Find out the value of your money serial number and go on a treasure hunt inside your wallet.
Do you want to pay in cash? You may want to take a quick look at your banknotes before using them for your next purchase. If your money has a “fancy” serial number, it may actually be worth more than its face value.
All U.S. banknotes have a year of issue and an eight-digit serial number.
The series year indicates the year in which the new design was approved by the Secretary of the Treasury or the signature of a new Secretary of the Treasury or Treasurer was added to the design. If there has been a major change in the appearance of the banknote, a letter following the series year will appear.
The serial number appears twice on every banknote and usually begins with a letter and is 10 or sometimes 11 characters long. Currency collectors may be willing to pay big bucks if the serial numbers on the banknotes are unique, interesting, or in some way “flashy.”
Generally, $1 bills with fancy serial numbers are the most profitable because they have a lower face value. But it’s definitely worth looking through all the banknotes because you never know what you’ll find.
Which serial numbers of your currency are considered valuable?
Below are the different types of serial numbers that can increase the value of your banknotes.
1. Low serial number
The lower the serial number, the more valuable the currency is to collectors. Banknotes with very low serial numbers, such as less than 100 (00000100) or 1,000 (00001000), can be worth a lot of money.
2. High serial number
Some collectors seek out banknotes with higher serial numbers, but because they are in smaller numbers in circulation, they can be even more prized than banknotes with lower serial numbers. Notes marked 99999900 or higher are especially valuable.
3.Fippers
A serial number that can be read from either side (such as 06800890) is known as a “flipper.”
4. Repeater & Super Repeater
Repeated strings of numbers (such as 14714714) can increase the serial number value. Two-digit repeating numbers (such as 89898989) are called super repeaters and are even more valuable.
5. Solids and semi-solids
A solid serial number is one in which all digits are the same, such as 11111111. These banknotes are so rare that even near solids (different by just one digit), like 11181111, may be valuable.
6. Binary, true binary, trinary
Banknotes whose serial numbers contain only two different digits (such as 37377337) are “binary banknotes.” A nearly solid serial number is also binary because it contains only two digits. True binary banknotes contain only ones and zeros, similar to machine code.
Ternary banknotes (banknotes containing only three unique digits) are also relatively rare.
7. Ladder and nearby ladder
If the serial numbers are in ascending or descending numerical order (such as 12345678 or 87654321), it is called a “ladder.” If one or two digits are off, it is called a “near ladder.” These can also be valuable, but they are less valuable than real ladders.
8. Palindrome
Palindromic serial numbers, also known as “radar,” can be read the same way forward and backward, like the word “radar.” A “super radar” is a binary banknote in which only the last two digits differ from the central digit (for example, 35555553).
9. Doubles
Serial numbers that contain a pair of numbers, such as 43458867, are called “double.” The most valuable type of Double is the “Quad Double.” This is a serial number with four sets of doubles (for example, 44887755).
10. Double quad
Unlike a Quad Double (confusing, right?!), a Double Quad has two sets of four identical numbers. Serial number 22229999 is an example of a Double Quad.
11. Bookend
A serial number with the same two or three digits on each end is called a bookend. A three-digit bookend like 31256312 is worth more than a two-digit bookend like 31256531.
12. Continuous
If you have two or more consecutive serial numbers (such as 12031644 and 12031645) on different invoices, they may be valuable. Sequential serial numbers are available at any bank, so it’s not all that uncommon, but it could be interesting if you also fall into another category on this list.
13. Star Note
When a bill is printed to replace another bill with a printing error, the Mint replaces the last letter of the serial number with a star. Because currency printing errors are relatively rare, there are only a small number of Star banknotes in circulation.
14. Birthdays and other special occasions
Some collectors are looking for numbers that include a specific year or date. This could be a birthday, anniversary, or a date of historical significance. For example, 06132019 may be of value to someone with a child born on June 13, 2019.
Serial numbers that include just a special year may also be popular, such as 10401976 or 10912009.
How to determine the value of your money using dollar bill serial number lookup:
If you think you have a piece of currency with a fancy serial number on it, there are websites where you can search for the serial number online.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the serial number on the one dollar bill I had in my wallet. None of it looked very cool to my untrained eye, but this was confirmed by the Fancy Serial Number Checker I used.
However, there is a $1 bill with serial number 42428828 that received a whopping 98.3% score on the Universal Coolness Index and was certified as “Very Cool!”
According to MyCurrencyCollection.com, here’s why this serial number is “so cool”:
All numbers in 42428828 are powers of 2. Only 0.070% of 8-digit numbers have this property. Contains 2 triples and 1 pair. Only 0.20% of 8-digit numbers have this combination. All numbers in 42428828 are even numbers. Only 0.39% of 8-digit numbers have this property. There are three unique numbers. 0.71% of 8-digit numbers have three or fewer unique digits.
If you find a banknote that scores high on the coolness index, you might be able to sell it to a collector. Keep in mind that there are many other factors to consider when estimating the value of a banknote.
Other factors to consider when finding out the value of a money serial number:
The value of banknotes largely depends on their condition. The value of notes in circulation drops significantly, so if you have a slightly used note like mine, you probably won’t be able to get top dollar for it, even if it has a really good serial number.
In addition to a banknote’s condition, other markings such as the year of issue, series identifier, and Federal Reserve Bank identifier can also affect the currency’s value to collectors.
Still have doubts about the value of banknotes?
If you’re new to the world of fancy serial numbers, knowing the exact value of your currency can be difficult. Like most collectibles, it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
A good way to find out the potential value of your notes is to check out online auction sites like eBay and Heritage Auctions. There you can see the final sale price of similar banknotes.
If you have questions about a particular bill, you can also ask them on currency forums like Coin Talk or Reddit’s r/papermoney. Talking to local currency dealers and collectors can also be very beneficial.
If you would like to try any of the dollar bill serial number lookups mentioned in this post, let us know in the comments section below. Let us know if you’ve found a great serial number.
You can make money in other unexpected ways.
