Star Notes

What is a Star Note?

A Star Note is a bank note minted to replace a defective note that was not fit for circulation. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) uses these Star Notes to ensure that the correct amount of currency is created.  The BEP does not replicate the exact serial numbers of the defective bills, rather a separate run of notes (with their own sequential serial numbers) is created to mint the exact number of discarded notes.  These Replacement Star Notes are marked with a distinctive symbol, a "star" that is placed adjacent to the serial number.  On Legal Tender Notes and Silver Certificates the star is where the prefix (first letter) of the serial number would be.  On Federal Reserve Notes the star is where the block letter (the last letter) of the serial number would be.

Historically, Star Notes were also used for the 100,000,000th note in a series, the last note in the block of serial numbers (the numbering machines could not print over 8 digits).  Star Notes are no longer used for this.  Star Notes occasionally replaced notes from a different series, as well.  

The number of Star Notes produced for a series depends on the number of printed bills found to be defective.  The BEP currently prints Star Notes in maximum runs of 3.2 million (100,000 sheets of 32 notes each).  The runs are often significantly smaller depending on how many Star Notes are needed. So what is the value of a Star Note?  The smallest run sizes produce the rarest, and potentially most valuable, Star Notes! 

Examples of Star Notes: