Check Your Bill: Is Your US Bill Rare? Free Guide

Read the series, seal, signatures and serial number of a US bill, learn what makes some of them rare, and send us yours. Most bills are worth face value. Some are not.

Free for everyone. Subscribers get priority — and a chance to see their bill on our channel.
We can't authenticate a bill from photos. This is general information, not an appraisal.

What this is

A free guide, one page per denomination. Each page explains the bill types and series, how to read the markings, what drives value, and where to check real sales. We reconstruct the facts from catalogs, Treasury and Federal Reserve data and archives, not from price lists.

We are not buyers and we do not run an auction or a buying funnel. Prices on these pages are always approximate, never an appraisal, and shown only when we can point to a recorded sale.

How it works

1. LookOpen your denomination page and run the five-point quick check: series, seal, star, serial number, condition.
2. PhotographTake a front and a back photo using the four rules below.
3. SendSend the photos with the form. We write back by email with what the markings tell us. Your bill may also appear in a video on our channel, with your permission.

How to photograph your bill

Use this map to find what we need to see. The example is a Series 1957 $1 Silver Certificate. The numbers match the list underneath.

Example: Series 1957 $1 Silver Certificate (Fr. 1619), face only. Smithsonian National Numismatic Collection scan, public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Shown at about 165% of life size, one side only, in line with 31 CFR 411.1.

Example: Series 1957 $1 Silver Certificate (Fr. 1619). Two enlarged fragments of the face, one side only, each shown at well over 150% of life size (31 CFR 411.1). Smithsonian National Numismatic Collection scan, public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Series year. Printed to the right of the portrait on this example (1957). A letter after the year (1957A, 1957B) marks a change of signatures or design.
Seal. The Treasury seal sits to the right of the portrait; here it is blue, which marks a Silver Certificate. A Federal Reserve Note has a green Treasury seal at right and a Federal Reserve Bank seal with a district letter to the left of the portrait. This example is a Silver Certificate, so it has no Federal Reserve Bank seal.
Serial number. Printed twice. Standard format: letter, eight digits, letter.
Star position. On a star note the final letter is replaced by a star (★).
Signatures. Treasurer of the United States at left, Secretary of the Treasury at right. On this note: Priest and Anderson.

Four rules for a good photo

Flat and darkLay the bill flat on a plain dark surface, photographed straight from above.
Both sidesTake two separate photos: the front and the back. Not folded, not overlapping.
Daylight, no flashUse soft daylight near a window. Flash hides the print and paper detail.
Whole edge in frameAll four edges and corners must be visible, with a little dark margin around the bill.

Do not clean, press, iron or tape a bill before photographing it. We can't authenticate a bill from photos. For authentication and grading, use a third-party service such as PMG or PCGS Banknote.

Pick your denomination

$1Guide is live $2Guide soon · send yours now $100Guide soon · send yours now $20Guide soon · send yours now

Guides for $2, $100 and $20 are on the way. Any US bill — including $5, $10, $50 and older notes — can be sent with the form below today.

From the channel

How America Really Prints Its Money (documentary, 21 min) and His Fake Dollars Spelled Washington Wrong. 10 Years Free (documentary, 20 min).

Check your bill: what is it, and is it worth more than face value?