Expert: Ronald Fern - 11/15/2009

Question
I have been cleaning out my grandmothers house and i have found my grandfathers coin and paper money collection. i have found several silver certificate. i have 2 one dollars bills series 1935a and then series e,gf,. then several 5 dollars 1934 . then i have sereral  2 dollar bills. then 1928 10 bill then 1928 50 bill. Are they worth anything. Thanks Renee

Answer
Hi  Renee:

A lot depends on your notes condition as well as the federal reserve branch the notes were issued for. You need to properly grade the notes and identify which branch the notes are from. In addition, the star notes, designated with a "*" at the beginning of the serial number, are worth more. The (*) becomes a part of the serial number as a replacement note with the same serial numbers that was damaged or did not meet quality specifications when first printed.

Federal Reserve Branches - Prior to Series 1996, each Federal Reserve Note bears a regional seal at the left of the portrait. This seal, printed in black, bears the name of the issuing Federal Reserve Bank and the letter (A through L) designating the Federal Reserve district in which that bank is located. On notes of the 1950 series and later, the black Federal Reserve regional seal is smaller than earlier designs and is surrounded by sharp points. Starting with the 1996 series Federal Reserve notes, a new universal seal represents the entire Federal Reserve system. A letter and number below the upper left serial number identifies the issuing Federal Reserve Bank.

A recent issue of "Paper Money Values" shows your 1935A $1 Silver Certificate in very good condition to have a retail value of $2 and $5 in extra fine condition. The star notes have a value of $6 in very good condition.  An extra fine note has a value of $60. The 1935E, F and G $1 Silver Certificate in very good condition to have a retail value of $2.50 and $3.50 in extra fine condition. The star notes have a value of $4 in very good condition.  An extra fine note has a value of $10. The 1935 G star note is worth $5 to $22 in the very good to extra fine condition.

Your 1934 $5 note in very good condition to extra fine has a retail value of $11 to $14. You didn't say what date or series the $2 are, so I cannot give you a value. As far as the $10 and $50 bills,  I could not find a 1928. I did find a 1929, but I need to know if the bills are National Bank Notes or Federal Reserve Notes. You can ask a follow up question by providing me with the additional information.

Remember, should you decide to sell your notes to get at least two estimates from established currency dealers. You can find then listed at link: http://www.rarecurrency.net/ Dealers will normally pay 50% to 60% of retail for notes they are interested in.

For determining the grade of your notes as well as some other interesting facts on paper money, see link: http://www.littletoncoin.com/LCC/html/features/pdf/How_to_Collect_Paper_Money.pd...

For more information on currency, see link: http://www.secretservice.gov/money_characteristics.shtml

Please remember to go to the experts site to rate this answer. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.