"I have such and such note. What is it worth?" isthe most common question I get in emails and comments. It's extremely difficult to answer because there are many factors to consider. Luckily it is not impossible to put in some time and effort to research on your own.
Option 1: Reference Books
Reference books condense the knowledge and expertise of collectors with dozens of years of experience. Yours for the price of $15 to $35. Put bluntly, if you don't want to learn or do any research of your own, this is your best option.
Every currency collector should own at least one reference book - they are the simplestwayto get an idea of yournote's value. They typically break down note values by note type, denomination, series, and FRB/block letter (or star note). All you need to do is find the right page! Books will give you a value range for a variety of conditions. Find the one that best matches your note and voila- your question is answered.
Recommended Reference Books
- Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money
- A Guide Book of United States Paper Money
- The Standard Guide To Small-Size US Paper Money 1928 To Date
- Paper Money of the United States
Get more details about these reference books here.
Reference Book Shortcomings
The values shown in reference books are referred to as "book value." The term implies caution: real world values don't always match theoretical book values. Modern series and print runs can also be missing. Paper money is printed every day and every month, but reference books are printed every few years.
Option 2: Online Auction Results
The best place to find a "real world" value for your note is to look in the...real world. Where is that? The two best sources I know of are eBay and Heritage Auctions.
eBay
Usingebay's advanced searchyou can search the "Coins and Paper Money Category" for your specific note to find similar active listings. You can include past auctions by checking"Sold listings" and "Completed Listings." This willgive you a lot of information to consume:
- How many similar notes to yours have been listed and sold
- How much they soldfor
- If theywent unsold, what price does the market consider too high
Heritage Auctions
Heritageallowscollectors search their auction archives to seethe prices that notes sold for. (If the link above doesn't work, go https://currency.ha.com and click on "All Sold.") Guests can search the archives but you must be a registered collector to see the final prices. Creating an account is completely freeso there's not reason not to join. Being able to access the 500,000+ sold item prices is extremely useful.
Search Tips
When searching ebay and HeritageAuctions, it is crucialto compare apples to apples. You must find the most similar notes as possible to get a good estimate of your note's value.
- Note condition is critical. How does yours compare to the ones you see in the searches? Values go down considerablyfrom uncirculated to circulated.
- Serial numbers too. Notes from different FRB's or star note runs can have drastically different values.
- When did the auction end? The more recent the auction completed, the more relevant the result is.
OnlineAuction Result Limitations
Searching auction archives is extremely powerful, but there still are some limitations. For example: a new star note run was printed and it is extremely rare. There won't be anyauctions to compare against to estimate value. Another example: you found an misprinted note with a fancy serial number. It's so unique that there aren't any similar auctions.
Option 3: Local Currency/Coin Dealer
If you have a localcoin/currency dealer, theycould be a good resource for getting value estimatesfor notes that are too new forbooks and too unique for auctions. They buy and sell every day and likely have seen a note similar to yours somewhere at some time.
Currency dealers always try tobuy low and sell high. They needto make a profit tocover theirstore's rent, expenses, wages, etc. There's nothing wrong with that, but keep it in mind. I wouldn't recommend walking into a currency/coin shop and blindly selling my note for the first offer. You should dosome research on your own (see options 1 and 2) and/or get a second opinion from a different dealer.
Option 4: Visit Currency Forums
Visiting currency collecting forums is a great way to absorb knowledge. People discuss various notes, values, and auction results all the time.
In Summary
- Reference books will get youto within avalue range with the least effort, but are limited to older, less unique notes.
- Lookingatonline auction archivescanreveal real-world pricing and supply of notes similar to yours. Searchingthe archives takes time, effort,and some experience to understand.
- Your local currency dealer buys and sells currency for a living. They likelyhave a decent sense for what your note is worth, but they're looking to make a profitas well.
Still don't know what it's worth? List it on ebay and you'll find out.
