How to find lowest known serial number

I have occasionally seen statements made here on CT that a serial number is the lowest known.
Is there a site where this information is stored and can be referenced? Thanks.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Personally, I use the Standard Guide to Small-Size US Paper Money (Schwartz/Lindquist) 10th Edition.

 

Thanks, Steve. I'll have to get a copy.

 

I use the Track & Price currency census - it lists all "known" serial numbers. However, the word "known" should be used with a grain of salt. Known notes only include some auction histories and 3rd party grading records. It will not include many raw/ungraded notes and newly discovered notes.

In fact, the majority of the notes that I own are not listed in any census - even the graded ones.

 

Check this out.

 

Thanks, Funkee. I'll look into it. I do know not to take that info as gospel, though. There are always unknowns.

Clay, all I can say is WOW! Is that info from Track and Price?

 

It's fro[FONT=Veranda, sans-serif]m Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money 1928 to Date by John Schwartz and Scott Lindquist. [/FONT]

 

Thanks, Clay. Steve told me about that one yesterday. I'm going to get a copy. I don't know if I'll go out or get it through mail order, but I hope to have it this week. The Track and Price web site is a little pricey for the small number of notes I have.

 

I have 2 bills that I've been meaning to report to those books as the lowest/highest S/N's seen. How do I report them?

 

Scott's Email address is: scott@scottlindquist.com

 

Thank you Clay! :thumb:

 

OK, I have a copy of the standard guide 10th. It gives the range of numbers printed, but not the numbers still known to exist. Can someone tell my how to find the lowest/highest serials known to still exist?

 

What series are you looking at? For older notes, the S&L book gives the low/high reported serials, because official serial data on some older series doesn't exist. For more recent series, they generally give the official data. If you're talking about something common like a modern FRN, there are going to be so many in existence that nobody's keeping track.... If you've got something intermediate, not too old but not too common, like maybe a 1966 $100, then you *might* be able to find somebody who's been keeping a census of that particular series. But in many cases, it appears that nobody has compiled such data. (I'd really like to get my hands on a census of 1963-1995 $5-$100 FRN stars, but it seems that nobody actively records these things, and I've already got too many ongoing projects to start that one. There are still a number of mysteries in the serialling of the FRN stars in the '60s, '70s, and '80s, many of which would be easily resolved with a good large data set....)

 

Thanks, Numbers, and everyone else that helped with my question.

 

In 1976, a woman went to the San Francisco Federal Reserve and got two of the Bicentennial $2 FRN's. She placed them in an envelope where they remained until 2-3 years ago. They were given to her grandson (but I can't remember if it was a gift or part of his inheritance). Anyway, the serial numbers on those two $2 FRN's were 00000001 & 00000002. They were auctioned off by one of the major houses, and "01" sold for about $29,000 and "02" for $9,000 (if my memory serves me right).

Chris

 

Chris-
Neat story. It's always cool to hear about the stories of notes like that.:yes:

-Trav

 

Thanks!

Unfortunately, my maternal grandmother wouldn't have been able to do something like that. I'm one of 52 grandchildren.

Chris

 

All I can say is WOW!

Again, all I can say is WOW!