The difference is when in the printing process they are used. There are two types of Star Notes - Sheet Notes and Regular Notes. Condition is extremely important to value for modern notes. Other collectors put together sets of Star Notes broken down by the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) - indicated by the first letter of the Serial Number.ĭue to different collecting goals, there is debate whether Star Note print run size or the total quantity printed per FRB is more important for determining value.Ĭollectors generally consider Star Notes from print runs of 640,000 notes or fewer to be rare enough to be worth more than face value. Some collectors put together sets of Star Notes broken down by each print run.

Star Notes get their rarity from the quantity printed and released into circulation. If a less-than-full run of Star Notes is printed, the next run will start at the next closest multiple of 3.2 million.įor example: a printing of 1,280,000 followed by 640,000 followed by 3,200,000 would use these serial numbers: Sometimes a lower quantity of Star notes are needed, in which case fewer are printed. Star Notes are printed in what are called 'runs.' For the current printing techniques used by the BEP, the maximum run size for Star Notes is 3,200,000 notes (100,000 32-note sheets). Older types of paper money like Gold Certificates, Silver Certificate, and Legal Tender notes the star was printed at the beginning of the serial number. Modern replacement notes look exactly like normal paper money, except that there is a star printed at the end of the serial number rather than a letter. These are notes that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) uses to replace misprinted and damaged currency before it gets released into circulation. The term 'Star Note' commonly refers to Replacement Notes.

Look up my star note