# Stars Next To Serial Numbers On Money.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-next-to-serial-numbers-on-money/351164>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 3, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-next-to-serial-numbers-on-money/351164 "2006-04-03T23:46:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-next-to-serial-numbers-on-money/351164/1 "2006-04-03T23:46:48Z")

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I recently got a dollar bill with a star next to the serial number. What on earth does this mean. I know I vaguely recall this informercial where they were bragging you could get bills with stars next to the serial number. But I forgot the reason why or soon turned off the informercial.

Thank you in advance to all who reply 🙂

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**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-next-to-serial-numbers-on-money/351164/2 "2006-04-03T23:53:42Z")

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> [@Jim B.](#):
>
> I recently got a dollar bill with a star next to the serial number. What on earth does this mean. I know I vaguely recall this informercial where they were bragging you could get bills with stars next to the serial number. But I forgot the reason why or soon turned off the informercial.
> 
> Thank you in advance to all who reply 🙂

When a bill becomes too worn for continued circulation, it is sometimes replaced with a new bill. The star indicates that the bill is such a replacement.

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**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-next-to-serial-numbers-on-money/351164/3 "2006-04-04T00:03:19Z")

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Actually, I just found this:

[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mserial.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mserial.html)

I may have been wrong about the starred bills being used to replace worn notes; according to this, they are used to replace bills with printing errors instead. (They may also replace worn notes; I definitely seem to remember reading that, but my memory might be wrong).

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-next-to-serial-numbers-on-money/351164/4 "2006-04-04T00:05:24Z")

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The “how stuff works” article claims they are used to replace printing errors, and the error rate is about one in every 100,000 bills:

> **[Why Do Some U.S. Bills Have a Star at the End of the Serial Number?](https://money.howstuffworks.com/why-do-some-us-bills-have-a-star-instead-of-a-letter-at-the-end-of-the-serial-number.htm)**
>
> Most U.S. currency contains a serial number that ends with a letter, but some end or begin with a star instead. What does the letter stand for? What is the significance of the star?

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-next-to-serial-numbers-on-money/351164/5 "2006-04-04T00:06:48Z")

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Or the mailbag, take your pick.

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-next-to-serial-numbers-on-money/351164/6 "2006-04-04T00:39:20Z")

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> [@yabob](#):
>
> The “how stuff works” article claims they are used to replace printing errors, and the error rate is about one in every 100,000 bills:
> 
> [http://money.howstuffworks.com/question703.htm](http://money.howstuffworks.com/question703.htm)

They were NEVER used to replace worn out bills. Period.

Interestingly(to me), they seem to have varied greatly in quantity over the years.

A specialized book I have showing numbers of notes printed would indicate that they ranged from one per hundred notes to one per multiple thousands/ Depending on the series, denomination, years, etc.

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**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stars-next-to-serial-numbers-on-money/351164/7 "2006-04-04T07:30:39Z")

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Note that the given frequencies of “per hundred notes to one per multiple thousands” _doesn’t_ mean they actually occur as 1 mis-printed note out of a bunch of 100.

They are printing errors, which generally affect all the notes printed from a plate, until a worker notices it. This would likely be several hundred notes. Then they reprint those numbers, with the star next to them. This just happens rarely enough that the _average_ is what was given.

If a single note out of a bunch is bad, that single note is destroyed. I believe that they don’t bother to print a starred replacement for a single bad note like that. It’s only when whole batches of numbered notes are bad that they reprint them.