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 Replies: 20 / Views: 5,472 |
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
How common are star notes? Since I first read about them on this site a couple days ago (Tuesday to be exact), I've been keeping a look out for them. After looking at about, maybe, a total of 25 individual notes at most, I found my first one today. Yay!
It is a Federal Reserve $20 1996 series note with serial AB00837400 (B2).
So, my question again is, how common are these? I'm assuming if they are found approximately 1 in 25 notes, that they would be considered fairly common...or is my situation atypical? Just wondering if this is something I should be fairly excited about or something that's just "sorta cool".
Thanks!
Sara
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
star notes are always cool, I would also say your experience is unusual and very lucky. I know people that have looked for many months and haven't found one yet
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2703 Posts |
I have found just one after several months of looking for them. You can walk six feet off the ground for the rest of the day when you find one. You get a lot of bang for a star buck.
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Valued Member
United States
447 Posts |
Hi Sara,
Star notes are very cool to look for. I love star notes and started collecting them this pass summer. I have over $80-100 dollars of $1 star notes found in circulation but they aren't very easy to find.
What I do is that every pay day I would withdraw $100-150 dollars worth of dollar bills. Look through them and see what I get. Let me tell you this, sometimes I don't even find ONE! So its not approximately 1 in 25. I would say the ratio are alittle higher. But somtimes you get lucky and find 3-6 star notes in one day.
Like yesterday, I found a $20 2004 A note and a $1 2003A Star note.
so keep looking Sara! Good luck!
Vince
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
If you look at the records from the Bureau you'll see that the ratio of star notes to "normal" notes is much less than 1 in 25, so you were lucky. You also have to realize that many people are looking for them, so star notes don't remain in circulation as long (on average) so this, too, skews the ratio against finding star notes.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
891 Posts |
I usually run across one every month or two. And about four out of five usually are very worn. Not worth saving. I average keeping about 2 a year. Good ones are hard to come by around here.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2600 Posts |
I have looked for a long time and never found one. Jim  |
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New Member
 United States
16 Posts |
Cool! Thanks guys! I'll have to keep an eye out for them. I wish I knew about the star notes when I worked retail (I did, however, find a $1 silver certificate one day...). I got my husband now looking for the notes as well ;-)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2764 Posts |
Congrat and welcome, Sara.
Your case is special. Consider this: I ordered 300 $1 bills from my bank. It was in FED pack (100 notes each). I went through them all last night and I found NONE!
On the other hand - Last month, I ran out of cash to exchange for a stack of fresh $2 bill worth $100 (all brand new - 1996) and my bank doesn't have any branch near by so I went to BoA ATM to take out $100. They charge me $2 fee..... and 1 of the 5 notes that the ATM spit out was a STAR notes (2004) - which mean that was 1/5 ratio. I considered that $20 star note cost me $22 and I got to keep some really nice $2. I ended up put most of the $2 bills into my bank ATM to pay bills though..... I still have 1 stack of 10 consecutive, 1 stack of 8 consecutive, 1 stack of 5 consecutive and a few spare note.
Just keep looking for them........... it's one of the reason for you to "look" when you walk. Last week, me and my co-worker were doing some field inspection and he saw a $10 bill right in a squirrel hole/cave.... consider that LUCKY!
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
Wow, I guess I am very lucky...I just got another star note today from McD's. It's a little beat up, but a 2003 series Chicago G05881807*.
:-) :-) :-)
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Member
United States
3242 Posts |
It seam if I am looking for one I don't find them then I get one in change
that the way it goes
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
Adapated from "A Guide Book of United States Paper Money (Friedberg and Friedberg, 2006.)
Example: Series 2001 One Dollar Notes; Signatures of Marin and O'Neill
Issuing Bank Regular Issue Star Notes
Boston 448,000,000 3,520,000
Philadelphia 550,400,000 6,400,000
Atlanta 499,200,000 3,520,000
St. Louis 147,200,000 640,000
You will note (no pun intended) that the ratio of star notes to regular issue notes is low. St. Louis, for example, had only 640,000 star note dollar bills compared to 147,200,000. That gives us a ratio (in round numbers) of about 1 star note per 230 regular notes.
At the other end, Philadelphia issued 1 star note for every 86 regular notes.
It varies widely based on problems encountered during printing. For example, there are no star notes at all for this series from Cleveland, Richmond, Minneapolis or Kansas City. Of interest is the fact that Minneapolis issued only 6,400,000 regular notes, exactly the same number as the number of star notes from Philadelpia.
So...the availability of star notes depends on the issue and the specific Federal Reserve Bank.
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Valued Member
United States
86 Posts |
I should have played the lottery 2 weeks ago. I got a $10,5,and a 1 star note the same day. All three from different locations. The 10 was change form my Credit Union, the five from a gas station, and the 1 was from the post office. It was in mint condition so I asked him to check to see if there were any others, he refused and called the next person. Still not bad for a 1 day haul.
Randy
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New Member
United States
2 Posts |
I am fairly new to all of this, so it is possible that I am missing some important distinction (and if so, I look forward to being enlightened as to what it is I am missing), but I have not found star notes to be nearly as rare as everyone is saying. Is there more to it than just a note with a star after the serial number?
I work in a gas station with a lot of cashflow, so perhaps that is the reason, but I see star notes all the time, and did not until recently even know they were special. I don't know exactly what the ratio of "normal" to star notes I see, but I do know that whenever I mention star notes to someone and they are clueless, I can just grab a handful of ones from my drawer, sift for a few seconds, pull one out, and show them.
If these are really that rare, then should I be buying and keeping these? If so, I know I don't have nearly enough money to do it.
Comments? Suggestions?
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Valued Member
United States
306 Posts |
I agree with you gpmajik. I work at a convenience store and $1 star notes come into my register at least once every week. I stopped collecting them because they were in well circulated condition and I had LOTS piling up. The only ones I kept recently were two $5 notes in uncirculated condition and sequential serial numbers.
I'm thinking since both of us have so much money coming through our stores in a short amount of time the chances increase. Also, my store is across the street from a university, and a dormitory. So, not only am I getting local currency, but also a lot of bills being brought into the city or being sent by parents to their kids.
In fact, just two weeks ago a guy almost gave me a Euro instead of a quarter!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4541 Posts |
If you deal with money all the time you will see them a lot. If you dont spend cash much you want see them. Even if all you use is cash you still dont see them all the time. I know when I need the money to pay a bill here comes the star note! When I am just searching there none to be found! Ive gotten them in all types of places but to me the most common are 20's If you ask me. Its exciting to get them but some times you see them sometimes you dont. I know recently I Spent 35 in gas and gave them 40 and got back a 5 dollar star note. But few weeks later I cashed a check for over 6000 dollars and didnt see a one only thing I Saw worth keeping was a small face 50! Got to love the design of the 50 at least I do I think they look good in the album
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Replies: 20 / Views: 5,472 |
Posted 11/15/2007 9:38 pm
