got this in change yesterday, not sure if this is considered an error with a larger margin on one side
Because they made so many, and because when they stopped making them so many people, and not just collectors, held on to them ("These will be worth a lot of money some day!"), they carry very little premium today unless they are in crisp uncirculated condition. The wider margin means that it was not quite centered when it was printed, which detracts from its value. A crisp, perfectly centered bill would have more attraction for most collectors. Ironically, if it were just a little more poorly centered, so that some of the printed part were off the edge and some of the next bill on the sheet were showing, it would be considered an error and people would pay more for it. Nevertheless, it is a super cool find in circulation, and I, too, would be excited to find one and hang on to it. After all, "it will be worth a lot of money some day!"
Too bad it's all crumpled up. A nice specimen is around $3. This one is prob around $1.25. But a nice circulation find. As for the larger margin, if you can see the edge of the next note, then it's an error.
$1 Silver Certificate, Issue 1935-E, L/H Block $3 in Very Fine condition and yours is well below that grade. A keeper for interest purposes only.
That is amazing that you got that note in change from a cash register. It is not likely that something like that will happen to you again for a very long time. Great Job!!! As far the error question goes, it is considered an "Off-Center" note, because the margin on the right side is much larger the the margin on the left side. The bottom margin is also slightly larger the than the top margin, which is quite common any time there is an "Off-Center" issue with a note. The 1935E Silver Cert. note was the 2nd highest production note, 5,134,056,000, with only the 1935A producing more, 6,111,832,000, in the 1935 series. As far as the value and rarity goes for this note though, in it's current condition, (which is how most of these are found), the value goes up very little, but the rarity factor is much higher. All notes are selectively inspected on a regular basis, by a team of BEP inspectors, for multiple levels of errors that can occur during the printing process. This is how we see the different sales of uncut full sheets, half sheets, etc, and the installation of the Star Notes, for replacements of the selected notes pulled for inspection. There are so many different types of errors that have been found on all types of notes, and unfortunately, I'll have to say that the error note you hold is probably the most common of all errors known to exist. However, for the amount of notes produced by the BEP, and the countermeasures in place to prevent errors, to receive ANY error note, IMO, is worth keeping. I hope this helped you out in some small way.
I replied to your post earlier, but actually forgot to do it under the, "Reply to Post" heading. Sorry
Could you post a picture of the back side. If it is off by the same amount it would be a cutting "error". If the reverse is centered it would be a printing "error". I put the word error in quotes because this small un-centering is such a common occurrence it may still be within the BEP guidelines.
Nice catch in the wild - I would keep it in my "circulated" collection and imagine whose hands it has passed through. Just want to mention this, since it was brought up in one of the responses: if you actively look for "miss cuts" with parts of 2 bills showing, you must look at the serial number. The BEP intentionally prints full sheets of bills for sale (my brother has one framed & it is quite nice) to the public. However all these sheet bills have serial numbers starting with 2 nines (ie, "99xxxxxx). So if you find a "miss cut" that has a "99xxxxxx" serial number, it is a real bill, but a FAKE miss cut. People have been running this scam because the unknowing will pay a significant premium for what they think is genuine. Btw, been reading CoinTalk for about 4 years now, but just joined today. Love this site!
You're right about using uncut sheets to make "cutting Error", but anything with a number starting at 96 through 99 would also be from an uncut sheet as well. I think the BEP started doing uncut sheets starting with the 1981 series
Never realized that. I have a page of 32 $2 bills from 2000, just checked them and they are 99xxxxxx. Good to know, thanks
I work in retail and I find bills like this a lot. Not as much in the last year but previously I found them a lot. Usually in not great shape but 2 weeks ago I got one that looks to be close to uncirculated condition. One is so bad (top right) that it is held together with packing tape, but I still had to take it just because! Before I started most people working there didn't think anything about them and they would be given out for change. Now they hold on to them for me because they know I collect them. It is sad because most of these bills, and silver coins, or proofs, come in to buy a pack of cigarettes. Still a great find, always keep a look out! 2 days ago the change machine dropped out the customers change and I could hear the "clink", then again when he dropped it into his pocket. I told him and offered to buy it from him but he said no, he collects them.
