If I hadn't had such poor success at buying notes from random people in the public I would have asked to buy it from him.
I do know that is it nice enough for me to consider part of my collection, which doesn't say too much because my standards are definetly lower than one would expect. I'd say it would grade anywhere from VG-F. I'm by no means a pro grader. I wish I could post pictures but I am having minor techinical difficulties...
This actually reminds me of the only time I've ever bought a note off of a complete stranger, in public. I was in line at the grocery store self checkout, and the guy in front of me was trying to pay with a small head $10. He kept trying to put it in the bill acceptor, but the machine wouldn't accept it, and kept spitting it out. After this going on a few times, I asked him if he'd like to try a newer $10, and bought the small head off of him with a newer colorized note. When I got out to my car, I took a look at my new acquisition , and it turned out to be a (very circulated) series 1950A. This note now lives in my collection. :smile
