Odd Markings On $50 Note

Yes. The markings are what I call "random". It's not unusual for John Q Public to write, scribble and stamp random marks on U.S. paper money.

Many markings like these are done by moneychangers overseas, who mark the notes they have personally verified so that other moneychangers who are familiar with each other's marks can trust that the notes are legitimate.

That may well be the case here. The markings in the top pic are Arabic numerals "38" plus what appears to be the Arabic letter "S", all written in pen. The second pic (with the upside-down-L-and-3) looks like Cyrillic (Slavic/Russian) letters "GZ". So overall, I'd take it as evidence that this note has spent some time overseas, in both the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Whatever the cause, as they are privately done, they have no extra value or collector interest.

Another thing that occurs to me: "38" might be a date. In the Islamic calendar, year 1438 was in 2016.

But as always, we will never know for sure why someone wrote or stamped something onto a note. Unless that person happens to join the forum some day in the future and offers an explanation.