The 1950 5 Dollar Bill – What It’s Worth
Getting into the hobby of collecting old bills can offer various advantages.
For one, you could be keeping a beautiful set of collectibles that you would love looking at as time goes by and share with others who would not help to like.
For another, you could be saving a good sum of money in your wallet, sometimes, way beyond their face value.
The 1950 5 dollar bill is one of the more amazing keepsakes, which is both fulfilling and promising to keep in your collection.
How U.S. Banknotes are Graded
For the most part, the 1950 5 dollar bill is valued at well, $5.
U.S. banknotes stay for long in circulation, making them pretty much accessible. But true blue collectors always find a way to separate good valued bills from the rest. If you want to keep a valuable collection, we say, you must take heed from them.
- Basic Features: The $5 bill of the 1950s and beyond have a picture of Abraham Lincoln, a green seal and a serial number written in green ink on the right side, and a black seal on the left. It also reveals a “Federal Reserve Note” line on top. In a perfect world, all bills of the same value would reveal all the same features. But we are in a not-so-perfect world and issues arise in the course of printing the notes. Those issues are exactly what the prized collectors are mostly after.
- Unique Feature: One key feature that may not appear in all $5 bills of the 1950s is the “In God We Trust” line. Since the bill ordering the inclusion of the national motto in the US banknotes was not signed by then President Dwight D. Eisenhower until 1955, those that were printed earlier did not bear it. $5 with “In God We Trust” started circulating in 1957.
- Play with Numbers: Dollar bill collectors look at the serial numbers and collect them according to combinations that has any significance, no matter what denomination is it. There are several factors involved, some are personal while others depend on one’s creativity. We will go over this point further below.
- The Bill's State: Although it is dated many decades ago, collectors would still look for seemingly unused bills and would definitely pay a good sum for them. Keeping a 1950s edition of the $5 dollar bill with no markings, scratches, or creases is a great way to ensure that you will make money from it.
Number Patterns and How they Affect a Dollar Bill’s Value
The serial numbers printed in green ink and located on the right side of the dollar bill is almost always the subject of close scrutiny.
Dollar bill collectors or numismatists took to the 8-digit numbers to find something unique that they can boast about their collection. Usually, they scan serial numbers for the following:
- High and Low Numbers: People collecting the 1950 5 dollar bill look for low and high number combinations. Although low numbers 1-100 may cost more, double the money’s face value, there are also those who are willing to pay a good sum for bills with high numbers. Those that are more expensive to buy in the market are the ones in both ends.
- Starred Notes: There are $5 notes with a serial number that ends with an * or a star. Those star notes exist because issues occurred during the first printing.
- Number Orders: There are also collectors who would come after $5 bills with interesting number orders, like ladders. Serial numbers with ascending or descending numbers or both are considered good finds.
- Solids and Repeaters: Some people would also find interest in serials that are of the same numbers while others like repeating notes. Repeaters, especially those with only two numbers involved are highly valuable.
- Personal Favorites: Bill collectors also find number combinations with personal significance very attractive. They may either stand for birthdays, anniversary dates, or any other number sequence that has a special meaning in their lives. The dates may be anywhere in the serial number but if they are surrounded by zeros on both ends, they will be more valuable.
At first sight, a 1950 5 dollar bill may just appear as anything ordinary. But once a collectors scans through it and find something about it that is treasure worthy, it becomes anything but ordinary.
Sources:
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/5-dollar-bill
http://askville.amazon.com/1950-dollar-bill-worth/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=76431792
http://www.oldcurrencyvalues.com/Green_Seal_Five_Dollar.html