What Nonsequential Serial Numbers Mean for Collectors
For generations, collectors and cash handlers have been accustomed to a predictable feature of newly printed U.S. currency: open a fresh strap of notes, and the serial numbers generally follow one another in sequence.
That familiar pattern is beginning to change…
The U.S. Currency Program is modernizing the equipment used to produce Federal Reserve notes, and one result is a shift away from consecutive serial-number sequencing within newly produced straps. The transition is already underway for several denominations and will eventually extend across U.S. currency production.
For everyday users, the change will probably go unnoticed. For collectors, however, it changes a longstanding characteristic of newly produced U.S. banknotes and could also affect one particularly collectible category: star notes.
From Sequential to Nonsequential Straps
A standard U.S. currency strap contains 100 notes of the same denomination. Under the traditional production process, a newly produced strap generally follows a predictable serial-number sequence. The first note has a serial number ending in “01,” while the final note ends in “00.”
That arrangement is changing as the U.S. Currency Program introduces modernized production equipment.
The modernization effort began in 2023 and is being phased in by denomination. As of September 2026, the Federal Reserve reported that $1, $2, $5 and $20 notes were being produced using the new equipment. Availability of nonsequential straps depends on local inventories and Federal Reserve distribution schedules.
Instead of containing 100 consecutively numbered notes, straps produced using the new process may contain serial numbers with gaps and, in some cases, little or no apparent sequencing. That means a freshly produced strap might contain notes with serial numbers that appear unrelated to one another.
Importantly, this is not an error. It is an intentional result of the new production process.
Why Is the Change Happening?
The change is part of a broader, multiyear modernization of U.S. banknote production equipment rather than a redesign of the currency itself.
Producing U.S. currency is a highly automated process involving printing, inspection, numbering, cutting and packaging. Under the traditional process, finished notes are cut into piles of 100 and banded before larger quantities are packaged for shipment.
Modern equipment allows the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Currency Program to change how notes move through these production stages. One consequence is that maintaining consecutive serial numbers within each finished strap is no longer a feature of the new process.
During the transition, both systems remain in use. As a result, collectors and financial institutions may encounter both traditional sequential straps and newer nonsequential straps.
Eventually, according to the Federal Reserve, all denominations will transition to nonsequential production.
What Happens to Star Notes?
Perhaps the most interesting part of the change for collectors involves replacement notes.
Traditionally, when an imperfect sheet is identified after serial numbers have already been assigned, replacing it with another note bearing exactly the same serial number would be inefficient. Instead, replacement notes are produced with a star symbol in the serial number, creating what collectors commonly call a star note.
Star notes have developed their own collector following, particularly when they come from smaller print runs or have desirable serial-number combinations.
The modernization does not mean that all star notes are immediately disappearing.
Traditional banknote production equipment will continue producing star notes as replacements while that equipment remains in operation. However, according to the Federal Reserve, the new printing equipment will no longer produce star notes.
That distinction is important.
As more denominations transition to the modern production process, newly produced star notes associated with traditional production could become less common. Exactly what that means for the collector market remains to be seen, but the production change gives collectors another reason to pay attention to how and when newer notes were manufactured.
What Collectors Should Watch For
The transition creates an unusual period in U.S. currency production because old and new production methods are operating alongside one another.
Collectors may encounter newly produced sequential straps, nonsequential straps, and star notes produced using traditional equipment at the same time.
A nonsequential strap should therefore not automatically be interpreted as having been opened, rearranged or assembled from circulated notes. Likewise, the first note in a new strap produced with modern equipment is not expected to end in “01,” nor is the final note expected to end in “00.”
Individual notes will continue to carry unique serial numbers. Serial numbers remain an important identifier on Federal Reserve notes even though their relationship to other notes within a strap is changing.
For collectors interested in modern U.S. currency, documenting denomination, series, serial number and other production information may become increasingly useful as the transition progresses.
A Small Change With an Interesting Collecting Impact
To most people, whether the serial numbers inside a bank strap are consecutive makes little difference. A $20 Federal Reserve note remains $20 regardless of the number printed on it.
For collectors, however, serial numbers tell part of the story of how a banknote was produced.
The transition to nonsequential straps represents a significant change to a production convention that collectors have taken for granted for decades. Combined with the eventual reduction of newly produced star notes, the modernization could leave a recognizable dividing line between traditional and modern U.S. banknote production.
It is also a reminder that banknote collecting isn’t limited to new designs and security features. Sometimes the most interesting changes happen behind the scenes, in the way the notes themselves are manufactured.
Sources
Federal Reserve Financial Services
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
U.S. Currency Education Program
