Expert: Brad Swain - 12/6/2009

Question
Hi, I have a $20 bill and neither side is vertically centered. The back side is only slightly hi, with about 1/8" top clearance and about 3/8 on the bottom. The front is worse. The print is right at the top of the paper, and so the bottom print is about .25" from the edge. Does this sound like a printing error, or is it just odd but 'normal'? Thank you

Answer
Hi Bob, if the colored part of the note is not affected it probably does not have any extra collector value. Error value depends on date, type and extent of the error as well as amount of folds or wear and collector demand. This may be worth about $10 or more.
You might try the following Paper Money Errors links:
http://coinsite.com/html/USCurrencyErrors.asp
http://www.usmintquarters.com/currencyerrors.htm
You may also find similar pieces on Ebay.com for comparison.
You might take it by a local coin shop for a first hand opinion: http://find.mapmuse.com/interest/coin_dealers .
Brad