Two Matching $1 Bills Could Net You $150,000 — How It Works and Your Odds
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Nicole Spector
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Cory Dudak
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Every year, billions of dollars worth of U.S. currency are printed and engraved. In turn, once in a blue moon, something goes awry and there’s a misprinting. This happened in July 2016 when the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing sent a request to its Fort Worth facility to print a batch of dollar bills — the exact same request it had sent to its Washington DC facility in November 2014.
As a result, there are 6.4 million dollars out there with duplicate serial numbers (each serial number should be unique). Because these dollars are the consequence of a rare mistake, they’re worth far, far more than face value (but it’s worth noting that there are billions of dollars in circulation, making your odds of finding two matches incredibly slim).
Here’s what to look for in one dollar bills:
- The Series date positioned on the far right of the photograph of George Washington reads “Series 2013”
- The bill has a “B” Federal Reserve Seal above the serial number which is located also to the right of the photo of Washington
- The serial number ends with a star (*) and falls between B00000001*-B00250000* or B03200001*-B09600000*
If you happen upon one of these unique dollar bills, alas, you’re only halfway to triumph. You will then need to find one of the other matching misprinted dollar bills that is floating somewhere out there in the world in order to have a valuable possession — worth between $20,000 and $150,000, depending on the condition of the bills and the serial number, according to Wealthy Nickel.
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