Here's how to tell if your old $2 bills are worth anything (2024)

FAQs

Here's how to tell if your old $2 bills are worth anything? ›

If your $2 bill dates back to 1886 and has a red seal with a silver certificate, you're in luck. That bill is worth $4,500. A number of other iterations of the $2 bills with a red seal can also fetch well over a $1,000. Bills with brown seals are also very valuable.

If the $2 bill was minted and printed before 1976, it would likely be worth more than its face value on the collectibles market. In some cases, it might be worth only $2.25. The highest value is $4,500 or more for uncirculated notes from 1890, although most of those bills range from $550 to $2,500.

According to the USCA, if the bill was minted and printed before 1976, it could actually be worth its highest value – as much as $4,500 or more for uncirculated notes from 1890. Although most of those valuable bills range from $550 to $2,500, the values are the same, no matter the red or brown seal.

Serial Number

A unique combination of eleven numbers and letters appears twice on the front of the note. Each note has a unique serial number. The first letter of the serial number corresponds to the series year.

Unless there's a unique feature on the bill, like a low serial or a misprint, a newer $2 bill is likely not worth much more than $2, even if it's uncirculated. But rather than guess, experts say the best way to find out if you have a valuable $2 bill is to take it to a verified coin expert for evaluation.

“A serial number '1' for a 1976 $2 bill would be worth $20,000 or more. But [for] a majority of those people holding 1976 $2 bills, they are only worth face value. There are very few that actually exceed face value.” Other high-value serial numbers include what collectors call “solid” or “ladders.”

While more recent $2 bills may not have as much value, some could still fetch a high price. A $2 bill from 2003 was sold for $4,000 in August 2022. The particular bill had a low serial number for the 2003 series.

2-dollar bills can range in value from two dollars to $1,000 or more. If you have a pre-1913 2-dollar bill in uncirculated condition, it is worth at least $500.

Extremely Low Serial Number

First and foremost, what made this bill exceptional, was an exceptionally low serial number, specifically 00000007 *. In the world of currency collecting, low serial numbers hold a special allure as they signify bills that were among the first few to be printed.

Is there an app to check dollar bill value? ›

Dollar Bill Scanner is a useful app made for banknote collectors, enthusiasts and numismatists of every level. Scan, identify and value 110,000+ varieties for 42,000+ banknote types from around the world. Build, keep and manage your personal banknote collection, also track its value in one app easily.

Which Dollar Bill Serial Numbers Are Worth Money? Generally, the more unique the serial number on your dollar bill, the more likely it is to be worth more than face value. Some examples of uniqueness include repeating numbers, numbers with a star after them and sequences (such as 12345678).

To find the value of your $2 bill, look at the year and seal color. Bills with red, brown and blue seals from 1862 through 1917 can be worth up to $1,000 or more on the U.S. Currency Auctions website, which bases the value on recent and past paper currency auctions.

However, because they were never as popular as $1 bills or $5 bills, they're printed in much smaller numbers and circulated less often, leading many people to believe they're valuable to keep. In fact, the best way to make use of any $2 bills you have lying around is to spend them!

Typically a 1953 red seal in this condition would be worth $5-10. However due to being a star note, I would value it around $15-25. You probably know this, but star notes were issued to replace bills that were damaged in production.

Serial numbers are eight-digit-long codes that are unique to each bill. They are accompanied by other identifying letters and numbers that tell us which series year the bill is from and where it was printed. They are found on the front of U.S. currency and are always printed twice.