Genuine misprinted money is worth approximately $20-100 for minor errors and several hundred to several thousand dollars for dramatic ones, but most bills that look misprinted are not errors at all. Ink stains from a pen, color from the wash, rubber stamps, cuts made with scissors and folds after printing are damage, and they make a bill worth face value at most. A real error happened inside the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, before the note was cut and released, and it leaves evidence that is hard to fake: printing that sits under or over other printing in the wrong order, paper that was folded before it was printed on, or an edge cut by the factory blade in the wrong place. The size and drama of the error, on a crisp note, decides the price.
Quick answer
- Small ink smears and slightly off center cuts are worth $5-50 over face. Big, clear errors such as missing prints, inverted overprints and mismatched serials bring $100-1,000 or more.
- Look for: a fault that follows the printing process, such as a seal and serial number upside down, a fold that leaves unprinted paper, or a different serial on each side.
- It is worth more when the error is large, obvious from across a room, on a crisp note, and on a higher denomination or a star note.
How to check yours, step by step
- Know the three print stages. US notes are printed in three passes: the back (green), then the face (black), then the overprint with the seals, serial numbers and district letter. Many errors are one of these passes missing, shifted, doubled or upside down. Knowing the order lets you judge if an error is possible.
- Look at the seals and serial numbers first. If the green treasury seal and the serial numbers are upside down relative to the portrait, that is an inverted third print. If they are missing entirely, it is a missing third print. If the two serial numbers on the front differ, it is a mismatched serial.
- Look for a mirror image on the front or back. A faint reversed copy of the back design on the face (or the face on the back) is an offset transfer, caused by a sheet going through the press without paper and the next note picking up ink from the roller.
- Hold the note to the light and look for white lines. A thin unprinted line running through the design, often diagonal, with a crease along it, is a gutter fold: the paper was folded during printing and later opened out.
- Check the margins. A note with one wide margin and one thin, or a sliver of the next note showing along an edge, is a cutting or alignment error. Compare the borders with a normal bill.
- Compare the face and back denominations. A $1 face with a $20 back, or the reverse, is a double denomination note. These are among the rarest errors.
- Rule out damage before anything else. Ink that sits on top of the paper, smudged in a direction a finger moved, color that bleeds into the paper fibers, holes, tears and stamps are all post release.
What each error type is worth
Values for $1 notes in crisp, lightly circulated condition. Higher denominations and star notes carry a premium, and heavily worn notes bring much less.
| Error type | What you see | Typical value |
|---|---|---|
| Ink smear (minor) | A band of ink across part of the note, from the press | $5-30 |
| Insufficient ink, faded print | Part of the design pale or missing | $20-150 |
| Board break or plate crack | Thin lines or blank patches in part of the design | $20-75 |
| Misaligned cut, minor | Uneven borders, design touching an edge | $10-50 |
| Misaligned cut, major | Part of the next note visible on the edge | $100-500 |
| Gutter fold | Unprinted line through the design, from a fold | $25-200 by size |
| Offset transfer, partial | Faint mirror image of the other side | $50-250 |
| Offset transfer, full and strong | Complete clear mirror image | $200-1,000 |
| Third print shifted | Seals and serials moved into the portrait | $50-500 by distance |
| Inverted third print | Seals and serials upside down | $100-1,000 |
| Missing third print | No seals and no serial numbers | $100-800 |
| Mismatched serial numbers | The two serials differ in one or more digits | $100-1,000 |
| Foldover with extra paper | Paper folded before cutting, with a flap or tab | $300-3,000 |
| Missing face or back print | One side blank | $300-2,000 |
| Double denomination | Face and back from different denominations | several thousand to tens of thousands |
How errors compare to damage and fakes
| What you have | Error or damage | How to tell |
|---|---|---|
| Ink line across a note | Either | Press ink sits evenly and crisply, often under the overprint. Pen ink sits on top, with pressure marks |
| Color faded or tinted | Damage | Bleach, washing and sun fade the whole note unevenly, often with soft paper |
| Missing seals or serials | Either | A genuine missing print shows no trace of the green ink. Chemically removed ink leaves a ghost, stains or thin paper |
| Uneven margins | Either | A factory cut is straight and clean on all sides. A scissor trim is wavy or the note is smaller than standard size |
| Mismatched serial | Either | Genuine digits are evenly inked and aligned. Altered digits look heavier, misaligned or scraped |
| Stamps, messages, red ink | Damage | Rubber stamps and handwriting were added after release |
| Fold with blank line | Either | A gutter fold has the crease inside the unprinted line; a later fold has print on both sides of it |
Faked errors exist because real ones sell. The most common are bills soaked to remove the green overprint, notes trimmed to fake a cutting error and "mismatched" serials with digits altered by hand. Higher value errors are worth buying or selling only in a grader's holder for this reason.
A worked example
Say a $1 bill from change has the green treasury seal sitting partly over Washington's portrait and the right serial number running into the border. Step one, the seal and serial belong to the third print. Step two, the portrait and border belong to the second print. Because the green overprint sits crisply on top of the black design and both serials share the same shift, this is a shifted third print, not damage. Step three, measure the shift: the seal overlapping the portrait by a quarter of its width is a moderate shift. Step four, condition: one center fold, otherwise crisp.
Conclusion: a genuine shifted third print error in nice circulated condition, worth roughly $50-150. If the seal sat fully inside the portrait, the range would move up toward $200-500. If the same shift appeared on a star note, both ranges would rise again. If the serial digits also differed from each other, it would be a combination error, and combinations bring more than either error alone. A note like this is borderline for grading; the decision depends on whether the shift is large enough to push it over about $100.
Why big errors are rare now
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing inspects sheets by machine and destroys most faulty ones, replacing them with star notes. That is why a dramatic error escaping into circulation is scarce, and why errors from the 1970s and earlier are more common than recent ones. Modern errors that get out are often found in sequential packs straight from a bank, so collectors who find one will check neighboring serial numbers too.
How PMG grades errors
PMG and PCGS Banknote both grade error notes and describe the error on the label, such as "Inverted Third Print" or "Gutter Fold Error." The label also gives a numeric grade from 1 to 70 and, at PMG, the EPQ designation (Exceptional Paper Quality) for notes that have not been pressed, washed or repaired. For error notes the label description is what buyers search for, and it settles the question of whether the error is genuine, which is the main doubt on any raw error note. A graded error in high grade can sell for two to three times a raw one.
Common mistakes
- Calling a pen line, coffee stain or rubber stamp an error. Anything added after printing is damage.
- Treating a fancy serial number as a misprint. It is a different field, covered in the star notes guide and the old dollar bills guide.
- Assuming a slightly off center note is valuable. Minor shifts are common and add little.
- Cleaning, pressing or flattening an error note. It lowers the grade and can hide evidence that the error is genuine.
- Spending a bill with a mismatched serial or missing print. These turn up in everyday change and are easy to miss.
- Pricing a raw note from a graded sale, or a $1 error from a $100 error sale.
- Missing the star. An error on a star note is far scarcer than the same error on a regular note.
Coin errors follow similar logic but a different process; error coins worth money covers those.
What to photograph
- The full front and full back, flat, in even daylight, with nothing touching the note.
- A close-up of the error area, sharp enough to see whether ink sits on top of or under the other printing.
- Both serial numbers in one frame, close up.
- The note held up to a light, to show folds, thin spots and any bleaching.
- All four edges next to a normal bill of the same denomination, to compare size and margins.
When to get it looked at in person
Any error that looks worth more than about $100 should go to PMG or PCGS Banknote before it is sold. Standard fees are roughly $25-80 per note, with higher tiers for high values, and the turnaround is a few weeks. The holder, error description and grade make the note sellable to buyers who cannot see it in hand.
For a quick opinion first, a paper money dealer at a coin shop or show can tell damage from error in a minute. Error note specialists and the currency sections of major auctions, such as Heritage, handle the dramatic pieces. For small ink smears and minor shifts, grading costs more than the error adds, so these sell raw.