1928 $5 Bill Value

Look at the seal right of Lincoln's portrait and the words across the top of the note. The table sorts out the rest.

The red seal fives were delivered from May 1929 to April 1953, per uspapermoney.info. That long run is why common red seals are cheap. Series letters track the signature pairs, and the first Series 1928 note carries the widest price range because top grade early notes are scarce.

In circulated condition every series lands in the $10 to $20 area. The high end of each range is a gem uncirculated note.

The green seal fives carry the clause REDEEMABLE IN GOLD ON DEMAND AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, OR IN GOLD OR LAWFUL MONEY AT ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK. That wording ended with the 1934 series, after the government recalled gold.

The district seal on the left is the detail collectors check first. Series 1928 (Tate and Mellon) and 1928A (Woods and Mellon) show the district as a number from 1 to 12 inside the seal. Starting with 1928B the seal shows a letter instead, per Numista's catalog entries. Same district, different style.

1928C and 1928D are the scarce ones. Numista lists 1928D, signed Woods and Woodin, as an Atlanta only printing, and CoinWeek calls it the key regular issue $5.

Series 1928 red seal fives were delivered to the Treasury from May 1929 to April 1953, according to uspapermoney.info. The date on the note never changed, but the signatures did, so a Series 1928F signed by Clark and Snyder was printed decades after a Series 1928 signed by Woods and Mellon.

This is why age alone does not make a red seal valuable. The later series were printed in large quantities and many were saved, which is why their low ends sit at $10 like the earlier ones. The premium is concentrated in uncirculated condition, in star notes, and in the first Series 1928 at top grades, which is where Greysheet's $18,000 ceiling comes from.

On Series 1928 and 1928A green seal fives, the black seal on the left shows a number instead of a letter. The numbers run in the same order as the letters used on later notes: 1 is Boston, 2 New York, 3 Philadelphia, 4 Cleveland, 5 Richmond, 6 Atlanta, 7 Chicago, 8 St. Louis, 9 Minneapolis, 10 Kansas City, 11 Dallas and 12 San Francisco. From 1928B on, the seal shows the letter A through L.

This matters for value because Greysheet prices several Series 1928 districts far above the type note. A Minneapolis (9) note runs $45 to $4,200 against $30 to $450 for the type, and a 1928A from Dallas (11) runs $40 to $5,000. Check the number before you assume your note is the common one. Our district letter guide has the full table.

Condition first. The difference between a note with a center fold and one with none is the difference between the low and high ends of these ranges. Tilt the note against a light and look for creases before you decide what you have. Our grading scale guide explains what each grade allows.

Then rarity within the series. For red seals that means the earliest series and star notes. For green seals it means 1928C, 1928D, the scarce districts like Minneapolis on Series 1928 and Dallas on 1928A, and stars. A star on any 1928 $5 is worth checking against our star note guide.

Serial number last. Low numbers and patterns carry a premium on any series. The note in the photo, serial number 1 of the first run, is a museum piece for that reason.

Both the red seal and the green seal 1928 fives were printed with star replacement notes, and on both the star is the single biggest price multiplier after condition.

On the green seal side, Greysheet prices Series 1928 stars by district, and the spread is wide: Chicago from $150 to $900, Richmond from $350 to $3,375, St. Louis from $750 to $3,500. Several other districts, including Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco on Series 1928, and Boston on 1928A and 1928B, are listed with no price at all. For a note this old, no price usually means too few sales to set one.

On the red seal side, the dealer asks we saw for 1928E stars, $1,100 and $3,300, show the same pattern: stars sell for many times a regular note of the same series. If your 1928 five has a star in the serial number, treat it as a different note from everything else on this page and price it from auction records.

A circulated red seal or a common green seal 1928 or 1928B is a $10 to $30 note. Sell it to a local dealer, include it in a lot with other old notes on eBay, or keep it. Grading costs more than the premium.

A crisp note of any series, a 1928C or 1928D green seal in any grade, a numbered seal from Minneapolis or a 1928A from Dallas, and every star note deserve more care. Get two quotes, check recent auction results for your exact Friedberg number, and consider grading before selling. Our selling guide compares the options.

The red seal $5 continued after 1928 as Series 1953 and 1963 with a different face layout. If your red seal does not say 1928, see the 1953 $5 red seal and 1963 $5 red seal pages.

A $5 with a blue seal is a Silver Certificate. The most common is the 1934 $5 silver certificate, which is priced very differently from either 1928 note.