DALLAS, Texas — Thomas Jefferson is usually known as a founding father, author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. He rarely gets any press for being on the two-dollar bill.
But last week, his face got a lot of it after Heritage Auctions sold a $2 note from 2003 with a low serial number for $2,400, which was later resold for $4,000.
Type "$2 bill" into a search engine and dozens of articles pop up. And they're all similarly titled, such as "A $2 bill lying around your house could be worth thousands."
Versión en Español: Llovieron llamadas a Heritage Auctions luego de que la noticia de que un billete de $2 tuviera un valor de miles se hiciera viral
Raiden Honaker, who got his name from the Mortal Kombat character of the same name, quickly went from a consignment director for Heritage Auctions to a call center operator. Honaker focuses on numismatics -- the study or collection of currency.
"It blew up across the country," Honaker said. "It was cool to see the interest in numismatics. People started digging out those $2 bills to see if they hit the jackpot."
WFAA's newsroom also fielded many calls from viewers after posting a story to our website. So, there's a vested and shared interest in writing this to help folks with some crisp two-dollar bills lying around.
The sad news is, Honaker says they're probably worth face value only.
"Out of all the $2 notes that are issued, probably 99% of them are worth face value," Honaker said. "Over the past five years, more than 100 million two-dollar notes have been printed. So, beyond common."
Honaker did say you're in luck if you have a bill with a low serial number, something collectors like. He showed WFAA a $2 bill with the serial number 2 that would fetch potentially $5,000.
The condition of the bill also matters greatly. The more pristine--the more it's worth.
Honaker said if the bill has a dramatic error to it--it's also worth more. He showed WFAA a $2 bill with its seal and serial numbers printed twice.
He said it was worth around $20,000. The most rare two-dollar bill Heritage Auctions has ever sold was a replacement $2 note from 1928, which sold for $88,000 in 2013.
A replacement note usually contains an error, and the serial number range must be reprinted. A star next to the serial number signifies that the number was replaced.
Bottom line: Heritage Auctions would love to sell your rare cash -- but it needs to fit the part.