If you've got a two dollar bill stashed somewhere in your home because you think they're rare,
and someday you'll take it to the bank and cash it in for big bucks, think again.
$2 bills are NOT rare, and they're still printing them - the latest run in 2021. Even
the bicentennial $2 bills from 1976 won't fetch you more than two bucks - unless you're ripping
someone off on eBay. However, there are plenty of old and new $2 bills worth more than face value.
Let's take a look at all $2 bills spanning over 160 years. First, there are four things that make
a two dollar bill worth money: the year, its condition, whether or not it has any printing
errors, and its serial number. Any bill from 1976 to present, which would include a green Treasury
seal and serial number, has no extra value because of the year, but could be worth more if there's
something special about any of the other three things. Condition does matter; if you have an
uncirculated $2 bill with no folds or creases, it could receive a high grade from PCGS or a similar
company and have added value. We assign a number to each note, 1 through 70, which is called the
Sheldon Scale. 1 being very poor condition, and 70 being absolutely perfect. Once we've
determined that there are no folds, no corner bends and there's no hard crinkles in them, the
grade comes down to the evenness of the margins. Margin on this side - your right - is larger
than the margin on this side, so that factors into the grade. If your bill rates a 63 or higher, it
could be worth twice its face value for a recent issue and around nine dollars for one from 1976.
Similarly, a bill with a printing error would have more value. It can be something like a gutter
fold - seen here. This happens when the paper is creased when printed, then unfolded to reveal this
look. Or more dramatically, perhaps an overprint or even upside down serial numbers. Bills like
these can be worth hundreds or sometimes thousands of dollars. A fancy serial number like this one
under 100, or something unique like this repeater - where the first four digits are the same as the
last four - is another way a $2 bill could have value. That or if the serial number has a star
on it. I covered all this in another video, which you can access from here, or wait until the end of
this video for the link so you don't miss the rest of this one. Finally, the year. Anything
pre-1976 has value, with that value increasing if any of the three conditions I've listed are also
present. But in and of themselves, here's what all old two dollar bills are worth. I'm getting
my values from the 7th edition of A Guidebook of United States Paper Money, printed in 2022.
$2 bills with red seals and serial numbers are the first that have more value. This is a 1928
series $2 legal tender. The 1928, the oldest of the red seals, are harder to find and can fetch
between $12 and over $1,000. The difference comes with the condition of course, but also the series.
This particular bill just says 1928, but this one is a 1928D, and there are bills from 1928A through
1928G. The value comes with which one it is, but if you have a 1928B that rates a 63 or higher,
you've got something. The 1953 and 1963 bills can net between $9 and $23 each depending on
their condition. To see why these bills have red printing instead of green, you can check out this
video. Before 1928, all currency was larger. If you have this 1918 $2 note, you have something
special because of what's on the back - the battleship. I think it's one of the most requested
notes because people just love it. This is very valuable for a number of reasons. First of all,
very few survived, and the size of the note is very attractive and it attracts a lot of people,
so it's very much in demand. A note like this might be worth as much as $3,000.
Even if yours isn't graded 65 like this one, it could still be worth in the $300 range. Go back
a year earlier to the 1917 bill, and you'd net about $70 for a bill that rated as low as an 8,
but nearly $500 for one that rated a 63. There were no other bills issued in the 1900s, but just
a year before the turn of the century, this 1899 $2 Silver Certificate featured George Washington.
Two dollar bill silver certificate, they call it the mini porthole because it has a little... it's
got Washington on it. This was the only $2 note featuring our first president, and it has a value
of about $185 and up, with uncirculated 63s worth over $1,200. Here's another interesting bill:
a Silver Certificate dated 1896, from what was known as the Educational Series. Beautiful
bill here. This is actually a school teacher, and she's embracing her students, and at the time this
particular note was considered very racy. What's it worth? It ranges from $575 to $4,500, depending
on condition. This is an 1891 Treasury Coin note. These came in 1890 and 1891 - Coin notes
that were just backed up by coins at the Treasury Department, very short-lived. The 65 rating means
it has a value of over $3,000, but it's still worth around $300 with a much lower grade.
Same year, same grade, different bill: this 1891 Silver Certificate will fetch you $5,000
if it grades as well as this one. Even if it doesn't, you're solid for at least $300 or more.
These two 1886 $2 Silver Certificates have different values because of their conditions, but
you'd be happy to have either. The one on top with a 40 grade is worth about $2,100, and the 66 is
over three grand. If you want one, just find your nearest currency show - someone will have this
bill and many of the ones I've detailed so far. In fact, the next bill was so popular that the dealer
didn't have one with him. He invited me to his currency shop in South Florida to show it to me.
What I have is one of the most popular $2 bills. It's called The Lazy Two because the 2 is on its
side. This note was a series of 1875. What's it worth? As much as $11,500 in prime condition, but
at least $2,000 either way. There are only a few bills left. The 1917 bill I showed earlier was the
same design as its earlier counterparts - an 1874 and 1880 Legal Tender note. And they're generally
worth around $3,500, or half that, respectively. An 1869 note - they call this a Rainbow Series and
it's because if you notice a different tint of color that the bill has - is worth about $5,500
in top condition. Finally, the 1862 Legal Tender note - the first Federally-issued $2 bill. If you
notice here in this circle, there's a 1, a 2 and a 3. On the $1 bill, the white area is on the one.
The $2 bill, as you can see the background is two, and they were thinking of doing 3 - they never got
to there. These are hard to find in really good condition. You can see that this one is only a 45,
which is one of the nicer ones I've seen. That makes it worth about two grand. But here's one
that rated a 12 and sold at Heritage Auctions for only $780. Many of you watching this video won't
have any large size bills from 1918 or before unless you're a collector, but now you know
what's out there if you're interested in acquiring one. In the meantime, keep an eye out for red seal
notes; I got these three in a cluster of twos I got at the bank.Click here again to see THAT
video. And don't forget to check your green seals for ones in pristine condition, with an error,
or that have a fancy serial number. If you want to know more on those, here's the video I mentioned
earlier. As always, thanks for watching. Please Like and subscribe if you made it this far!