Expert: Ronald Fern - 11/17/2009

Question
I recently received a $20 bill that appears to be a misprint. It came thru our office and was deposited at our bank. They confiscated it and thought it was counterfeit. It was sent off and then returned to me with a determination that it was NOT counterfeit. The back of the bill has a large block of bluish green transparent ink in just the middle 2/3 thirds of the bill.
Just want to know if it is worth keeping or go ahead and spend it.

I can  attach an image later from home if it would be helpful
Thanks for your help.
Lizabeth

Answer
Hi Lizabeth:

If the bill was returned, then there is a good chance it is not counterfeit. The description you give suggests it to be an over inked plate error.  The reverse ink is green. The value would depend on the condition of the bill, size of the ink smear, if it had a special or unusual serial number. Bills are printed in sheets of 32 notes. There are likely others in your group that may have been printed with a similar error. The ink smear would get lighter as additional sheets were printed, or until the error was caught and the press fixed.

Generally speaking your bill would have a value of approximately $40 to $75 to an interested error collector.

If you have a star note (replacement for original note damaged or not up to quality standards), it could be worth more.

Here's link for you to view different types of error currency and their values.
Link: http://www.coinsite.com/html/uscurrencyerrors.asp

You may want to check US currency listings under errors on eBay from time to time to see what this type of error brings.

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Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.