Welcome

Welcome to the home of the best serial number resource for early small-size U.S. paper money. The census listings contained here are the result of years of work and research in the currency field. This project is dedicated to educating collectors on the rarity of the most collected small-size U.S. currency notes from 1928-1933. Hope you find this project helpful!

What is a 1928 Note?

Almost all U.S. paper currencies issued from 1928-1933 are designated as the "Series of 1928." Some may have a series letter at the end, which denotes a change in signature or a change in design or wording. An example may include: "Series of 1928C."

Note or Certificate?

In the U.S. today, we only use one type of currency: Federal Reserve Notes. For most of the 20th century there were multiple types. Currency was divided into multiple classes (or types). This project deals with four classes: Gold Certificates, Silver Certificates, United States Notes and Federal Reserve Notes.

You may be wondering why some notes were called "certificates" as opposed to notes. These certificates of deposit guaranteed the bearer that a certain quantity of gold or silver was on deposit at the U.S. Treasury -- an amount that could be redeemed on demand at any time by turning in the certificate to the U.S. Treasury. Thus, holding the certificate was just as good as holding the actual coins.

Notes may also carry the same redemption clauses or they may be fiat (an issuance of credit or debt with no precious metal backing).

How Reliable is This Census?

Census records in the paper money business are often riddled with errors -- mostly by accident, sometimes deliberate. Compounding the problem is the fact that faulty information is often published without a tremendous amount of verification. Once published, erroneous information is assumed to be credible, then it is used in other publications -- and so the cycle goes on.

Often used in the description of items for sale or auction is the phrase "...according to the census..." Ironically, "the census" is rarely identified by name. Naturally, it is more advantageous to the seller of a note to make it appear as scarce as possible, but vague census references are absolutely of no use to a potential buyer. When buying a note, never base your information off of any one particular source. Always do your own homework!

No one census can ever be complete, nor should you ever assume that any one census is 100% accurate. That said, some are better than others. This project uses a strict confirmation process in order to verify that every note reported actually exists. A note is not listed as confirmed in any of our census listings unless there is 99.999% certainty of the existence of said note. Mistakes can happen, but hopefully that rarely happens here.

How Does the Census Work?

1928Notes.com note information is gathered from a wide variety of sources: trade shows, currency experts, public auction listings, etc. Once we received information on a note, it is listed as Reported. There are various designations associated with this status, representing the degrees of credibility of the reporting. If enough evidence is presented to the extent that we are 99.999% certain of a note's existence, the note listing is upgraded to Confirmed. Running totals of both Confirmed and Total Reported notes are listed for each note class, denomination and variety.

Can I Contribute Information?

Absolutely! Note reports and census information reports are always welcomed and appreciated! Contact for note information is admin@1928notes.com

Do We Assign Grades or Values to Notes?

1928Notes.com does NOT officially assign grades or values to notes. You may see grades listed here; however, these are estimated grades. They should not to be taken as absolute, nor should any purchasing decision be made on account of these estimates. We also do not assign values to notes. The information listed here is for educational purposes only, NOT financial or investment purposes. NOTE: In the end, it is your responsibility to do your own homework when making a purchase for your collection.

Does 1928Notes.com Buy or Sell Notes?

1928Notes.com does NOT sell notes. We do, however, entertain offers to purchase notes for the 1928Notes.com Collection. The purpose of this private collection is to promote the hobby and educate collectors. If you are looking to sell your notes, we would be honored to have the opportunity to purchase them for this collection.