What Does Series Date Mean on Paper Money?

Series Date vs. Serial Number

• The series date on modern Federal Reserve notes is found toward the bottom of the note, either to the right or left of the portrait, depending on the denomination. It is not to be confused with the serial number, which appears in two places and begins with one or two letters, followed by eight numerals and then another letter.

Meaning

• Currency designs change periodically. The series date is the year that a new design was created. A particular note might be printed that year, but more likely it was printed in one of the years afterward, until another design change was made.

Series Letters

• Before the 1970s, minor design changes did not result in a new series year, but rather a letter added under the design year. For example, series 1934 notes began production in 1934, but 34A, 34B, 34C and 34D notes were printed successively throughout the rest of the 1930s and 1940s, with the next major design change not occurring until 1950.

Minor vs. Major Revisions

• Each Federal Reserve note includes the signatures of the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the Treasurer of the United States. Before the 1970s, a change in either signature was considered a minor revision, so a new letter was added; since then, each change in the Secretary of the Treasury's signature has, according to Treasury Department policy, merited a new year on the notes.

Current Series Dates

• Except for $1 and $2 bills, series 2006 is the most recent series date in circulation. Series 2009 notes, featuring the signatures of U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner and U.S. Treasurer Rosa Rios, are expected to be in wide circulation in 2010.