How to Identify Old Paper Money and Check Its Value

Quick answer

The method is: identify the exact note → assess its condition → compare relevant sold examples → resolve any remaining uncertainty. Keep the photographs, catalog match and sale records together so the conclusion can be checked. The annotated note below shows where to find the key identifying details.

3. Arrange physical examination if remote review cannot resolve it

When HeriBase identification and a human expert’s remote review still leave an important question unanswered, contact a professional banknote authentication and grading institution about submitting the actual note. This is the next step when the expert needs to inspect the paper, a suspected alteration, a repair, or another feature that photographs cannot establish.

Choose an institution that accepts the relevant note type and serves your location. For example, PMG’s official submission guide explains its direct-submission requirements, authorized-dealer route, forms, and preparation process. Follow the institution’s current instructions for eligibility, packaging, insured transport, fees and return arrangements.

Keep a copy of the photos, HeriBase result and human expert review, and state the unresolved question in your submission. Check the total cost before proceeding. Arrange submission directly with the chosen institution or its authorized channel; this guide does not describe a HeriBase mail-in service.

4. Take the photographs needed for a useful review

Begin with two clear photographs: the complete front and complete back. Place the note on a plain, contrasting surface, keep the camera parallel to it, and use even light. Leave a little space around all four edges. A cropped corner or glare across a signature can hide the detail you need.

Keep the original files. Take separate close-ups of the date, signatures, serial numbers, and any damage; do not substitute those close-ups for the full views. If a protective holder creates glare, change the lighting first. Do not remove a note from a sealed grading holder just to photograph it.

• Front and back: same note, readable lettering, no filters or perspective effects.
• Details: serial characters, signature pair, seals, overprints, and small printer text.
• Condition: corners, folds, holes, stains, repairs, and missing pieces.
• Transmitted light: a separate image if the identified issue should have a watermark or embedded feature.

Store the images under one item ID, such as “Note-001.” This makes it harder to accidentally compare the front of one note with the back of another.

5. Read the identifiers in a consistent order

Use this checklist before searching for a price. Transcribe what you can actually read and mark uncertain characters with a question mark. It is more useful to retain an uncertainty than to silently turn it into a confident catalog match.

Series year and printing date are not interchangeable

For U.S. Federal Reserve notes, the series year relates to an approved design or a signature change. It should not automatically be read as the year that your individual note was printed. Other issuing systems need their own references. See the U.S. Currency Education Program’s identifier guide.

Read the issuer and signatures together

Search the exact issuing name in quotation marks, then add the denomination and date. When a proposed match appears, compare the small details as well as the main illustration. If the catalog splits an issue by signature pair, do not stop at the broad issue name. Photograph signatures you cannot confidently transcribe.

6. Check serial numbers and replacement notes

Keep the complete serial in your record. A leading zero, prefix, suffix, or symbol can be lost during manual entry or image recognition. Read the note again after an app supplies a result, especially where ink is faded or a fold crosses a character.

Patterns that look interesting are a reason to investigate, not a ready-made price. For a suspected low serial or repeating pattern, search for completed sales described in the same way, then check whether the issue and condition are comparable. Avoid assigning a premium from an unsold listing with a dramatic headline.

On U.S. Federal Reserve notes, a star suffix identifies a production replacement. That does not establish scarcity or a particular market premium for every star note. Replacement conventions elsewhere should be checked against the relevant issuer and catalog. Source: U.S. banknote identifiers.

7. Match watermarks and security features to the issue

First establish which design you are checking. Then use that issuer’s guidance for the corresponding denomination and issue. A modern note’s checklist is not automatically appropriate for a much older design.

For example, the official U.S. $1 guide describes raised printing and the note’s paper and fibers. It should not be replaced with a checklist copied from a different denomination. See the official $1 note guide.

Where your reference specifies a watermark or thread, compare its subject, position, and appearance under the stated viewing conditions. Record what you can see and what remains uncertain. A normal front photograph may not reveal an embedded feature at all.

When to pause for a closer examination

• The front and back appear to belong to different catalog designs.
• Lettering, a serial, or a signature looks altered or cannot be reconciled with the reference.
• A feature expected for the exact issue does not match.
• The proposed identification depends on details that the available photographs cannot show.

These are prompts for further examination, not a diagnosis of counterfeiting. Wear, repairs, glare, and an incorrect initial identification can also cause a mismatch. Start with a HeriBase human expert review if you are unsure; if the relevant detail cannot be assessed remotely, arrange physical examination through a professional institution. For suspected circulating counterfeits, follow the relevant local authority’s instructions; the Bank of England’s guidance, for example, directs suspected counterfeits to the police.

8. Describe condition before assigning a grade

Write down visible observations before using a grade label: a central fold, rounded corners, a small edge tear, writing, staining, or an apparent repair. A bright photograph and a flat-looking note are not enough to establish an uncirculated grade.

PMG uses a 1–70 grading scale and considers factors including wear, folds, margins, and paper quality. Its published descriptions are useful for learning the terminology, but matching a few visible features in a photograph is not a substitute for professional examination. Read PMG’s grading scale.

Originality matters too. PMG’s Exceptional Paper Quality (EPQ) designation concerns original paper that has not been processed to appear higher grade. Cleaning or flattening a note to improve a photograph can compromise the very characteristics you are trying to assess. PMG’s explanation of EPQ.

9. Estimate value from comparable sales

Once the identification is stable, build a small comparison set. Start with the catalog reference, variety, and a realistic condition description. Broaden the search only when you cannot find close matches, and record what differs.

The PMG World Paper Money Price Guide organizes world notes using Pick numbers. A Pick number is a catalog reference identifying a banknote type or variety, not the serial number of an individual note, its grade, or its value. It also cautions that its figures are general guides rather than valuations of a particular note. Use a catalog or app estimate as a research starting point, then examine actual sale records.

For completed-sale research, use the Heritage Auctions currency archive listed in References. Search by issuer or country, denomination, series and catalog number, then narrow by grade and check the individual lot. Use the recorded sold price, not a later offer-to-owner amount; confirm the currency and buyer’s premium basis before comparing records.

1. Match the issue. Check issuer, denomination, series, signature variety, and any replacement status.
2. Match the condition. Do not compare a worn raw note directly with a high-grade certified example without explaining the difference.
3. Check the transaction. Record the auction or marketplace, sale date, and whether the lot actually sold.
4. Normalize the price basis. Note the currency and whether buyer’s premium is included. A hammer price and an invoice total are different amounts.
5. Report a range and its limits. Explain which records support it. If there are too few close matches, say so instead of presenting false precision.

A collector’s purchase price also differs from what a seller receives after fees. Keep any proposed sale estimate separate from face value, redemption value, insurance value, and the number displayed in an identification app.

10. Save the evidence with the identification

A reusable record makes future research easier. It also helps a buyer or specialist understand how you reached the identification. Copy this checklist into your collection notes:

• Item ID; full front and back photographs; detail photographs.
• Issuer, denomination, series/date, signatures, and complete serial.
• Catalog reference and variety; source used to confirm them.
• Visible condition issues; certification number if applicable.
• HeriBase result and the app version/date of your own capture.
• Comparable sold lots, dates, currency, fee basis, and differences.
• Open questions: uncertain characters, variety, grade, or authenticity.

For an inherited group, record one note at a time before sorting by country or denomination. Keep any old envelopes, receipts, and collector labels with the associated item; treat the descriptions on them as leads to verify.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading