Saturday, January 15, 2022

What are all those different numbers on U.S. Currency?

 


Every day when you handle currency, you probably pay the most attention to the numbers in the four corners in the front and back which indicate the bill’s denomination. There are other numbers found on currency that we’ll review in this post.

Denomination

The denomination is also spelled out on the front and back. With denominations, five dollars and higher, there will also be field of small cluster of “05”s, “10”s etc. found on either the front or the back. With the five, the cluster is found on the front, left of Lincoln’s head. With the twenty, the cluster is found on the back, left and right of the White House. For those with exception near vision or with the aid of a magnifying glass, the denomination is also microprinted in various locations as a security feature. Some examples of the microprint are in the security thread (can be viewed when held up to light) and other locations depending on the denomination such as “20 USA 20” found between Jackson’s shoulder and the signature of the Treasurer of the United States. Bills of denomination five and higher, have a security watermark. With the five, it is a large 5 on the right-hand side; with the twenty, the watermark is a portrait of Jackson on the right-hand side. The locations of some of these features are shown below.


Serial Number

The serial number of U.S. currency is printed twice on the front. It consists of one or two letters, followed by eight numbers and ending in a final letter. See my prior posts about the eight-digit serial numbers. If the bill has two leading letters, the first letter corresponds to the “series” of the currency – the series is also listed just right of the portrait, near the signature of the Secretary of the Treasury. When the bill’s serial number has only one leading letter, the letter corresponds to one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks (this would be the second letter on newer bills having serial numbers beginning with two letters). In the example note shown above, the letter N corresponds to the 2017 Series and the letter L corresponds to the 12th Federal Reserve Bank - San Francisco. Older notes would list the bank by name left of the portrait, but newer notes use a common United States Federal Reserve System symbol left without listed the specific bank of the portrait. On the front of the bill, there should also be number printed two to four times that matches the Federal Reserve Bank serial number letter designation – 1 for A, 2 for B, etc. Newer bills, this number is also found with a repeat of the corresponding letter, for instance A1, B2…L12.

 

Plate numbers

Modern currency is not printed one bill at a time, but in sheets of 32 or more. Each note’s position on the sheet is designated a small letter and number. The plate position designation is found on the left-hand side (G3 in the above example). For the sheets of 32, the sheet is divided into four quadrants designated by the numbers 1 through 4 and the position within the quadrant is denoted by the letters A through G. The plates that print the bills are also serialized. Their number is printed on the right-hand side and consists of letters and numbers (FW G 3 in the example). In slightly larger font, the plate position letter designation is repeated in the middle of the plate serial number (G in the example). The back of the bill will also have a plate serial number and is typically just a one-, two- or three-digit number.

Star numbers

My favorite find is a bill that has a serial number ending in a star instead of a letter. The star notes are used when a bill is removed from a printing run because it was misprinted, damaged or otherwise did not meet quality standards. When the bill is removed, the physical count of bills for that run no longer reconciles with the serial numbers. Re-printing the removed bill is too costly, so it is replaced with a star note. The star notes serial number will be different than its neighbors. I have found star notes in multiple denominations. A sample is shown below. 

Here are some excellent resources for learning more about U.S. currency:

The United States Bureau of Printing and Engraving.

Further information on currency serial numbers.

Evaluate the value of potential rare currency.


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