By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
(n.)
A Star Note is a replacement banknote issued by the United States, so named because of the placement of a printed star either before (for large-sized notes issued from 1910-1929 and some small-sized notes) or after the note’s serial number (for most small-sized notes printed). With the printing of U.S. paper money being handled by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), the decision to issue replacement notes can be undertaken at any point during the note printing process when it is determined that the original print run is either damaged or in some way substandard.
Serial numbers found on these bills are unique to this subset of currency. The star serves as the final digit of the serial number and this serial number is not the same as the number of the note it replaces.
These notes are issued in lower quantities than regular issues and generally trade for a premium. Given their nature, the quantity of Star Notes released will vary. Some are quite scarce; others are common.
The star is also used for the 100,000,000th note in a series (as only eight digits are used).
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