Guides

How star notes, print runs, serials, fancy patterns, and seal colors work. Written for collectors, and free to read.

• What a star note isA star note is a replacement. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing prints it when a sheet is spoiled, and the serial ends in a star instead of a letter.Read
• How the rarity score worksThe score comes from the size of the Bureau run that contains the serial. It is not a price and it is not a grade.Read
• How to read a serialA modern U.S. serial is a prefix, eight digits, and a suffix. The suffix is a letter on a regular note and a star on a replacement.Read
• Fancy patterns and seal colorsFancy serials are digit patterns collectors notice. Seal color is a different fact: it says which kind of note you are holding.Read