Hello, I was wondering if there are any modern bills that are worth more than face. I do keep all star notes and any with interesting serial numbers. But is there specific letters or any others that are worth keeping? Thanks!
Often it's not obvious until later that a current note is going to be a premium note. I believe there are some scarce runs in recent $100's, but I don't know if that means they'll wind up worth more.
There are indeed many modern bills that are worth more than face, be that 1x, 2x or several times face value. Are you talking US, World or both? Do you have any in mind that you are interested in knowing more about?
I am most interested in US $1 bills. I get to look through hundreds of them a week, so I was wondering if there was anything special I could look for (at a quick glance), besides interseting serial numbers or star notes.
Well, condition will determine much of any value if you are searching circulated notes. If they are clean new straps from the bank you could do well to cherrypick fancy serial numbers: repeaters, ladders, solids, low SNs, radar, binary notes. Error notes, those with printing misalignments and missing elements, seriously smeared or over-inked plates can fetch big money too. The greater the error the greater the value could be if authenticated, there are many fakes out there so be careful with errors. Peruse CT for error note threads too. Stars are going to fetch more in many cases, dependent upon condition, then rarity. The values differ based on the Federal Reserve District the note is printed for, so in some cases the same series star from all but one district may be low value, a couple times face but then one district like a Series 1981-A Dallas star note will book price between $475-$1,250 while others in the same district are put at $5 each. Same for a Series 1985 St. Louis star note, book price between $475-$1,350. $1 Series 1988-A Web Press Notes worth looking for: Webpressnotes.com/Web Notes Info A recent CT thread: Web Press / Fed Notes You might want to pick up a copy of Coin World's other publication Paper Money Values for a quick reference guide to note value ranges. Otherwise I advise watching completed auctions on eBay and Heritage along with the guide books: • A Guide Book of United States Paper Money 2nd Ed. (Official Red Book) by Friedberg • Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money - 1928-Date 9th Ed. by Schwartz/Lindquist There are other books too and they will give you very complete details to discern what is 'valued' or rare about one Series of note over another and from one district run to the next within Series of notes. All about printages and more: uspapermoney.info/ (work by CT member NUMBERS) All about star notes and more: mycurrencycollection.com/reference/stars (work by CT member MAGMAN)
Notes current in the 1980's are unlikely to be circulating now. Even 100's from that era have been actively withdrawn for many years. But yeah, if you're a strap monkey, there are certain serial numbers you can cherry pick, providing they weren't already picked by an ape.
Unlikely is untrue. Notes from the 1980s are out there. The printages of FRNs are huge and the odds are good that you will come across some if diligently searching for them. There are also notes from much earlier Series yet in circulation. Only recently I found a Series 1969-C $5 note (Boston district - A) in change for a small transaction in a convenience store. Strap stackers report finding silver certificates, red seal $2s and $5s... stuff is out there, it's just that the condition will be below AU in most cases if found in circulation. Certainly we are not alone in searching and picking notes so it can seem like a challenge and what you find will likely make you want to give up when you learn what values could be in higher grades. gbroke: Don't give up on searching if you have a nice source to sort through like that!
I've had a hand in the till since the late 1970's. I have the only $1 1981 mule/non-mule/mule triplet I've ever seen. I have a $20 1977 with a strong offset over half the back. I have a $50 1969B star note (F+). I got those notes and more out of my register. I'm sure similar finds await you today.
Thanks guys, exactly what I wanted to know. My wife is a bartender so thats the source of my searching. She doesn't change up her singles to higher denominations. So I get to look through a couple hundred a day. Now I have something to look for, thanks! I always keep the lowest serial number I can find, and all star notes. The lowest I found is 00079137. I know it's not worth more than face, but it's by far the lowest I have found. Also, just wanted to add, I have only found 3 star notes in the last 12 months. 2 came in just the last two weeks.
