R-1 to R-5: Digit Problems in the Serial Number

Call it what you will, a turned or rolling digit is pretty common. It looks like one of the serial number digits has sunk below or shot above the rest of the digits, generally by just a millimeter or two. Stuck digits occur when the wheel on the cylinder gets stuck, resulting in the appearance of just the top or bottom of a digit or, on occasion, an impression of parts of two consecutive digits.

Tho these errors can be quite common and unimpressive, to the point where they're often overlooked or ignored, some of them can look pretty cool. The cooler they look, the more they'll usually go for on the secondary market (on the primary market, they go at face value -- they're pieces of currency, after all!).

Rolling digits and letters don't seem to come up on eBay very often despite their relative commonness. In the past two weeks, there were only 4 auctions featuring the words 'digit' or 'rolling,' and only two of these auctions resulted in a sale (and one of those was to me!).


$1. Series: 1985. Condition: CU. Make-an-Offer. $63.95 (off of $82.95 asked). Date: 4/23/10.
This neat little error features a rolled letter F in the suffix. According to Bart's error book, it's worth about $100 since it's in perfect condition.

$2. Series 2003. Condition: CU. Make-an-Offer. $47.95. Date: 4/15/10.
The only thing appealing about this error is that it appears on a $2 note, so it's a bit rarer than such an error on a $1 note. Still, I don't think it's worth nearly $50 -- the error is just to subtle.