How To Build a Dollar Bill Collection?
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With 23 different series of dollar bills issued and 12 different Federal Reserve Banks, there are more than 250 different notes that you could collect. Sounds easy right? Not really.
While it’s possible to collect one of each note, it would be a daunting task, so many collectors choose different things to collect. In addition, some of the dollar bills are very old and would be hard to find. But then again, the thrill is in the hunt, isn’t it.
The best way to start your collection is to choose exactly what you want to collect, meaning what type of serial numbers appeal to you, or you could decide to collect only dollar bills printed at very specific Federal Reserve Banks.
For example many collectors collect certain serial numbers. The most popular serial numbers to collect are the very low ones, but in reality, the very high serial numbers are the most rare because not every series reaches a high number. The more rare, the more valuable.
Some collectors look for ladder serial numbers like 12345678 or descending serial numbers like 87654321, while others look for solid or near solid serial numbers such as 11111111 or 222222212. Still other collectors look for serial numbers that repeat like 123123123, binary serial numbers that have only two digits in any combination like 113311133.
You could also collect what are called birthday dollar bills, these are dollar bills whose serial number contains a date, like 1964, etc.
Star notes have an asterisk or star either before or after the serial number. This happens because of production errors. An asterisk is put in place of a number so that the correct count of the dollar bills in a particular serial number run can be produced without having to repeat the serial number.
What type of dollar bills you choose to collect is entirely up to you, but try to be selective with regards to condition and rarity. If you find a dollar bill that appeals to you and it isn’t in the greatest condition, you still may want to add it to your collection until you can find another one in much better condition. How rare a particular dollar bill is may, in some cases, outweigh the overall condition.
What do you look for in your dollar bill collection? Do you look for particular serial numbers or a particular Federal Reserve Bank? Let us know!
Tags: collect, Collection, collectors, dollar bill, serial number, series