1981 NY $20? misprint or fake?

[shaunee06]

Had this in my "Vacation Fund" Jar, showed it to my wife who things its fake and really wants me to get it to a bank. I Laughed and said I would give it to a pizza delivery guy and let him deal with it. But since Im a nice guy I tossed it in my wallet with the intent to get a bank to take it from me.
I mentioned it at work and one of the guys said it could be a legit $20 that’s worth something because of its cut. I checked around a little online and saw some CRAZY prices for rare bills. Well that just made me want to do a little more research. So I called a local coin store, and got 1 question " what’s the year?" I said 1981, she said, "spend it."

Not that I’m expecting it to be "THE $20 Bill"... I just can’t let it go without some consistency. Anyone know if I have something rare, or something boring, or something fake?

Any info would be great!



The front is off set in its cut. in between the zeros of the 20s the ink is blooming.
The back's cut is centered. there is ink bleeding through from the front where it wasnt centered.
it would seem the cut was made based on the back, and the front and back ink do not line up.
Its a 1981 NY. No strip or water mark because of the year it was made.

 

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[Nickleanddime]

It looks like a wash. Take a eraser on the corner and see if the ink comes off. Counterfeiters take a lower bill and wash it then reprints higher bills on it. Common with older bills since no strips in them. I worked at a pizza shop as a driver and we use to get them about once a month from a smarta.. Kid being cute. Had a dollar bill In the deposit one day that they tried to wash out bank wouldn't take it.

 

[vpnavy]

Until someone pipes in - I searched

and found 1981 Series A $20 dollar bill (Feb 28, 2013)...

 

[shaunee06]

being that its series A, im thinking im not as lucky as that guy

So I did the eraser test to the bill in question, along with a 2009 $20 and a 2009 $1. All seemed to wear the same, and produce the same color shavings.

Is there a decent website that has info on where to look ?

 

[terryin pa]

In all honesty, if I had every $20.00 bill I've seen like that, I could retire. For some reason they were lacking pride in workmanship in those days as there were tons of bad cuts. Verify its legit, and spend it.

 

[Guest 1551]

i held onto the 1995 $20 (worse condition than that) my parents make fun of me, but nowadays banks burn those cause they are getting worn out. HOLD ONTO IT! thats what i'd do! Its just 20 bucks

 

[shaunee06]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Jamesbondaka]

I have dealt with error bills for a number of years......................I would say,,, spend it. This does not happen on every bill but....its far from being rare. As said....it happens more than you think. Its a error for sure but there are lots and lots of them.

Keep looking! There are lots more out there.

 

[jeff of pa]

Spend it or EBay it & see if you can find a sucker,
I see no reason to believe it is Fake.
just a Normal occurrence.

If it was cut off into the 2 , you'd have something