\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. The $5 dollar bill should glow blue; the $10 bill should glow orange; the $20 bill should glow green; the $50 bill should glow yellow; the $100 bill should glow pink. The red seal and serial numbers on legal tender notes is something that always appeals to collectors. Another example would be if the serial number was A00001991A might be important for a person born in 1991. Answer (1 of 4): All $100 bills should have four numbers, ranging from 1-12 on them. Although counterfeit money has been a problem ever since the money was invented, U.S. currency, since the establishment of the Federal Reserve, was hard to produce passably until modern printing technology was created. The sheer amount of realistic counterfeit money finally prompted the government to redesign U.S. currency to include more security features, in order to make it hard to passably reproduce. Weve paid thousands of dollars for a 1970s $100 bill with a rare serial number, and a few bucks for an old $100 bill from the 1800s. A sad reality about Confederate money is that 97% of what is out there is fake. The following is a list of design features as well as their locations on each denomination. Research source If you cannot feel the raised printing on the bill, it doesnt necessarily mean the bill is counterfeit - considering old bills may be worn down enough that the raised printing may have become less discernable - but it does mean that you should check all the other design features mentioned on this list. Each serial number is made up of a combination of either ten or eleven letters and numbers and appears twice on the front of each bill. The thread is imprinted . As a small thank you, wed like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). Even if the note has ink on it, if the paper is bad, it will glow like this. We're kind of adrenaline addicts when we're entrepreneurs, so we can get really high off the adrenaline . Small sizegold certificatebills are some of my favorite type of notes to collect. This ribbon is woven into the paper, not pasted on. The second step is to feel the paper. The only security feature that exists on these types of notes is raised printing. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Contact ustoday and well give you an answer right away. The quick answer is your $100 bill is almost always going to be real. If you have a newer 100 dollar bill with a blue ribbon on it, move the paper back and forth at an angle. They could be completely innocent. This is specific to the 1928 series banknotes, for every denomination. How much is a 1988 dollar bill worth today? The most effective method for authenticating older banknotes is combining constant vigilance with knowledge about the details on what each denomination is supposed to look and feel like. As stated earlier, your bill is likely worth $105 to $110 unless it has any of the following features. However, a favored method of counterfeiting money is to bleach a low denomination, such as a $1 bill, and print a higher denomination, such as a $20 bill, onto it. Numeral, meaning number, because of the number located on the left side of the bill. Amounts shown in italicized text are for items listed in currency other than Canadian dollars and are approximate conversions to Canadian dollars based upon Bloomberg's conversion rates. Numeral, meaning number, because of the number located on the left side of the bill. An old rare $100 bill in a mint condition worth $40,000 will probably not add much more value if it was part of a famous person collection. Along the shorter, upper roof, the states are listed as follows: ARKANSAS, MICHIGAN, FLORIDA, TEXAS, IOWA, WISCONSIN, CALIFORNIA, MINNESOTA, OREGON, KANSAS, WEST VIRGINIA, NEVADA, NEBRASKA, COLORADO, NORTH DAKOTA. How do tell if a two-dollar bill is real? FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE should appear at the top of every bill. Bills that were issued after 1948 (Series 1934C and later) have an updated depiction of the White House as seen from the South Lawn: the Truman Balcony was included and the surrounding trees were drawn to be larger and higher in number. It took quite some time to put together and Im a slow typer! Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, is serving as Zillow's . A letter that corresponds to the Federal Reserve Bank that distributed the bill should appear in the middle, in black text. SIGIL. , with stars in the space that separate each word; this is Latin for The Seal of the Treasury of North America. The most successful counterfeiters will bleach real money and then print over it. Your note appears to be a well-worn, genuine, series 1988 $100 bill from the New York "B" Federal Reserve Bank. The smaller banks or banks with untrained tellers might question this bill because it is from 1985 and does not have many of the modern security features. Nevertheless, you can now buy a counterfeit detection pen that has a UV light built into the cap and costs under $10. $10 Gold Seal Gold Certificate Notes (1928), $100 Brown Seal National Bank Notes (1929 & 1934), $100 Red Seal Legal Tender Notes (1966 & 1966A), Check out our full $100 value and price guide. This motto was added to the backs of bills starting in 1957, following a law passed in 1955, beginning with the $1 Silver Certificate Series 1935G. THE GREAT SEAL is wrapped as text under the left seal and OF THE UNITED STATES is found wrapped as text under the right seal. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. People may be willing to spend more money on a bill thats popular regardless if they are common and in poor condition. Sell your old money collection today! In this case, 81% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. 1. You can learn how to tell if a $100 bill is real by additional security features. If either a letter that does not appear below exists on the bill or if the letter and the Federal Reserve Bank do not match each other on the bill, then the bill is counterfeit. The motto ANNUIT CPTIS should appear wrapped along the bottom of the top border of the seal and the motto NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM should appear written on a scroll and wrapped along the top of the bottom border of the seal. Next, hold your bill up to the light. With the portrait of Franklin facing you, look for a watermark that says "100 USA" to the left of the portrait and a ghost copy of the portrait on the right side of the bill. What do I do to get reimbursed for a fake one hundred dollar bill? Fifty dollar bills were printed in different types: When trying to determine the value for anold $100 bill, its important to remember condition is always a very important factor to consider. The seal represents the U.S. Department of the Treasury. If a bill with a Series year before 1928 is sized 6.14 in x 2.61 in, then the bill is counterfeit. Bills dated 1990 and OLDER have a higher probability of being fake simply due to the lack of security features on them. 1. Of course, the size of the bill is probably the one thing counterfeiters produce correctly, out of all the design and security features. This article has been viewed 1,521,050 times. Summary. Last Updated: August 1, 2022 Below is a guide on what to look out for on each of the Bank of Canada's polymer bank notes to ensure that they are, in fact, cold hard Canadian cash. Some people like solid serial numbers like A88888888A as number 8 is also considered lucky in many cultures. Provenance: This factor isnt common but a $100 bill that was part of a famous persons collection should bring more value, simply for that fact. . If the bill is series 2009A, then the serial number should begin with L. The numeral 100 beside the inkwell should also change color, just as it does on some older $100 bills. You will see the bells change to 100s as they move. They will: -Be Printed on Brown Brittle Paper -Have a Black Overprint -Usually Have Blank Backs The most frequently counterfeited bills are colonial notes, confederate currency, and Republic of Texas money. Below I will talk about old $100 bills from 1950, if theyre real, how to tell, and what they are worth. These notes, known as Legal Tender Notes or United States Notes, were engraved with fine-lines, detailed geometric lathe-made patterns, and signatures, and printed with a Treasury seal.