1935 Silver Certificate Value: 1935 to 1935H, Stars and R and S

A 1935 $1 silver certificate is worth about $2-5 in circulated condition and roughly $8-30 crisp uncirculated, as of October 2026, whichever series letter from 1935 to 1935H it carries. The exceptions are the World War II notes: a brown seal 1935A HAWAII note or a yellow seal 1935A North Africa note sells for about $30-80 worn, the 1935A red R and S experimental notes start near $80, and a handful of star notes start at $35 to well over $1,000.

Billions of 1935 series dollars were printed and many were saved, so a plain blue seal note is common and should be priced as such. The series letter, a star, an overprint or a red letter on the face is what turns one into something worth sorting out.

Quick answer

• 1935 to 1935H blue seal, circulated: about $2-5. Crisp uncirculated: about $8-30.
• Star notes: $3-15 for most letters, but the plain 1935 star starts near $35 and the 1935B star near $16.
• 1935A HAWAII brown seal: about $30-75 worn, roughly $125-300 uncirculated. Star from about $120.
• 1935A North Africa yellow seal: about $40-80 worn, roughly $125-300 uncirculated. Star from about $130.
• 1935A red R or S experimental: about $80-250 worn, roughly $300-700 choice uncirculated. Stars from about $1,050-1,400.

How do you identify and value a 1935 silver certificate, step by step?

Read the series letter, check the seal color, look for a star or a red letter, then grade the paper.

1. Confirm it is a 1935 silver certificate. It is a small size $1 with a blue Treasury seal on the right, blue serial numbers and SILVER CERTIFICATE across the top. SERIES 1935, with or without a letter, is printed to the right of Washington.
2. Read the series letter. It runs from no letter through A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. Each letter marks a new pair of Treasury signatures or a design change. Write it down exactly.
3. Check the seal color. Blue is the regular note. Brown with HAWAII on the face and back is the Hawaii emergency note. Yellow with blue serial numbers is the North Africa note. Both are Series 1935A.
4. Look for a red R or S. On a handful of 1935A notes a large red letter R or S is printed on the face, to the right of the seal and serial area. These are the 1944 paper experiment notes.
5. Look for a star. A star at the start or end of the serial number marks a replacement note.
6. On 1935D, check the back. 1935D comes with a wide and a narrow back design; the narrow one is about a sixteenth of an inch narrower. Lay it next to a 1935C or 1957 note to compare.
7. On 1935G, check the back for the motto. Some 1935G notes carry IN GOD WE TRUST on the back, and they are scarcer than those without.
8. Grade it. No folds, sharp corners and original paper means uncirculated. A single fold or handling takes it out of that tier, and most notes found in drawers are circulated.

What are 1935 silver certificates worth by series letter?

Values as of October 2026. The low end follows the lowest values in the Greysheet and Friedberg price guide (CPG); the uncirculated column is for choice notes, not gems.

At the very top, gem uncirculated notes graded 66 to 68 by PMG or PCGS Banknote sell for more; the price guide lists top values of a few hundred dollars for most letters and higher for the plain 1935 and the 1935A. Those prices need a graded note, not a crisp-looking one.

What are the Hawaii, North Africa and R and S notes worth?

These are the 1935 series notes most worth a second look, and all three are Series 1935A.

The Hawaii notes were issued after the attack on Pearl Harbor, so the currency on the islands could be declared worthless if they were captured. The North Africa notes, with their yellow seal, were issued to troops in the North Africa and Sicily campaigns for the same reason. Both were printed in large numbers and saved by soldiers and families, which keeps worn ones affordable.

The R and S notes are the true rarities of the series. In 1944 the Treasury tested two kinds of paper: R for regular paper and S for special paper. Each run was 1,184,000 notes, the R notes in the serial range S70884001C to S72068000C and the S notes in S73884001C to S75068000C. The test was dropped, the notes were spent like any other dollar, and few were saved. A red R or S outside those ranges is a sign of a fake added to an ordinary note.

A worked example

Say you find five blue seal dollars in a parent's coin album. Four are Series 1935D, 1935E, 1935F and 1957, all folded. Those are $1.50-4 each. The fifth is a crisp 1935A with no folds and a large red R on the face. You check the serial: S71 million and a C suffix, inside the R range. That note is worth roughly $300-700 in choice uncirculated condition as of October 2026, more if it grades as a gem, which is enough to justify grading by PMG or PCGS Banknote before selling. If the same R note had been folded and worn, it would still be an $80-250 note, which is why checking every 1935A face for a red letter pays.

Common mistakes

• Treating the date as rarity. Nearly every 1935 series dollar is common. Age alone adds little.
• Trying to redeem it for silver. That ended on June 24, 1968. The note is still legal tender for one dollar, and our guide to silver certificate dollar value explains the history.
• Missing the series letter. The plain 1935 and the 1935G with motto are worth more than the other letters; both are easy to overlook.
• Assuming every star is valuable. Most 1935 series stars are $3-15 notes. The plain 1935 star and the R and S stars are the exceptions. Our guide to star notes value explains how to judge a star.
• Believing a painted R or S. Check the serial range before getting excited.
• Calling a folded note uncirculated. One fold takes it out of the top tier.
• Confusing it with a 1957 note. The 1957 series has IN GOD WE TRUST on the back of every note and different signatures; our guide to 1957 silver certificate value covers it.

How WorthPic reads 1935 silver certificate photos

WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From a photo of a 1935 note it reads the series letter and signatures, the seal color, any HAWAII overprint, red R or S, star and serial number, and checks an R or S serial against the known range. It estimates a grade range from folds, corners and paper and gives an honest value range with a most likely figure. What it cannot know from a photo is whether a crisp-looking note was pressed, whether a fold has been flattened, or the exact width of a 1935D back without a reference beside it, and it says so and asks for the photo that would settle it. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise; for R and S notes, rare stars and possible gems, a grading service settles it.

What to photograph

• The full face flat in daylight with both serial numbers and the series letter readable.
• The full back, which shows the HAWAII overprint, the motto on 1935G and the design width on 1935D.
• A close-up of the serial number, for stars and for the R and S range.
• The note tilted under a lamp to show folds in raking light.
• For a 1935D, the back laid next to another small size dollar with a ruler.

When should you get it looked at in person?

For the rest of a stack of old bills, our guide to old dollar bills worth money sorts seal colors and older types.

Sources

• Greysheet: Silver Certificates, Small Size: Friedberg numbers and CPG value ranges for every 1935 series letter, stars and the R and S notes.
• Greysheet: WWII Emergency Issues, Hawaii: Fr. 2300 and star value ranges.
• Greysheet: WWII Emergency Issues, North Africa: Fr. 2306 and star value ranges.
• CoinWeek: The red R dollar: the 1944 paper test, the two runs of 1,184,000 notes and the R and S serial ranges.
• Wikipedia: Silver certificate (United States): series history and the end of silver redemption in 1968.