What Are the Odds Of Finding A Silver Certificate in Circulation?

Hey guys what are the odds of Finding Silver Certificates in Circulation? Post Some Pictures of the Ones you Found in Circulation? How often do you Find them? Out of how much money do you find them (Ex: 1 Silver Certificate dollar bill in $1000)?

 

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A guy at my LCS gave me one in change once. He knew.

 

I work at a bank and have never come across one in 8 years

 

They are out there.
When people realize that most of them carry no premium, it's off to the corner store with them.

 

Before joining the site here two months ago, I would also have thought they were "collectors only" and not even legal tender any more!



One like mine I think could be easily overlooked as being "something different" since it carries so much wear.

Rob

 

All US paper money remains legal tender. It just can no longer be exchanged for silver or gold.

 

I *might* consider trading a 1923 Peace Dollar for a 1923 Silver Certificate.

And I'd definitely trade five 1923 Peace Dollars for a 1923 $5 Porthole Silver Certificate.

 

I got a $1 blue seal and a $2 red seal from the bank once. They had them aside and saved them for me.

 

My brother got an entire $50 stack of uncirculated ones at the bank last year.

 

I've never gotten one in change, but I remember reading something about a guy in Kuwait who got a '57 in change there.

 

I've received plenty of red $2's at the bank, but never a silver $1.

 

i use to get them all the time when i was a teller. this was a few years back

 

Even though its worn its awesome.

 

that's awesome!

 

I worked at a bank for about a year back in 2007-08 as a teller and then as the vault teller. I think I saw 10 or so in that time.

 

I got one really beat up one in change back in 2004.


But these are all anecdotal stories, none of these address the 'odds' of finding one in circulation. And I doubt you will ever find out what the odds are. Now if you are asking if there are some in circulation, I would say yes there are, and you may at some point, if you are looking find yourself the recipient of one. But I wouldn't say there are any 'odds' attached to it. Any time that you have more years go between now and the time a piece of money was issued, it becomes more problematic in finding some in circulation, but the odds are much better that you will come across something you would not expect to find and be very pleased with it. Whether it is a particular coin or a coin that is in great condition that should not be circulating as such right now (witness the 1955 d lincoln cent I got yesterday in a roll of pennies.... it is approximately a MS-63 RD. There is no way that anyone can say what the odds are of finding a 1950s lincoln cent in uncirculated condition in change or in a regular roll of cents --- i.e., one that is mixed with mostly current years (say the last 10-20 years) because no studies have been done and also even if studies are done on what people have found, you would be limited to conditions at the time and unusual circumstances.

But keep looking. I happen to be looking for a number of coins and occasionally one does pop up. One of my criteria for coins I want are coins that are pre-1970 in MS state, preferably MS63 or above. Occasionally I do find some.

 

FWIW, I use the 1957 (I think that's the series) ones to pay for stuff at McDonalds occasionally. It's like how the bank refused a $5 FRN on a deposit once. I told the teller I'd take it and gave her a $5 standard note. I went across the street to Jack in the Box and spent the FRN.

If we're going to guess at odds, it's probably 1 per $50000-$100000. (One in five hundred to thousand stacks.)

 

"What are the odds" is a question that I don't believe can be answered by someone. It also varies by location.

 

Similar to the odds of getting a double fizzbin.