Expert: Ronald Fern - 2/4/2010

Question
Hey i found a dollar bill that on the back it looks double stamped and the face of george washingtion comes all the way trough to the back of the dollar bill. i was wondering how much it was worth?

Answer
Hi Kristin:

Thanks for your question.

You did not state the date and series or your dollar bill. The condition as well as the strength of the wet ink transfer would be factors in determining the value of your piece. I'll answer the best I can, but I would like to have you e-mail photos, if you can, and I'll revise or add to my answer in your follow-up question. It's tough for me to estimate a value without a photo or actually seeing your note.

Bills are printed in sheets of 32 notes and in three phases. Obverse print, reverse print, and serial numbers with seals print. In this case, the separation sheet of paper or perhaps a sheet of printed bills, without the reverse printing, was mis-fed, and not on top of the sheet where your bills were going through the reverse printing. The result is the wet ink transfer on the bills over the prior printed fronts. 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 $150 to $250 to an interested error collector. Circulated bills would go for anywhere from $25 to $75, depending on condition and strength of wet ink transfer. If your bill is crisp uncirculated, you'd likely get a better price by having the bill professionally graded and put up for sale in a major auction.

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

Currency auction link: http://currency.ha.com/c/index.zx

Here's a link with information on FRN's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Note
Here's a link for $1 bills: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_one-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.

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Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.