Check your currency for errors
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I got a bit of a bonanza at the credit union today. I’ve been in the habit of asking for funny money when I go there mainly because it’s fun to spend money that’s a little unusual. Today I was able to withdraw a substantial number of $2 bills and a substantial number of half dollars.
As the teller was counting them out I could see that there weren’t any red-seal $2 bills, but they’re still neat to spend. Since I didn’t really know too much about what kinds of currency errors were out there, I checked on eBay to see what people were selling. Here’s what I found in the way of currency errors:
- Misalignment errors when cutting. Normal notes have an even border around the engraved picture on the front and back. Sometimes the cutting gets off alignment, and you’ll have uneven borders, a chopped-off design, or even part of the next note’s picture on it.
- Misalignment in one of the printings. The green seal that overlaps the spelled-out denomination to the right of the portrait on the front, as well as the serial numbers on the bills, are applied in the third printing. (The first and second are back and front, I believe.) If this printing is misaligned, the seal will be off-center, or the serial numbers will overlap some other part of the bill’s design. (One of the 1976 $2 bills I got has a misaligned seal.)
- Miscut bills. Have you ever gotten a magazine in which your had to tear apart some of the pages because they weren’t cut perfectly? Some notes come out that way. There might be an extra flap on one corner of the bill.
- Ink smears. Just like what it sounds: black ink applied during the printing process gets loose on the bill.
- Printing on the wrong side. Sometimes the seal and serial number are printed on the reverse rather than the obverse.
- Gutter folds or butterfly folds. If the note gets a fold in it during the printing process, part of the note’s design will be offset from the other part. Gutter folds go from one side of the note to the other, and butterfly folds go from one side to a perpendicular side.
- Light or missing design. If the application of the front printing is poor, the seal and serial numbers will stand out more than normal.
- Mismatched series. The letter in the black seal and the letter preceding the upper right and lower left serial numbers should all be the same. Sometimes they’re not.
There’s a fair bit of interest in currency errors so check your wallet to see if you have some extra cash hiding in there!
5 Responses to “Check your currency for errors”
By jody on Aug 2, 2010 | Reply
I hav a 10$ bill from an atm in 1988 .front of bill normal back of bill is missing half of the print on top of back of bill
By jody on Aug 2, 2010 | Reply
I hav a 10$ bill from an atm in 1988 .front of bill normal back of bill is missing half of the print on top of back of bill.. what is it worth
By Mike - Saving Money Today on Mar 29, 2011 | Reply
So are these currency errors more valuable due to their scarcity? I know baseball card errors used to have inflated values too.
Imagine getting a $10 bill from the supermarket and finding out it was worth far more than that because of a printing error!
By Adrian McCluskey on Apr 13, 2011 | Reply
Mike says
“Imagine getting a $10 bill from the supermarket and finding out it was worth far more than that because of a printing error!”
Heck yes! A nice surprise to get but how do you cash in? Is eBay the place to sell your money?
cheers
By Walt gibson on Sep 14, 2011 | Reply
Old dollar bills are without the slogan “in go we trust”