I work at a bank and we get brand new bills in from Loomis all the time, freshly wrapped in plastic. I usually look at the serial number range to see if there will be anything good in the pack. Sometimes I can get close. I almost got a 98765432, but I was one pack short. Some other bank got it. I think it was a $1. The other day I checked $120k in $20's, and the only good one was 08000000. When I cut open the pack, both 07999999 and 08000000 were replaced with some out of sequence star notes. Odd they were the ones that were gone. Still fun to search all the denominations each week as they come in. I am still learning about what to search for. So many different kinds of fancy serial numbers out there.
So you told about the ones you missed, how about the ones you found and kept? Got anything good? Photos?
Only recently been looking, so not much. Just a pair of consecutive repeaters so far. Lots more near misses.
It comes in bricks of $20k, and it lists the beginning serial number on the sticker on the pack. Easy to see what you have without breaking into them.
Serials ending in 9999 and 0000 are nearly always replaced by stars. The BEP pulls those two sheets to check the quality of the printing. Every now and then they miss them and the 9999 and 0000 notes reach circulation, but that's rare. At least, that's been true for the past thirty-some years. In older series, roughly from the '70s on back, finding 9999 and 0000 endings isn't especially uncommon. And recently we've found that in printings serialled on the BEP's new LEPE lines, the 9999 and 0000 notes generally *do* get into circulation. (So far, LEPE has only been used for some 2009 $1's and all 2013 $1's, but it's expected to be used for other denominations eventually.)
I visited the BEP in DC on Friday (nice tour!) and I think I saw the press you are talking about. I cannot remember which press it was but I watched an employee take a sheet of 20's that had been through the 1st printing, fold it in quarters, and use it to wipe his forehead. He then held up a card for everyone to see that said I love my job. True Story - we all laughed!
