Shore Collectibles
By Douglas Keefe
I like to keep readers advised of errors and potentially valuable varieties that exist with both coins and currency with the idea this will cause people to pay more attention to those items that pass through their hands. I recently read about an error that was discovered in 1932 concerning a $5 Federal Reserve Note printed in 1928, the first year that our currency was shrunk to its’ current size. But first a little description of the Federal Reserve Notes, they are the ones with the green seal on the right side and the notation “FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE” printed across the top.
There are 12 Federal Reserve banks in the United States and each has its’ unique alpha and numeric ID. They are: Boston (1,A); New York (2,B); Philadelphia (3.C); Cleveland (4,D); Richmond (5,E); Atlanta (6,F); Chicago (7,G); St. Louis (8,H); Minneapolis (9,I); Kansas City (10,J); Dallas (11 ,K); San Francisco (12,L). Each Federal Reserve bank is responsible for determining the need for new currency to be printed each year to replace redeemed notes and for new money. In some years some banks will determine there is sufficient money in circulation, so no new notes with their identification will be printed.
To look at how to identify a Federal Reserve bank note take a $1 bill and look closely at it. (I chose a $1 bill because it is the only note to retain the old appearance because all other notes have undergone redesign as anti-counterfeiting measures). The black seal on the left side of the front of the note will have a letter in the center and the name of the corresponding federal reserve bank as listed above. Also the serial numbers will have the same letter front and back of the serial number. In addition, the number that corresponds with that federal reserve bank appears twice on both the left and right side of the bill. (The first 1928 series differed slight by using the number in the black seal, not the letter.The 1928A series changed to the letter which carried forward.)
The error note in question was not found by an individual but rather an inspector where damaged notes are tallied. Damaged notes for redemption are cut in half lengthwise and sent to 2 different branches of government for crediting (the government knows to the dollar how much money is in circulation).They are cut in half and sent to different locations to prevent there theft and reintroduction to the system. In 1932, while counting the currency halves, someone spotted that a $5 series 1928 note bore the seal of New York Federal Reserve Bank (number 2 in the black seal) but the serial numbers had the alpha letters (A) for the Boston Federal Reserve Bank. This occurred when a sheet pre-printed with the New York bank seal was placed in the group to be numbered for Boston. A very subtle difference that would be missed easily. More dramatic errors occur such as when sheets are inserted upside down on third printings or even the ultra-rare mixed denominations front to back. These are readily caught outside if they get past the government inspectors.
The interesting thing is that no note with this error has been reported in the collecting community. There had to be other notes with this same error as notes are printed in sheets (I believe it was 16 notes per sheet in this instance). Are others out there waiting to be discovered, or were they all destroyed without anyone else catching the error? And a greater question, has this error occurred on other notes and the mistake so subtle that it has passed through many hands without detection? Happy Hunting.
Douglas Keith is the President of Beachcomber Coins, Inc. He and his wife Linda operate Beachcomber Coins and Collectibles, formally located in the Shore Mall and now located at 6692 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Township in the old Wawa building. They also have satellite offices for buying only in Brigantine (Saturday), and in Absecon (Tuesday). Between them, they have over 70 years of experience buying and selling coins, collectibles in precious metals. They are members of the American Numismatic Association, the Industry Council of Tangible Assets, the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation, the Certified Coin Exchange and the Professional Coin Grading Service. Visit their website at www.beachcombercoinsinc.com for video and information.
