1981 $20 Bill Value

The series is printed right of Jackson's portrait. Series 1981 carries the signatures of Treasurer Angela Buchanan and Treasury Secretary Donald Regan. Series 1981A switched the Treasurer to Katherine Ortega. If the letter after 1981 is worn off, the Treasurer's signature on the left settles it.

The two series were printed back to back, according to the uspapermoney.info delivery records: 2,497,280,000 regular notes for 1981 and 2,028,800,000 for 1981A. 1981A was shorter and, oddly, prices a little lower on Greysheet.

Look for the letter I in the black seal on the left and at the start of the serial number. Minneapolis got only 23,040,000 regular Series 1981 twenties, against 559,360,000 for New York. Greysheet prices that difference: $52 to $60 for an uncirculated Minneapolis note, the only regular 1981 twenty with its own higher range.

On 1981A the Minneapolis printing was even smaller, 19,200,000, but Greysheet lists it at the same $30 to $37 as every other 1981A district. Printage and price do not always line up on modern notes. Collectors chase stars more than small districts, so the market only pays a little for the smaller regular run.

A star at the end of the serial number marks a replacement note. Stars were less than 1 percent of Series 1981, and the counts per district swing widely. The table puts the uspapermoney.info printage next to the Greysheet range so you can see where the money is.

The printing records list Series 1981A stars for only three districts: Cleveland (6,400,000), Atlanta (3,200,000) and San Francisco (6,400,000). Greysheet prices the Cleveland and Atlanta stars at $60 to $225 and the San Francisco star at $75 to $110.

Greysheet also carries a Philadelphia 1981A star entry, with no price shown, while uspapermoney.info records no Philadelphia star printing at all. We cannot settle that from public data. If you have a 1981A twenty with a C and a star, it is either a mislabeled 1981 or a note worth showing to a specialist, and in both cases the serial number will tell a dealer which.

Series 1981 twenties were printed from September 1981 to May 1984. Series 1981A ran into October 1985. A note that says 1981 can be three or four years younger than its date, and none of them are old enough to be scarce by age alone. Billions were printed; most were worn out and destroyed by the Federal Reserve, but the survivors are still plentiful.

That is why condition decides the price of every regular note on this page. A twenty that spent time in wallets is spending money. A twenty that went from a bank strap into a drawer and stayed flat is a $37 to $48 note to a collector.

Hold the note flat under a lamp and tilt it until the light skims the surface. Every fold shows as a line. No lines, sharp corners and stiff paper means uncirculated. One faint line means about uncirculated, still worth a premium. Anything softer is a circulated note at or near face value unless it has a star.

Also check the back. Ink transfer, stains or writing on either side pull a note down a grade or more. Our banknote grading scale has the full definitions.

From Series 1950 until Series 1990 the twenty kept the same look: a centered Jackson, the south portico of the White House on the back, and IN GOD WE TRUST above it from 1963. The Treasury seal changed in 1969 from a Latin legend to THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY, so any twenty from 1969 on, including 1981, has the English seal.

Series 1990 added a plastic security strip and microprinting around the portrait, which is the easiest way to tell later notes from a 1981. For the series around this one, see the 1977 $20, the 1969 $20 and the 1985 $20.

A 1981 twenty has none of the features people look for on modern money: no strip, no watermark, no color shifting ink. Checking one means going back to the basics. Genuine paper has small red and blue fibers embedded in it. The portrait and border were printed from engraved plates, so they feel slightly raised and the fine lines behind Jackson stay sharp under magnification instead of breaking into dots.

Counterfeit pens are not a reliable test on any note. If something feels off, compare it side by side with another old twenty and read our counterfeit detection guide.

Billions of 1981 twenties means plenty of fancy serial numbers out there: solids, ladders, radars and very low numbers. Those premiums apply on any series and usually outweigh everything in the tables above. Check both serials on the face against our fancy serial number guide before you spend a crisp one.

Circulated 1981 or 1981A without a star: spend it. Crisp regular note: worth $30 to $48 to a collector, which is a small margin after fees, so keep it or sell it with other notes in one lot. Minneapolis regular in uncirculated condition: set aside.

Any star, and especially a Minneapolis, Philadelphia or Dallas star from Series 1981: worth protecting in a sleeve and pricing against recent auction results. Our star note guide covers how replacement notes work, and where to sell old paper money compares the venues.