Expert: Ronald Fern - 2/8/2010

Question
I have a $10 bill which has the entire front image shifted upward, so that there's almost no margin on the top.  It's a 2004 series A.  Does it have any collector value?

Answer
Hi James:

Thanks for your question.

Condition would be the prime factor in determining the value of your piece. Based on your description, you have an error that happened on the first printing operation. Bills are printed in sheets of 32 notes and in three phases. Obverse print, reverse print, and serial numbers with seals print. It is likely the entire sheet was mis-aligned during the face printing. Your sheet, with the face printing out of alignment, went unnoticed through the back printing and on to the final printing where the serial numbers and seals were applied.  When the bills were cut, your error note happened. There are likely others in your group that may have been printed with a similar error.

Generally speaking, an individual bill in crisp Uncirculated condition like yours would have a value of approximately $20 to $30 to an interested error collector. Bills in circulated condition would be worth less, and highly circulated notes would likely be worth only face value.

Here's a link for currency grading: http://www.cganotes.com/

Here's a link with information on FRN's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Note
Here's a link for $10 bills: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_ten-dollar_bill

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.

If you live near a coin shop, I'd suggest you let them look at the note. Most dealers will offer an opinion as to the authenticity and value at no charge.

If you should decide to sell your bill to a dealer, remember they will offer about 50% to 60% of the retail value. You should always get two or more estimates, and try and deal with PNG (Professional Numismatists Guild) dealers when possible. I'll list the link for you to check dealers near you.

To find a PNG dealer, see Link: http://www.pngdealers.com/dealersearch.php

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.