The Last of the Naked Notes: Why 1985 and 1988 Matter
Pick up a circulated $20 bill from the late 1980s and it looks unremarkable at first glance. No embedded security thread. No color-shifting ink. No microprinting. By modern standards these notes appear almost primitive, yet the Series 1985 and 1988 Federal Reserve Notes occupy a genuinely important place in United States currency history. They are the final major series issued before the Bureau of Engraving and Printing began introducing anti-counterfeiting features that would fundamentally redesign American paper money throughout the 1990s.
For the collector who focuses on post-1960 Federal Reserve Notes, these two series offer a rich hunting ground. Specific Federal Reserve Districts produced certain denominations in surprisingly low quantities. Star note replacement issues for some districts are legitimately scarce. And the two distinct signature combinations across 1985 and 1988 add a layer of variety that many budget-minded collectors overlook entirely. This guide breaks it all down with the specificity that serious collectors actually need.
Understanding the Signature Combinations
Federal Reserve Note series designations change whenever the Secretary of the Treasury or the Treasurer of the United States changes. The Series 1985 notes bear the signatures of Secretary of the Treasury James A. Baker III and Treasurer Katherine Ortega. When Nicholas F. Brady replaced Baker as Treasury Secretary in August 1988, the series designation changed to 1988, even though Ortega remained Treasurer and her signature stayed on the notes. This means the 1988 series reflects only a change in the Secretary’s signature, while Ortega’s familiar autograph bridges both series.
There is also a Series 1988A, which came about when Catalina Vasquez Villalpando replaced Ortega as Treasurer in December 1989. The 1988A notes retain Brady’s Secretary signature but carry Villalpando’s name as Treasurer. Collectors sometimes conflate 1988 and 1988A, but they are cataloged separately and have meaningfully different production profiles. The 1988A series also straddles the introduction of the security thread, meaning some 1988A $50 and $100 notes were produced without the thread while later printings of the same series included it. That transitional detail alone makes 1988A worth a dedicated future article.
When examining Series 1988 notes, always check the Treasurer signature carefully. A note signed by Ortega is Series 1988, while one signed by Villalpando is 1988A. In lower grades the signatures can be difficult to read, but confirming this detail can meaningfully affect catalog value, particularly on scarce district star notes.
The Twelve Districts and Why They Matter
Every Federal Reserve Note carries a district letter and number in its serial prefix, identifying which of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks issued it. Boston is A-1, New York is B-2, Philadelphia is C-3, Cleveland is D-4, Richmond is E-5, Atlanta is F-6, Chicago is G-7, St. Louis is H-8, Minneapolis is I-9, Kansas City is J-10, Dallas is K-11, and San Francisco is L-12. Print runs varied enormously by district and denomination. New York (B) and Richmond (E) consistently produced the largest quantities of most denominations, reflecting the sheer volume of currency demanded by their respective regions.
Minneapolis (I) and Kansas City (J) routinely had the smallest print runs among the twelve districts for higher denominations. A Series 1985 $50 from Minneapolis, for example, had a print run small enough that finding a Gem Uncirculated example today requires genuine patience. Dallas (K) and St. Louis (H) also produced noticeably lower quantities of $100 notes in the 1985 series compared to the New York and Richmond behemoths, and these command modest premiums in high grade even though many collectors walk right past them at shows.
Star Notes: The Real Prizes in These Series
Star notes, or replacement notes, are printed when regular notes in a given run are damaged or destroyed during production. They carry a star symbol in place of the final letter in the serial number suffix. Because they replace only a fraction of the regular print run, star notes almost always exist in far smaller quantities than their standard counterparts.
For Series 1985 and 1988, star note production was tracked by the BEP and later compiled in reference works including the Schwartz and Lindquist Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money. The most sought-after star notes from these series tend to concentrate in smaller-district, higher-denomination combinations. A Series 1985 $100 star note from Minneapolis (I) had a replacement run of fewer than 640,000 notes. Compare that to a Series 1985 $100 star from New York (B), where replacement runs could exceed 3.2 million notes, and the rarity differential becomes obvious.
The single most valuable star note category in the 1985 series for most collectors on a budget is the $50 Minneapolis (I) star. Print runs for this combination are documented at under 704,000 notes. In PCGS or PMG grades of 65 EPQ or better, examples have sold at auction for $150 to $300, which is genuinely reasonable for a legitimately scarce modern note.
Denomination-by-Denomination Collecting Strategy
The $1 and $5 Notes
One-dollar and five-dollar notes from 1985 and 1988 were produced in such vast quantities that building a circulated set is trivially easy and inexpensive. The interesting play at these denominations is strictly in star notes from low-print districts in high grade. A Series 1985 $1 star from Minneapolis in PMG 66 EPQ can still be acquired for under $50 at most currency shows, making this an excellent entry point for newer collectors. The Series 1988 $5 star from Minneapolis had a print run of approximately 512,000 notes, making it one of the more undervalued modern stars available today.
The $10 Notes
Ten-dollar notes in these series are somewhat overlooked compared to the more glamorous $50 and $100 denominations. A complete district set of Series 1985 $10 notes in Crisp Uncirculated condition is achievable for well under $200 in total. The star note picture is more interesting: the Series 1985 $10 star from Richmond (E) had a comparatively modest replacement run of around 640,000 notes despite Richmond being a high-volume district for regular production, simply because the damage rates in that particular print period ran lower.
The $20 Notes
Twenty-dollar notes from 1985 and 1988 saw some of the highest total print volumes of any denomination in this era. The Series 1985 $20 from New York (B) alone accounted for hundreds of millions of notes. Despite this abundance, the $20 star notes from smaller districts remain collectible. The Series 1988 $20 star from St. Louis (H) had a documented print run of just 640,000 notes, and in grades of 64 or better it represents a genuinely underpriced variety.
The $50 and $100 Notes
These higher denominations are where the most significant premiums appear for district and star varieties. Because fewer $50 and $100 notes circulated relative to smaller denominations, the surviving populations in high grade are actually not as large as one might expect. A complete twelve-district set of Series 1985 $100 notes in PMG 63 or better requires real effort and will cost several hundred dollars for the scarcer districts. The Minneapolis and Kansas City $100 star notes from both 1985 and 1988 are the flagship keys for specialists in this area.
When building a district set of $50 or $100 notes from these series, focus on acquiring the Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Dallas examples first. These tend to be the hardest to find in high grade and command the strongest premiums. Leaving them for last means you may find the market has tightened or that dealers have priced up remaining inventory by the time you get to them.
Grading Considerations for Pre-Security Thread Notes
Series 1985 and 1988 notes in circulated condition are worth little more than face value in most cases. The real collector market exists at the Crisp Uncirculated (CU) level and above. For third-party graded examples, PMG and PCGS Currency both assign numerical grades on a 70-point scale with EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality) or PPQ designations for notes that have not been pressed, washed, or treated. For these series, EPQ designation matters more than raw grade: a PMG 65 EPQ note commands a significant premium over a PMG 65 without the qualifier.
Watch for the following condition issues specific to these notes. The green Treasury seal and serial numbers on pre-1990 FRNs were applied with an ink formulation that can sometimes show light rub even on genuinely uncirculated notes, particularly on the serial numbers. The back plate printings on mid-1980s BEP production occasionally show slightly weak impressions on certain print runs from the Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas, which began supplementing Washington production in this era. Fort Worth notes can be identified by the small “FW” plate letter notation on the back of notes produced there, adding yet another variety layer for detail-oriented collectors.
The Fort Worth Facility Varieties
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas began production in 1991, so strictly speaking, Series 1985 and 1988 notes were printed exclusively in Washington, D.C. However, this historical boundary is worth understanding because it marks exactly why these series carry no Fort Worth plate identifiers. When Series 1988A and later series began production, the “FW” back plate designation became relevant. Collectors building type sets that span the late 1980s into the early 1990s will find this a natural stopping point: 1985 and 1988 are definitively Washington-only productions, giving them a clean provenance that some specialists actually prefer.
| Series / Denom | District | Approx. Star Print Run | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 $100 | Minneapolis (I) | Fewer than 640,000 | Key Date |
| 1985 $50 | Minneapolis (I) | Approx. 704,000 | Rare |
| 1988 $20 | St. Louis (H) | Approx. 640,000 | Scarce |
| 1985 $100 | Kansas City (J) | Approx. 1,280,000 | Scarce |
| 1988 $5 | Minneapolis (I) | Approx. 512,000 | Rare |
| 1985 $10 | Richmond (E) | Approx. 640,000 | Scarce |
| 1985 $20 | New York (B) | Over 3,000,000 | Common |
| 1988 $100 | Dallas (K) | Approx. 1,280,000 | Scarce |
| 1985 $1 | Minneapolis (I) | Approx. 1,024,000 | Scarce |
| 1985 $50 | New York (B) | Over 2,560,000 | Common |
Building a Meaningful Collection on a Realistic Budget
One of the most appealing aspects of collecting Series 1985 and 1988 Federal Reserve Notes is that a genuinely comprehensive collection remains accessible. A twelve-district type set of Series 1985 $1 notes in PMG 65 EPQ can be assembled for roughly $100 to $150 total. Moving up to $100 notes in similar grades will cost more, but even the scarcer districts rarely exceed $75 to $125 per note in the 63 to 65 range. The true star note keys in key-date categories can push into the $200 to $400 range in top grade, but these represent the pinnacle of the specialty rather than a barrier to entry.
Currency auction archives at Heritage Auctions, Stack’s Bowers, and Lyn Knight Currency Auctions all contain realized price data for these series going back more than a decade, and consulting that data before purchasing is strongly recommended. The greysheet (Coin Dealer Newsletter) also tracks FRN values for collectors who want current market benchmarks. Many of the overlooked varieties discussed in this article trade below published catalog values because the market for modern FRNs is still maturing and informed buyers with patience regularly find genuine bargains.
Heritage Auctions archives its currency auction results online and allows free searching without an account. Before paying dealer retail for any Series 1985 or 1988 star note, spend fifteen minutes searching Heritage realized prices for that specific district, denomination, and grade combination. The data is there, it is free, and it will make you a sharper buyer every time.
Why These Notes Deserve More Respect
The collecting community sometimes dismisses post-1960 Federal Reserve Notes as too modern and too common to merit serious attention. The Series 1985 and 1988 issues challenge that assumption directly. They close the book on an era of American currency that stretched back to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913: notes issued without any embedded or printed security technology beyond the paper itself and the engraved design. Every note printed after Series 1990 carries some form of anti-counterfeiting enhancement. The 1985 and 1988 series are the last of a truly different kind of American paper money.
Beyond the historical significance, the variety collecting opportunities are real and the market is inefficient enough that knowledgeable collectors still have an edge. District sets, star note date runs, high-grade registry competition, and signature type collecting all offer distinct collecting goals within these two series alone. For a collector looking to build something meaningful without spending thousands on a single note, the pre-security thread era of Federal Reserve Notes offers some of the best value available anywhere in the hobby today.
