$5 Bills in Your Jeans Could Worth More Than You Think—Thousands—And Here’s What to Look For

Five dollar bills. Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

Look closely at this $5 bill: soiled by age, edges torn, and smeared with ink. Not the prettiest. Seen better days.

But despite all the wear and tear, blemishes, creases, and stains, it may be worth way more than face value—indeed thousands.

While it’s safe to say most dollar bills aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on, more and more people are waking up to this: each note sitting in your wallet is a lottery ticket. A winning number may be in your jeans right now, waiting to be claimed.

Shaun, who goes by Blueridgesilverhound online, says it’s time to talk about what’s in your wallet. He pipes up about what the serial numbers printed on dollar bills might mean. They could fetch far above face value if you know what to look for.

A $5 bill from 1988, Shaun points out, sold for $2,024 despite being far from pristine, marred as it was by creases and ink stains. Despite its disheveled state, its value increased over 400-fold.

The reason? Collectors of rare bills will pay big money for dollar notes—of any denomination from $1 to $1,000 or more—with numerically peculiar serial numbers. And there are several species of numeric peculiarities, in particular, to watch out for.

A $5 bill. Tamer A Soliman/Shutterstock

The $5 bill in question sold for $2,024 because of its solid serial number where every digit is the same. Solid 7s and 8s are the most coveted, and, in green ink, this bill read: “G88888888A”. Solid serials are rare, occurring once in every 11 million notes, according to GO Bank Rates. They could be worth $500 or more, despite not looking pristine.

Near solids are valued, but not nearly as much. A $20 and a $1 bill were found together in someone’s wallet and sold for 10 times their face worth, Shaun said, despite their not being beautiful. The $20 bill read “ME79777777E” and the $1 bill read “C72777777D”. Near solids are worth far less than solids, but your odds of finding them are greater.

Fancy serial numbers or dollar bills can fetch big money from collectors. Public Domain

A 1988 $5 bill with a serial number of solid 8s fetched $2,040, according to Shaun, also known as Blueridgesilverhound. Public Domain

There are other species like ladders where the serial number ascends or descends. It may be “12345678” or “87654321” and could fetch from $9 to $100,000 on eBay. Near ladders sell, too, with a digit or two fudging the order, though, obviously, fetching far less.

Related to ladders, consecutive serial numbers ascend but do not start with “1” or “8,” so they might read “25348794” or “25348793”. They may fetch from a few dollars to a few hundred.

There are low and high serial numbers. A very low number like “00000001” or a very high number like “99999900” could fetch over $10,000. While less extreme numbers, like “00000100”, may sell for far less, say from $10 to $300.

Fancy serial numbers on paper bills fetch big cash—even when they’re drab. Maybe look twice at those lottery tickets squashed in your jeans when you’re bussing it or paying for your next Americano. And even look into cashing it in.

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