GIO

Thank you for your question.

This is what the U.S. Treasury has to say about the value of old currency (https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/edu_faq_currency_sales.aspx):

I have an old currency note. Can you tell me what it is worth? I would like to sell it. 

The Treasury Department does not render opinions concerning the numismatic value of currency notes, and will redeem only those notes issued by the United States Government. Any such redemption would be only at the face value of the notes. If you wish to have the currency mentioned in your letter appraised, We can only suggest that you contact several currency collectors and dealers. Listings are available in the telephone directory under the headings of COINS and HOBBIES.

Currency dealers and collectors consider the condition, series date, denomination, production totals, and other factors when evaluating currency notes to figure out their numismatic value. Each note is different from every other. In addition, grading is not an exact science, varying from dealer to dealer. Therefore, it is possible to have the same note appraised at different values. There is sometimes a wide range (both above and below the market price) in the values that they quote when buying and selling currency notes. This also may be due to the dealer's current inventory and the availability of similar notes in the marketplace.

I have some old silver certificates. How can I trade them in for silver dollars?

On March 25, 1964, C. Douglas Dillon, the 57th Secretary of the Treasury announced that silver certificates would no longer be redeemable in silver dollars. This decision was pursuant to the Act of June 4, 1963 (31 U.S.C. 405a-1). The Act allowed the exchange of silver certificates for silver bullion until June 24, 1968. This was the deadline set by the Congress. Since that date, there has been no obligation to issue silver in any form in exchange for these certificates. You may be interested to know that the Congress took this action because there were approximately three million silver dollars remaining in the Treasury Department's vaults. These coins had high numismatic values, and there was no way to make an equitable distribution of them among the many people holding silver certificates.

Silver certificates are still legal tender and do still circulate at their face value. Depending upon the age and condition of the certificates, however, they may have a numismatic value to collectors and dealers.

Some appraisers have posted information on their websites about the value of old currency. Here are a couple that may be perinent to your case:

"The Value of the One Dollaar 1935-E Silver Certificate": https://www.sapling.com/6484413/value-one-dollar-silver-certificate 

"Value of One Dollar 1935 Silver Certificates": http://www.antiquemoney.com/old-one-dollar-bill-value-price-guide/dollar-bank-notes-pictures-prices-history/value-of-one-dollar-1935-silver-certificates/

Other ways you can get a ballpark figure for how much something is worth is by seeing how much a similar item is selling for on an auction site such as eBay, or by participating in a coin collectors discussion forum such as CoinTalk.

The Enoch Pratt Free Library has an extensive list of tips and resources for finding out how much your paper money is worth: 

"Evaluating Old Coins and Paper Money": https://www.prattlibrary.org/research/guides/evaluating-old-coins 

I hope this information is helpful. If this is not what you need, or if you should require any further assistance, please let us know.

Bobby Griffith
Lead Government Information Reference Associate
Eagle Commons Library
University of North Texas Libraries
Bobby.Griffith@unt.edu