That $1 bill or penny in your pocket could be worth thousands. Here's how to cash in
Before you throw your change into the cup holder of your car or into the bottom of your purse, you might want to examine it a little closer.
If you're lucky, the pair of crumpled $1 bills in your pockets or a few rusty pennies between your couch cushions may be worth thousands.
Due to a printing error nearly a decade ago and the demand for collectible coins, you can actually profit from the change you might have otherwise discarded.
If you happen to find duplicate $1 bills or an antique penny, there are two ways you can make money from this cash in your pocket.
How to check your $1 bills
When printing any dollar bill, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing gives each bill a unique serial number. However, printing errors at the Washington D.C. facility in 2014 and the Fort Worth facility in 2016 caused 6.4 million pairs of duplicate bills to be printed.
After nearly a decade of circulation, those bills could be anywhere. Coin and currency collectors are estimating the value of a pair to be $150,000 as of 2024, according to personal financing site, WealthyNickel.com.
You can check your $1 bill using these three easy steps, according to WealthyNickel.com.
The series date located on the far right of the photograph of George Washington must read “Series 2013”
The bill has a “B” Federal Reserve Seal above the serial number located to the right of Washington's photo
The serial number ends with a star (★) and fall between B00000001★ – B00250000★ or B03200001★-B09600000★
If the number on your dollar bill meets these criteria, you can submit the number to Project 2013B, and your bill could be auctioned off for a hefty price.
How to check your pennies
National Coin Week is the third week of every April; this year it begins on April 21. To celebrate, you can break out the coins in your piggy bank and see if you have any rare pennies you can cash in on.
According to Cointrackers.com, a money-measuring site, certain pennies are worth thousands due to rarity. Here are the 10 most valuable pennies as of 2024.
USA TODAY Network reporter Tamara Walker, Victoria E. Freile and Natalie Neysa Alund contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Your $1 bill or pennies could be worth thousands. How to check.
