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A Guide To Values and Pricing for Star Notes
Star notes are a highly collectible subset of United States currency. It is simple to spot a star note. A star note will have a serial number that either begins or ends with a star symbol. Scroll to the bottom of this page for pricing on dozens of star notes.
Star notes were printed by The Bureau of Engraving and Printing to have on hand to replace money if it was misprinted. So instead of having to reprint the misprinted currency the BEP just placed the star notes into circulation. Keep in mind that star notes were printed with serial numbers starting at 00000001, so the star note serial number is not the same as the serial number that was destroyed.
Star notes come in three different varieties:
Large Size Stars Notes - 1880 - 1923:
Currency that is bigger than money today is known as large size currency. Star notes were first printed for large size currency in 1910. However, a lot of currency has a series year well before 1910 that was still being printed up to 1910 and after. So you can find star notes on large size notes with a series year as early as 1880. All large size star replacement notes have a star symbol with a hole in the center of the star. There are some large size notes, specifically from 1869, 1890, and 1891, that have a solid star as part of the serial number design. You can learn more about large size star notes here. If the star symbol is solid and not holed then the star is not a replacement star. See the picture below:
1928 marked the first year that current size, aka "small size", currency was printed. Star notes were also issued for currency from 1928, 1933, and 1934. Star notes from this time period have a solid star symbol at the beginning or end of the serial number. The value of these star notes depends on condition and rarity. There is a guide below that should be helpful.
1935 marked the first year of the open star symbol on small size currency. All star notes from 1935 and newer are considered fairly common. There are a few exceptions like the 1953B $5 silver certificate star note. However, most everything else will carry little to no premium. See the guide below for more pricing.
Star notes were printed by The Bureau of Engraving and Printing to have on hand to replace money if it was misprinted. So instead of having to reprint the misprinted currency the BEP just placed the star notes into circulation. Keep in mind that star notes were printed with serial numbers starting at 00000001, so the star note serial number is not the same as the serial number that was destroyed.
Star notes come in three different varieties:
Large Size Stars Notes - 1880 - 1923:
Currency that is bigger than money today is known as large size currency. Star notes were first printed for large size currency in 1910. However, a lot of currency has a series year well before 1910 that was still being printed up to 1910 and after. So you can find star notes on large size notes with a series year as early as 1880. All large size star replacement notes have a star symbol with a hole in the center of the star. There are some large size notes, specifically from 1869, 1890, and 1891, that have a solid star as part of the serial number design. You can learn more about large size star notes here. If the star symbol is solid and not holed then the star is not a replacement star. See the picture below:
1928 marked the first year that current size, aka "small size", currency was printed. Star notes were also issued for currency from 1928, 1933, and 1934. Star notes from this time period have a solid star symbol at the beginning or end of the serial number. The value of these star notes depends on condition and rarity. There is a guide below that should be helpful.
1935 marked the first year of the open star symbol on small size currency. All star notes from 1935 and newer are considered fairly common. There are a few exceptions like the 1953B $5 silver certificate star note. However, most everything else will carry little to no premium. See the guide below for more pricing.
You can also click on one of the denominations below for a quick description of what is rare: