US Banknotes

In the 1970s US $1 bills used the same design as those currently being printed.

There was no 1957 C series of $1 bills, only plain, A, and B.

A star note from one of those three series might retail for around $5 depending on its condition.

Secretary of the Treasury: Fred M. Vinson

US Treasurer: W. A. Julian

Despite the 1935 series date, the "B" subseries was printed during the first Truman Administration. 1935 B $1 bills were issued for exactly one year, from 07/23/1945 to 07/23/1946.

The brown seal should be accompanied by the word HAWAII overprinted in large letters on both sides of the bill. As of 02/2014 its retail value would be in the range $10 to $40 in average to better condition, and $130 or more if uncirculated.

"Hawaii" bills were specially printed during WWII for use in that territory. If the Japanese had invaded the islands, any bills they captured could be easily identified and declared worthless without affecting the US mainland's money supply.

US bills are printed on a special paper made from linen and cotton, as opposed to normal paper which is made from cellulose.

Because there were never any gold certificates valued lower than $10, I assume your question refers to a bill that's been "enhanced" by the addition of gold leaf and other artistic cues.

These are standard $2 bills that are decorated and sold by various private firms as "instant collectibles". To a banknote collector they're considered to be altered or damaged goods and have no added value, but some niche-item collectors may be willing to pay a premium for a well-preserved one in its original case. Generally though the resale market for these items is very poor.

I have a 5 dollar 1981 bill signed by the treasurer. Is this worth anything?

The 1990 series redesign removed all old cars from the reverse-side picture. In addition the image was simplified to show only the Treasury building.

Despite much speculation to the contrary, the Treasury has always maintained that in order to avoid commercialism, the cars shown on the old bills were generic composites and didn't represent any specific brand.

This depends on the condition. If it is circulated, likely face value ($1). If uncirculated anywhere from 3 to 10 dollars or so

It's not usually easy. US bills are dated by "series" rather than when they were printed. Most of the time, but not always, a series starts when there's a new design, a new Secretary of the Treasury, or new Treasurer. That means the bill can't have been printed any earlier than when the change occurred. The problem is that the same series date is used in following years, and sometimes there's an overlap when one series continues to be printed even after the start of a new one.

If the bill is recent, it may be possible to cross-reference its serial number to an approximate printing date. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (moneyfactory.com) maintains sets of tables indicating the dates that a particular range of serial numbers was printed.

No. Many colors were used on silver certificates until colors were standardized in 1928, but purple wasn't among them. You may have a blue-seal bill that's changed color from age or being exposed to some chemical.

Please check your bill again and post a new, separate question. The US didn't print any bills dated 1939

Please post a new, separate question with more details about the suspected misprint. Values can vary greatly depending on the error.

There's no such thing. The U.S. has never printed a $1,000,000 bill.

"D" was the highest series letter for 1934 $10 green-seal bills. You're probably looking at the Federal Reserve district letter rather than the series letter which appears next to the date.

Please see the Related Question for more information.

1957 is a common series for $1 silver certificates. They're generally worth around 2 to 3 dollars, depending on condition.

Some of the best places for buying and selling rare bank notes are The Right Note, US Rare Currency, Rare National Currency, Numismaster, Antique Bank Notes, eBay and many more.

They make pens that detect fake bills, also the paper has small colored fibers.

It depends on what you mean by "old". Thomas Jefferson's picture has been on the US $2 bill since 1918. Earlier bills had pictures of George Washington, Robert Fulton and Samuel Morse, Treasury Secretary William Windom, General Winfield Hancock, and other famour or once-famous political figures.

$500 bills: 1918 series - Justice John Marshall; 1928 & 1934 series - President William McKinley

$1000: 1918 - Alexander Hamilton; 1928 - President Grover Cleveland

$5000: 1918 - President James Madison

$10,000: 1918-1934 - Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase

$100,000: 1934-35 - President Woodrow Wilson (none put in circulation)

The ink is actually brown, not red. There's more information at the Related Question below.

The US didn't print any bills dated 1946. Please check again and post a new, separate question.

They're uncommon in circulation, but not rare. 100 dollar bills tend to be used less than smaller denominations as its often unsafe to carry large numbers of these bills around. Most people who need to spend over $100 will instead use credit cards.

It depends on the extent of the offset. If the entire back image is visible, the bill has no added value. But if part of another bill is showing it's considered to be a sigificant alignment error; you should have it inspected by someone who specializes in error currency.

Unlike bills printed by other countries that have very strict alignment tolerances, US bills (especially older ones) can be offset by as much as a few millimeters and still pass inspection, so long as the image on each side is complete.

The US didn't print any bills dated 1946. Please check again and post a new, separate question.