(TNS) — If you have a $2 bill, take it out of your wallet and store it someplace safe rather than spending it at some store for something cheap.
Why, you ask?
It’s because the bill itself could be worth thousands of dollars.
Listen up, certain $2 bills are going for $4,500 and up on the collectibles market, according to the online auction service U.S. Currency Auctions (USCA) website. When it comes to those certain bills, all of the really valuable ones were printed in the 19th century.
Don’t lose hope though, because even the bills that were printed within the last 30 years could be worth some change as well – fetching hundreds. But it all depends on if you have the right one.
The valuable bill was first printed in 1862 and is still in circulation today, so anyone could get their hands on it. It originally featured a portrait of Alexander Hamilton but went through a makeover and featured Thomas Jefferson on its 1869 redesign. The most recent redesign of the $2 bill was in 1963, according to information cited from the U.S. Treasury Department.
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.
The high price also depends on if the bill was uncirculated. For example, although from the 1800s, a circulated $2 bill might only be worth a couple of bucks, the USCA reported.
But if uncirculated and is an original, that same $2 bill from the 1800s can range in value from $500 to more than $2,800.
When it comes to an 1869 note, that could even fetch $3,800 or more.
More recently, certain uncirculated $2 bills from 1995 have a value of $500 and if you have a bill from the 2023 premium Federal Reserve set of 12, that’s worth $700 or more.
So, if you happen to have a $2 bill, how would you be able to tell if it’s worth something?
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.
