Spend or sell these dollar bills?

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In this post I answer a few reader questions on specific dollar bills with their errors and serial numbers …

Spend or sell these dollar bills?First off:  Thank you for reading!  I'm glad you're here!

With tens of thousands of blogs hitting the web every single day, I appreciate you visiting mine!

I've received a few reader questions on dollar bill errors and fancy serial numbers.  They've asked me about the value of what they have.

I'm not at all qualified to say what these kinds of things are worth, but I can say what I'd try to do if the same bill showed up in my wallet.

The great news is that each of these dollar bills is worth at least a dollar.  The not-so-great news is that some of them may be worth just a dollar.

Currency error: Slight miscut

Reader James sent me this picture of a dollar bill with a slight horizontal miscut.  The bottom bill is the one he was asking about:

Dollar bill with a slight miscut

(I can only assume that the bottom of the bill isn't cut off, but that's where the picture ended.)

I give him props for noticing the misalignment of the field. I'm sure that I've spent lots of bills like this without even noticing!

Nonetheless, I'd probably just spend this bill.  Looking on eBay with Sold Listings checked there were a few miscut bills that sold, but they were miscut worse than this one.  Additionally, some of them had misalignment of some of the elements on the bill (like the seal was way off of where it should be).  Adding to this that the bill has creases and has the general appearance of being circulated, I wouldn't try to sell it.

Fancy serial number: Sixes and nines

Reader Cheryl asked about this potential fancy serial number:

Hello. I found a repeater and I am wondering if it’s valuable?  B09626960F  Thanks!

I don't have a picture of the bill, so I can only assume it's circulated.

If I got this bill, I'd at least take a second look at it.  There are a lot of round-ish numbers in there.

Calling it a repeater might be a stretch — but looking at what sells on eBay for fancy serial numbers it might be worth a shot.  It does have more symmetry than a lot of numbers, and 96 and 0 have the advantage that they looks the same if you turn them upside-down.  The serial number starts and ends with zero, and 96 is in there twice. There is a set of three two-digit numbers that end in 6.

If I had a few hours to invest I might try to write a story about the bill and sell it on eBay along with some other bills.

Fancy serial number: Paired off

 

I received an email from (another) James about this:

I have a dollar bill with a serial number of 44119966.  Is it worth anything?

Again, I don't have a picture of the bill, so I can only assume it's circulated.

If I ran across this bill I'd definitely try to sell it.  Recent auctions on eBay for similar circulated bills have gone for between $5 and $10.

So, yeah, I'd give this one a shot!

Have any dollar bills or serial numbers you want to know about?

Just comment below and I'll reply!  (Or contact me if you need to get a picture to me!)

34 thoughts on “Spend or sell these dollar bills?”

  1. The treasury sells full sheets of money. I can cut them right down the middle and produce a crazy looking “error.” I wonder if it would sell for big bucks?

    I have two bills that are interesting. One has serial number 10101010. I found it in 2010.

    The other, the first 7 digits are the phone number belonging to a neighbor about a mile away. I noticed the serial number started with our 3 digit exchange, and looked up the full number to see if it was a good phone number.

    Reply
    • Hey there JT!

      If you know your neighbor s/he may get a kick out of it but if it’s otherwise nondescript then it may not be worth more than a buck.

      The 10101010, however, is a different story altogether.

      This serial number has two desirable qualities for collectors. It’s called a “true binary” because it’s nothing but zeroes and ones. And, it’s also what’s called a “super repeater” because it has a two-digit number four times. Definitely don’t just spend that one! 😉

      Reply
  2. I was chagrined to have some new singles and fives and decided to intersperse worn bills in my wallet to make them easier to handle at purchase. Then I found that “one” of the singles was actually 3 horizontally connected singles. Am pretty sure I got all at the bank, and in fact the fives with them are normal but sequential serials as you’d expect. Top one has what looks like an ink smudge and a 2 – 3/8″ smaller horizontally. Also they have some handwritten 3s in some top and bottom borders. Real and error? Or counterfeit? But who fakes singles? Thanks for any help even to tell me they’re fake!

    Reply
  3. I have 2 $100 dollar bills, I also have 5 sequential star notes
    One has 11100101
    The other 33990220
    The star notes 19503658-19503662
    Was wondering if they can be worth something? Thanks

    Reply
  4. I have a 100 dollar bill that is all 1’s and 4’s it’s a 2013 but is in pretty pristine condition is it worth more

    Reply
  5. John I have a $1 bill serial numbers don’t look right to me it’s a 2006 D has seems bigger numbers than others. Would like to send you pics to look at an see what you think of it.

    Reply
  6. I have a few numbers I’d like some feedback on.
    $1 bills:
    B 55777060 H,
    L 03679998 P,
    B 32676564 G,
    E 47765556 B,
    $5 bill: MH 30515095 B
    All circulated but in decent condition

    Reply
  7. Hello. I work at a gas station and a dollar store and have traded for a lot of bills and coins. I’ve looked up quite a few star notes and all of them have said that they weren’t rare at all, until last night I found one that said very rare. It’s a $1 from 2017 with this serial number- I 00179767*. It’s pretty crispy and unworn. I also found a $10 from 2013 that’s in decent shape with the serial number- MF18855881E. What do you think these might be worth? And what would be the best way to sell them and maybe some of the other currency that I’ve accumulated?

    Reply
  8. John,
    I have two $1 bills that I was wondering about, first is a trinary number with a pair, quad, pair – 44888833 and the second is a near repeater star note – 08190219….what is your opinion of the bills? I also bought your ebook (which contained a lot of helpful information) but I couldn’t find anything in reference to the pair, quad, pair number, very interesting to me but unsure of its nature of rarity.

    Reply
    • Hi Angie, and thank you! 🙂

      I sent back a detailed email on the first bill (since you also purchased an analysis). There are a lot of kinds of bills that sell; there really is a lively market for these bills!

      As for your second bill, it’s a star note, which is cool but in most cases not rare. If you hadn’t told me that the number was a near-repeater, I might not have seen it as that. That’s an indication that the serial isn’t terribly fancy. It’s a bit like a good joke vs. a not-so-good joke. If you have to explain the joke, it’s not that good. 🙂

      Hope to see you over at the Cool Serial group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoolSerial

      Reply

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