Expert: PAPAJACK - 2/21/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have 2 dollar bills my mother saved,but they have a post mark and stamp on them. What does this mean ? Thank you for your help.
janice

ANSWER: Hello Janice,          

I have seen a few of these they are collectable as First Day Covers (FDC’s) and some are valuable.  
What series date are the Two Dollar Notes?
What does the Postal Cancellation on the stamp say?
And what stamp design is on them?

I look forward to hearing from you soon

PapaJack

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The 2 dollar bills have the white house and flag on them.Series date is 1976 and the cancellation stamp says Apr 13 1976. The other have the eagle,1976 Apr 13 1976.Thank you for your help.I also have 3 silver certificates dates 1935D and one 1957A

Answer
Hello again Janice,          

For these $2.00 notes the value is always questionable.

The 1976 $2.00 Federal Reserve Note with out a First Date of Issue Stamp is only collectable in Crisp Un-Circulated grade for about $4.00 except for a couple of replacement notes with a Star in the serial number.

The 1976 US bills are evidently collectable since not that many stayed in circulation. Bills in less than crisp condition get less and in heavily circulated condition trade only at face value.

A lot of these Two Dollar bills with the then NEW DESIGN on the back were Stamped and canceled with the “first day of issue“ for the current Postal stamps that are also issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. Using the new 1976 stamp and canceled by the post office with a cancellation stamp design only used that one day. First Day Cover stamp collectors usually want them but many already have bought themselves one or two. Maybe you can find one collector who needs the particular Post office location cancellation used on your note?  If so they would be likely pay the most for the cancellations you have.

This is a cross-collectable made for stamp and paper money collectors.
Things are still released this way. I was thinking of getting the newest First Day of Issue right from the US Mint.

They are collectable! Some may be a little more collectable than others.  
But the price is still less than $8 or so since they had so many made and now the Bicentennial is more than 30 years ago. They did not sell them all when they were issued and the rest went at a discount.

The one you have should sell at a higher value in the future but it may be far in the future.


The silver certificates are common dates and sell according to how worn they are.
Most circulated only get a dollar or two over the face value but I can check for you with a bit more information.

What denominations are they? ($1, $5 or $10)
Are any printed with a STAR “*” in the serial number?
How crisp are the notes?

I hope this information Helps!

Good Luck

PapaJack