Error notes have always been popular among collectors of U.S. small-size notes. Recently an e-mail came in that raises a question.

The correspondent, a 30-year collector of paper money and coins, spied a variance in spacing between the letters "FW" and the nearby plate position letters on two different Series 2003A $1 notes. (You should be able to see the difference in the image at right.)

The "FW" lettering, which appears at lower right on the front of the $1 note, is found on notes printed at the Fort Worth, Texas, production facility of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Notes printed at the Washington, D.C., facility do not have the lettering.

I've asked the BEP for explanation, and I'll post what I learn in an update here. Feel free to chime in with your comments.

The question, though, is this: for paper money, just where do we draw the line between an error and a variety? Beyond that, will varieties be a big part of the future of small-size note collecting? Will grading services be expected to certify varieties? Which varieties?


UPDATE (May 9): Carol Riggs at the BEP's Fort Worth facility tells me "(t)here is no standard tolerance for variation in the spacing of the small 'FW' on the $1 face.  The engravers in Fort Worth use a visual measure to help them determine the approximate distance from the check letter." Specific to our example, she says "the quality of the engraving of the small 'FW' is clear, legible and functional and performs its job by designating that the note was produced in Fort Worth, Texas." Thanks, Carol!