1969 $5 Bill Value

The series letter is printed right of Lincoln's portrait. Each letter is a new signature pair, and the printage gap between 1969B and the others is the reason for every price difference on this page.

1969B fives were delivered between May 1972 and October 1973. All twelve districts got some, but several runs were small: Philadelphia and St. Louis 5,120,000 each, Boston 5,760,000, Minneapolis and Kansas City 8,320,000 each. New York was largest at 34,560,000.

Greysheet lists regular 1969B notes at $45 to $100 for eleven districts and $48 to $56 for Boston. That is a scarce regular series by modern standards, the kind you can still find in old drawers if you look at the series line instead of the year.

The Secretary's signature tells 1969B from 1969C at a glance, since both carry Treasurer Romana Bañuelos. John Connally signs 1969B; George Shultz signs 1969C.

The first 1969 series had the most stars, 38,944,000 in all, and most districts list at $6 to $24. Minneapolis is the exception because its run was by far the smallest.

On the 1969A and 1969C series the spread is similar: a few small runs, like the 480,000 Atlanta 1969A stars and the 480,000 Cleveland and Richmond 1969C stars, are the ones with real premiums.

1969B stars were printed for six districts only: New York (448,000), Richmond (640,000), Atlanta (640,000), Chicago (480,000), Kansas City (640,000) and San Francisco (640,000). Greysheet lists Chicago at $120 to $160 and the other five at $100 to $140.

The other three series are more mixed. Some ranges in Greysheet's listing are wide, such as $10 to $225, and those wide ranges read as placeholders rather than tight market prices. The table keeps the notes with the most useful numbers.

The 1969C star counts at uspapermoney.info show zero for Chicago and Minneapolis, and Greysheet lists no star for either. A 1969C five with a G or I and a star is not in the records, so check the series line again before you price it.

For the stars that do exist, Atlanta and San Francisco had the largest 1969C runs at 3,040,000 each, and Cleveland and Richmond the smallest at 480,000 each. That is why the Cleveland and Richmond 1969C stars list higher than most.

Series 1969 introduced the redesigned Treasury seal on Federal Reserve Notes, with the English legend THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY and 1789 at the bottom, according to Wikipedia's article on the seal. Earlier fives carry the Latin legend.

So: Latin seal, Series 1963A or earlier. English seal with a centered portrait, 1969 through the early 1990s. If your five has a red seal instead of green, it is a United States Note, and our 1963 $5 red seal and 1953 $5 red seal pages cover those.

The uspapermoney.info records show how the four series overlapped. Series 1969 fives were delivered from August 1969 to November 1971. 1969A ran from June 1971 to May 1973. 1969B from May 1972 to October 1973. 1969C from October 1972 to December 1974.

1969B was the third pair of signatures in less than three years, and it was replaced by 1969C within months of starting. That short life is the whole reason its regular notes list at $45 and up while the series on either side sit at $5 to $18.

The difference between $5 and $18 on a common 1969 five, or between $45 and $100 on a 1969B, is condition. Tilt the note under a lamp and look for fold lines. None, with sharp corners and stiff paper, is the top of the range. A few folds with crisp paper is the middle. A soft, worn note is the bottom, which for 1969, 1969A and 1969C means face value.

Writing, stains, tears and pinholes count against a note even if it has no folds. The banknote grading scale has the full definitions.

One small detail in Greysheet's list is worth knowing. Regular Minneapolis notes (district I) list a little higher than other districts in three of the four series: $5 to $24 for Series 1969 and $6 to $24 for 1969A and 1969C, against $5 to $13.50 or $5 to $18 elsewhere. Boston 1969 notes also run to $18.

It is not a big premium, but if you have a crisp Minneapolis 1969 five, it is worth a little more than the same note from New York. For stars, Minneapolis matters more: the Series 1969 Minneapolis star, with only 640,000 printed, lists at $41 to $90.

The 1950 $5 has the same structure: a short final series (1950E) that collectors want. The 1981 $5 is the place to look for modern stars, including a Boston star run of only 16,000 notes. If you are sorting a pile of old fives, check the series letter first on all of them; the year alone tells you almost nothing.

Circulated 1969, 1969A or 1969C without a star: spend it. Any 1969B: set it aside, it is worth $45 or more in good condition. Any 1969B star, and the 1969A and 1969C stars in the $48 to $100 bands: protect it in a sleeve and compare recent sales. Our selling guide covers where to go.