ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Guy who inherited a rare $5 bill from his grandma is told someone is willing to offer $400,000 for it

The man received the note from his grandmother who worked in the finance department at Universal Studios.
PUBLISHED NOV 20, 2024
A man holding a $5 bill taken out of his wallet | Image Source: Pexels/Karolina Grabowska
A man holding a $5 bill taken out of his wallet | Image Source: Pexels/Karolina Grabowska

A $5 bill may not be worth much at face value, but turns out some special coins and dollar bills are more precious than others. A $5 bill inherited by a man from his grandmother recently went viral online with suggestions that the currency note could be worth thousands of dollars. Charlotte Carroll's boyfriend, Tommy received his grandmother's note collection after her death and one item in the collection caught many people's eyes. In the video uploaded on TikTok, the girlfriend wrote, "My bf [boyfriend] inherited this $5 bill from his grandma. It has to be the most insane banknote I have ever seen."

Girlfriend shows her boyfriends collection of dollar bills | (Image Source: TikTok | @
Girlfriend shows her boyfriends collection of dollar bills | (Image Source: TikTok | @lottiestarlight)

The bill featured a rare printing error, which made it special. The printing error is misaligned with parts of the print overlapping and in the lower section of the bill, the large number '5' appears to be printed twice and shifted out of alignment with the rest of the design. The misprint created an overlapping effect where sections of the bill's text and numbers seem to be "stacked" on each other, according to Newsweek. In the video, Caroll said that the bill came from Tommy's grandmother who had previously worked in Universal Studios' finance department in California. "We have had people offer between $5 and $400,000 for it, and all we refuse," Carroll told Newsweek. "I decided to share on TikTok because I have a lot of community in the money-collecting world that I wanted to share with," she said. "But I never thought the video would blow up the way it did."

UNITED STATES - Circa 1950s: Change Purse With Bills And Coins | Getty Images | Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts
An image of an old purse with coins and dollar bills | (Image source: Getty Images | Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts)

This is the same as the $1 bill which can also be worth a large sum of money with certain misprints on it. According to  Wealthynickel.com some of these bills which were printed in 2014 and 2016 feature a tiny mistake from the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing that could make them worth $150,000 for collectors. According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing a total number of  6.4 million banknotes were printed with the error in 2014 and 2016. Some of these misprints include the date located on the far right side of the photograph of George Washington reading “Series 2013." Similarly, the bill that has a “B” Federal Reserve seal above the serial number located to the right of Washington's photo can also be worth quite a lot. Those with a serial number ending with a star (★) and falling between B00000001★ – B00250000★ or B03200001★-B09600000 can also get you a lot of money. 



 

What Makes Them so Precious?

According to The American Numismatic Association, a congressionally chartered nonprofit dedicated to the study and collection of bills and coins, currency misprints are extremely rare. The currency that is highly controlled hardly features mistakes and therefore the rarity makes these unique bills extremely attractive to collectors, according to Blackwell Auctions. While efforts are made to spot notes with the mistakes before they enter circulation, some flaws do go unnoticed which makes these bills rare. Additionally, these errors show us how the printing techniques have evolved, which makes them historically significant too.

You can follow (@lottiestarlight) on TikTok for more such content.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The guest said that she had received the item from her grandmother who had inherited it.
1 hour ago
The "Pawn Stars" were aleft impressed by the only basketball signed by the OGs Jordan, Phil Jackson, and Kobe.
19 hours ago
Turns out that Mr. Wonderful was ordained by the state of California to do the job.
20 hours ago
Fans did not expect to see a person with such a striking resemblance to the former Vice President.
23 hours ago
Rick Harrison wasn't trying to this item for a low price as it was historically significant.
1 day ago
Despite offering $1.5 million, Harrison was unable to make a deal for the historic item.
1 day ago
Kevin O'Leary hailed their salesmanship after coming to a $600,000 valuation.
1 day ago
The star also followed it up with a second shoutout seeking another chance for her on the show.
1 day ago
The clock was a piece of art and its mechanism was as intriguing as it gets.
2 days ago
The company wasn't profitable and this alone had turned away most sharks in the first place.
2 days ago
All three contestants were unable to make the right guess, and fans pointed out what was wrong online.
2 days ago
The guest was enthusiastic about the painting and the expert was marvelled by its story.
2 days ago
Even the contestant lost his balance as he laughed at his answer immediately.
2 days ago
The Duke of Wellington gifted them the table and a set of willow-patterned tea sets to go with it.
2 days ago
Her product could help a lot of people protect their homes and loved ones from deadly fires.
3 days ago
A lot of the sharks were unsure about the product due to unfortunate incidents in the past.
3 days ago
“He seems like a lot of fun as a dad,” Seacrest admired Tony and Mike Nunes' relationship.
3 days ago
The painting was made by Francois Gilot, the ex-lover of the famous Pablo Picasso.
4 days ago
However, few fans loved their coordinated moves, "Steve Harvey be sharp all the time!"
4 days ago
The founder of Chirp scored a creative deal with Lori Greiner after much deliberation.
4 days ago