Yahoo Finance Your $5 note might not worth $1,200 - check this detail first
Some could still be worth “hundreds of dollars”.
A rare $5 banknote said to be worth up to 370 times its nominal value would be worth far less if you find it in your wallet. Here’s why.
News stories circulating about the $5 polymer note, released on April 24, 1995, may have you rustling through your spare change to find a cheeky payday from the ‘stuey diver’. But if you do find one, it’s almost certainly not worth the $1,850 some have been priced at.
It all comes down to the small but crucial detail on the Wynyard Coin Centre advertisement for the $5 Fraser Evans note.
“The ‘CFU’ there stands for ‘crisp flat uncirculated’ so this banknote is in the same condition it was when it was released, which means there are no creases or wrinkles in it,” coin expert Matt Thompson told Yahoo Finance.
“That note would’ve been taken directly from a bundle of 100 when it was issued and straight to a collector.”
Thompson said it was “possible but unlikely” you’d have a note worth this amount.
“If you get one in your wallet, it’s been in circulation,” he said.
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But all is not lost, some could still be worth “hundreds of dollars”.
Notes with the serial prefix of “HC 95” with narrow orientation bands, in mint condition, have been priced by Wynyard Coin Centre from $1,625 to $1,850.
The note also features signatures from the Reserve Bank of Australia governor at the time, Bernard Fraser, and then-treasury secretary Ted Evans.
The serial number, visible in the top right corner on the back of the note, displays the year it was first issued by the RBA - 1995.
There is also a sketch of Old Parliament House and the new Parliament House on the back, while a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and a eucalyptus plant adorn the front.
Typically, notes that feature the first or last prefix are quite valuable, as is discontinued currency or currency with errors.
With NCA Newswire
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