You’re standing at a self-checkout, shoving a crumpled fiver into the machine, and it keeps spitting it back at you. Most people just get annoyed. They swap it for a crisper bill and move on with their day. But if you actually stop to look at that stubborn piece of paper, you might find it’s not just a "bad bill." It could be a mistake worth a used car. A misprinted 5 dollar bill is basically a lottery ticket hiding in plain sight.
Errors happen. Even at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), where high-tech presses churn out millions of notes, things go sideways. Sheets get misaligned. Ink runs dry. Paper folds over itself before the ink even hits. These "accidents" are supposed to be caught by eagle-eyed inspectors or automated scanning systems, but some slip through the cracks. When they do, collectors go wild.
It’s weird, honestly. We’re taught that money is this rigid, perfect thing. But the secondary market for "error notes" proves that imperfection is actually where the value lives.
What a Misprinted 5 Dollar Bill Actually Looks Like
Not every smudge is an error. If you find a bill with a red ink stain or a weirdly faded corner, it’s probably just "damage." Real errors happen during the manufacturing process.
Take the gutter fold. This is a personal favorite for many collectors. It happens when a sheet of currency gets a tiny wrinkle or a fold before it’s printed. Once the bill is flattened out later, there’s a stark, unprinted white line running right through the design. It looks intentional, almost like a stripe, but it’s a pure mechanical failure.
Then there are the doubled denominations. Imagine looking at a bill where the number 5 is printed clearly, but there's a faint "ghost" of another number or a different part of the design shifted just a few millimeters to the side. This usually happens during the second or third printing pass. Collectors, like those at Heritage Auctions, have seen these sell for hundreds, sometimes thousands, depending on how dramatic the shift is.
The Infamous Del Monte Note
If you want to talk about the holy grail of errors, you have to talk about the "Del Monte" bill. Now, this wasn't a 5 dollar bill—it was a 20—but it illustrates the point perfectly. A banana sticker somehow got stuck to the paper during the printing process. The seal and serial number were printed over the sticker. It sold for nearly $400,000. While you likely won’t find a fruit sticker on your fiver, the principle is the same: the more "impossible" the error looks, the higher the price tag.
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Cutting Through the Fake News
You’ve probably seen those TikToks or Reels claiming that any bill with a "star" at the end of the serial number is worth a fortune. Let's get real for a second. A star note just means the original bill was damaged during production and replaced with a new one using the same serial number (plus a star). They’re cool. They’re collectible. But they aren't "errors" in the traditional sense, and most are only worth a few bucks over face value unless they have a very rare serial sequence.
True misprints are different.
- Inverted Overprints: This is when the green Treasury seal and the black Federal Reserve seal are printed upside down relative to the rest of the bill. It looks bizarre. You'll know it the second you see it.
- Missing Inks: Sometimes the "third printing"—the one that adds the seals and serial numbers—just doesn't happen. You get a bill with Lincoln’s face and the building on the back, but no green or black stamps.
- Mismatched Serial Numbers: This is a subtle one. Look at the serial numbers on the left and right sides of the bill. Do they match? If even one digit is different, you’ve found a "mismatched serial" error. These are notoriously hard to catch, which is why they’re so prized.
Why Does Lincoln Get All the Cool Errors?
The 5 dollar bill is a workhorse. It circulates heavily. Because it’s not as "high stakes" as a 100 dollar bill, sometimes the quality control isn't quite as airtight, though the BEP would never admit that.
The current design of the 5 dollar bill, featuring the "Purple Five" on the back and the large, offset portrait of Abraham Lincoln, was introduced in 2008. Since then, the complexity of the printing process has actually increased the chances for certain types of errors. We’re talking about multiple layers of ink, security threads, and watermarks.
If you find a misprinted 5 dollar bill from the "small head" era (pre-1990s), you’re looking at even more scarcity. Those older bills are being pulled from circulation and destroyed every day. Finding an error on an old-school bill is like finding a fossil in your backyard.
The "Bleeding" Ink Myth
I’ve seen people try to sell bills on eBay claiming they have "rare ink bleeds." Most of the time, that's just a bill that went through the laundry with a pair of new jeans.
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True "ink smears" happen when the press is over-inked or a wiper blade fails. The ink will look thick, textured, and usually has a specific pattern related to the machinery. If the ink looks like it just "ran" like a watercolor painting, it’s probably environmental damage. Don't get scammed.
How to Check Your Change Like a Pro
Honestly, most of us are too busy to look at our money. But if you want to find something, you need a system.
First, check the alignment. Is the border even on all four sides? If the design is cut off, you might have a clipping error.
Second, flip it over. Is everything oriented correctly?
Third, look at the seals. Are they crisp? Are they in the right place?
There was a famous case of "offset printing" where the image from the front of the bill was faintly transferred to the back. It looks like a mirror image. This happens when a sheet doesn't enter the press, and the inked plate hits the "impression cylinder" instead. The next sheet that goes through picks up that "ghost" image on its backside.
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What to Do If You Actually Find One
If you think you have a legitimate misprinted 5 dollar bill, the absolute first thing you do is... nothing. Don't clean it. Don't iron it. Don't try to "fix" a smudge. You will destroy the value instantly.
Put it in a PVC-free plastic sleeve. Seriously.
Next, you need to verify it. You can take it to a local coin shop, but be careful. Some shops might try to lowball you if they think you don't know what you have. A better bet is looking at sold listings on sites like Heritage Auctions or Stack's Bowers. This gives you a "real world" price, not just a "catalog" price.
For high-value errors, you’ll eventually want to get it "graded." Companies like PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) or PMG (Paper Money Guaranty) will examine the bill, verify it’s authentic, and give it a numeric grade. A graded error note is much easier to sell because the buyer knows it’s not a counterfeit or a "home-made" error.
The Reality of the Market
Let’s be real: you probably won't get rich off one bill. But a solid error on a five can easily net you $100 to $500. Some "major" errors—like a bill printed on the wrong paper or a massive fold-over—can go for $2,000 or more.
It’s about the "wow" factor. If a non-collector looks at the bill and says, "Whoa, that’s messed up," you’ve got something good. If you have to use a magnifying glass to show someone a tiny dot of ink that shouldn't be there, it’s probably just a "minor variety" worth maybe a few cents over face value.
Actionable Steps for the Aspiring Collector
If you're ready to stop spending your potential fortune, here is how you actually start.
- Audit your "emergency" cash: Most of us have a 20 or a 5 tucked away in a wallet for emergencies. Take it out. Look at it. Use the "alignment test" first.
- Study the "Series" year: Errors found on older series (like 1950 or 1963) are exponentially more valuable than errors on 2017 or 2021 bills.
- Search for "Sold" listings: Go to eBay, type in "5 dollar error note," and filter by "Sold Items." This is the only way to see what people are actually paying right now, rather than what crazy people are asking for.
- Visit a local coin show: Most cities have them once or twice a year. It’s the best place to see these errors in person so you know exactly what the "ink texture" and "paper quality" of a real misprint looks like.
Check your pockets. Seriously. That rejected bill at the vending machine might just be the best return on investment you'll see all year.