R-1 to R-5 Errors: Overprint Shift

The minor shifting of the overprint is another common error that many collectors care as little about as the general public. Bart suggests from the photos in his book that a 'minor' overshift is less than three eighths of an inch. On a $1 note, for example, this could mean that the green seal in the word ONE was shifted over to either extreme of the word but was still contained within it. Bart lists a modern (1995) $1 with a minor shift as having a value of about $50 in perfect condition, but I think that's too high for an error that is so common and has so little eye appeal.

Moderate and major shifts are cool, and their prices reflect the public's greater appreciation. These errors just look too wrong to have escaped the BEP (that's the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, not the Black Eyed Peas), whereas the minor shifts are actually no big deal even to the Mint.

Despite how common this error can be, in the past two weeks, there have only been 35 eBay auctions for overshifted prints, but 5 of these were for shifts of the 1st or 2nd printing of the bill. Of the 19 remaining, there were only 10 with sales completed. This is because the other 4 had starting bids that were too high.

$2. Series: 1953. Buy-It-Now: $43.20. Condition: XF. Date: 4/29/10

This note's overshift is so minor as to confer it almost no additional value; it's a mere curiosity. Despite its age and the cool red seal, in extra fine condition, it's only worth about $20.

$1. Series 1995. Condition: F+. 2 bids. $14.49. Date: 4/29/10.

This note has a minor-to-moderate southerly shift of the overprint, most noticeable with the green seal falling out of the word ONE. It's been pretty highly circulated, which speaks to the public's lack of appreciation for the error: A more noticeable and exciting error would have been pulled sooner. Bart's book lists this as worth about $10 because of the condition; I wouldn't have paid even that much, since you can just pull one yourself from circulation the next time someone hands one to you.


$5. Series: 1950b. Best Offer: $33.95. Condition: F. Date: 4/19/10.

Here's another poor decision on the part of the buyer. This bill's overprint shift barely qualifies as an error and certainly doesn't qualify as interesting. Making matters worse, the bill's relatively poor condition renders it nearly worthless. I'd have paid $5 for it.



$2. Series 1976. 21 bids. $65. Condition: Unc. Date: 4/19/10
Bart's excellent book (3rd ed., p 173) notes that while errors on $2 bills are generally quite rare, there happened to be a lot for this particular series. The seller, probably unaware of this, wrote about how rare the bill was. Nonetheless, Bart suggests a $250 price for such a note, and this one, despite heavy bidding, only went for a quarter of that. Sorry, but I couldn't get a larger photo.

An identical note from the same seller garnered even less interest, with 19 bids bringing it up to only $30.02 with shipping, a great deal for sure.


$1. Series 1969b. Condition: VF. 23 bids. $76. 4/18/10.
The seller listed it as a major ('extreme') shift, but technically it's only 'moderate.' For example, the green seal is still touching the word ONE. Still, it's pretty eye-popping. According to Bart's book, it's worth pretty much what the seller paid for it, but I have a feeling that this was still a good deal. It's hard to say, because the minor shifts are worth so little. In top condition, I'm sure this one would have sold for over $200.