Star Notes

[shadroch]

I realize this is a coin forum but am hoping some of you also collect US paper money. I just bought a collection of Star notes off a friend who obtained them one at a time at a bar he collected door charges at. They range from $1 to $100, all but a few singles being the new notes. Most are mildly circulated but a few are bright and crisp. I paid him face value plus 3%. Although he had a bunch of$20 notes and a few $100 ones he had no $50s. Is that just a coincidence? Any help provided will be greatly appreciated. If some one could steer me to a similar forum for notes,that also would be appreciated.

[Beijim]

Yep, just a coincidence.

 

As you probably know, the star notes are printed at the front of a production run because their purpose is to act as replacements for serial numbered notes damaged during production. For example, if the press eats four sheets of serial numbered notes, the press operator removes the four damaged sheets and inserts four star note sheets into the output, making a record of which serial numbers were replaced by stars.

 

From a practical standpoint, I'm not certain if the press operator physically inserts the sheets into the output stack, or if this is done at a later stage after printing (but before cutting the sheets into separate notes), but the end result is the same - the affected packs of notes contain up to four star notes (depending on where the pack division falls in this example) apiece.

 

Beijim

 

[truthteller]

Now if you have a double star note, start thinking about a trip to the Bahamas. Star notes are really cool, much of the value rests in which federal reserve bank issued them and if it is a mule or nonmule note. $100's tend to be scarce in star, while $1's are quite common yet still valuable. What dates are they?

 

TRUTH

[EVillageProwler]

I have a good friend who got married not too long ago and lives in Chinatown (Manhattan). For the wedding gift, I gace them money (a check) and whatever star notes that I accumulated over the past several months in anticipation of his wedding.

 

In his Thank You note, he said that his wife preferred the check while he preferred the star notes. And, that he needed to train his wife better on priorities!

 

Some time later, his wife is at a local ATM. Out pops out a bunch of sequential, crisp $20 star notes. She blocks the machine and calls her hubby. Picture my friend behaving like a Chinese OJ, bobbing and weaving thru the crowded streets of Chinatown in his slippers (it was morning). When all's said and done, he went home with several hundred dollars worth of crisp, sequential $20 star notes!

 

The imagery is very funny to me!

 

EVP

 

[shadroch]

What is a double star note look like? The $100s all are from 1996 series. Most interesting of bunch is a run of 13 consecutive $1s that are from the 1963A series. Can't imagine how they could have spent the last 40 years. As a whole are star notes worth saving if they are not new and crisp? Did I get a bargain, a steal or waste my money buying them at 3% over face. It was 175 $1,43 $5,35 $10

26 $20 and 6 $100, mostly mildy circulated but some crisp.Thanks. Oh yeah- in almost three years of wrking the door he recieved exactly one silver certificate- a $10 note from 1934,which I bought at face.

Bill

[truthteller]

Double star notes have a star for the prefix and the suffix. It's like an error replacement for an error. Very, very rare and worth tons of $$$$$$$. The 1963 $1 stars are worth about $10 in CU, as a consecutive run, maybe $3 more per note. Not as scarce as silver certs. Most notes have to be AU or CU to get major premiums.

 

TRUTH

[BankNote1]

You might try the Currency board on the http://collectors.com. Most modern star notes aren't worth saving.