1953 $5 Silver Certificate (1953, 1953A, 1953B)

What changed from the 1934 five

Put a 1934 and a 1953 five side by side and the difference jumps out on the left. The 1934 has a large blue 5 there. The 1953 has a gray 5. On the right, the 1953 places its smaller blue seal over a gray FIVE. The signatures and series date moved around to suit the new layout. These changes echo the smaller seals and rearranged text that Federal Reserve notes had received a few years earlier with their 1950 series.

Lincoln stays on the face and the Lincoln Memorial stays on the back. The note still reads SILVER CERTIFICATE across the top and states that five dollars in silver is payable to the bearer on demand.

Series 1953 $5 silver certificates: signatures

Reading the series and signatures

Look for SERIES 1953 on the face, followed by A or B if present. The Treasurer signs on the left and the Secretary of the Treasury on the right. Ivy Baker Priest appears on both 1953 and 1953A, so check the Secretary to tell them apart: Humphrey on 1953, Anderson on 1953A. 1953B has Elizabeth Rudel Smith and C. Douglas Dillon.

Signature changes are the only differences between the three letters. None has a design change of its own, so condition and serial number matter more than which letter you hold.

How it compares with the 1953 $10

The 1953 $10 silver certificate uses the same layout idea with Hamilton on the face and a gray 10 on the left. Its three letters carry the same three signature pairs as the five. If you found several blue seal notes together, sort them by denomination first, then by series letter. Then look each up on its own page.

Why $5 silver certificates ended

The government was running short of silver by the early 1960s. In 1963 Congress repealed the Silver Purchase Act and let Federal Reserve Banks issue low denomination notes. Silver certificates stopped being printed and the Treasury began pulling them in. In March 1964 it stopped paying silver dollars for them. On June 24, 1968 it stopped paying silver of any kind. After that a $5 silver certificate could only be swapped for an ordinary $5 bill.

That history explains the value picture. These notes were in everyday use for about a decade, so circulated 1953 fives are not hard to find.

What a 1953 $5 silver certificate is worth

A worn note with folds and soft corners sits in the small premium band. A note with light handling moves up a little. A crisp uncirculated example, with square corners, no folds and bright paper, reaches the collector premium band. Star notes, which show a star before the serial number, are scarcer and usually sit a band above a regular note in the same grade.

Serial numbers matter too. A very low number, a solid, a ladder or a repeater can draw specialist buyers. Printing errors, such as a shifted or missing print or a mismatched serial, are their own category and can be worth considerably more.

• Face value to small premium: heavily worn, stained or torn notes.
• Small premium: ordinary circulated notes of any letter.
• Collector premium: crisp uncirculated notes, most star notes and fancy serials.
• Higher: uncirculated star notes and dramatic errors.

What to do with yours

Sleeve it, keep it flat and check for a star and an interesting serial. A worn note is a reasonable keepsake; if you want to cash it, a dealer will usually pay a little more than the five dollars a bank would give you. If yours is crisp or a star note, get a dealer's opinion or send it for grading. Never clean or press a note, because altered paper money sells at a discount.

Frequently asked questions