Error Note Chronicles: Missing Print Error

Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) is the world’s leading authority on banknote errors, a popular segment of numismatics. In Error Note Chronicles, we take an in-depth look at different errors. This month’s topic is the Missing Print Error.

Banknotes are printed in sheets in stages, during which ink is applied and allowed to dry. For Federal Reserve Notes, the back is printed first, and then most of the design on the front of the note is imparted. Finally, the seals and serial numbers are added, before the sheet is cut into individual notes. In the case of this 1977A $1 Federal Reserve Note (New York) graded PMG 50 About Uncirculated, it is the back (or the First Print) that was missed. (This particular note is available in a June 2023 Heritage Auctions sale.)

1977A $1 Federal Reserve Note (New York) with a Missing Print Error graded PMG 50 About Uncirculated Click images to enlarge.

Here's another Missing Print Error, this one involving the Second Print, which would have included Andrew Jackson's portrait. Without this layer, only the seals, serial numbers and Federal Reserve District numbers are visible, which offers some insight into how US paper money is produced. (The Inverted Overprint Error also highlights the elements that are added to the front of US paper money in a separate pass; learn more about this error here.) This particular note realized $870 in a Heritage Auctions sale in January 2021.

$20 Federal Reserve Note (Cleveland) with a Missing Print Error graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge.

Expectedly, the Missing Print Error can also be found on world banknotes. This Cuba, Banco Central De Cuba 2001 20 Pesos graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ has a Missing Print Error in which its back is blank. This particular note realized $252 in an August 2022 Heritage Auctions sale.

Cuba, Banco Central De Cuba 2001 20 Pesos with a Missing Print Error graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge.

PMG, an independent member of the Certified Collectibles Group® (CCG®), has certified many exciting error notes, including the famous “Del Monte” error note that realized $396,000 in a January 2021 sale.

Collectors and dealers with error notes can submit them to PMG for certification under an applicable grading tier with “error” or the specific error noted under the Variety/Pedigree column on the submission form. There is no additional fee for this service.

For more information about submitting to PMG, visit PMGnotes.com.

Other Error Note Chronicles columns:

• Cutting Error
• Doubled Print Error
• Dual Denomination Error
• Gutter Fold Error
• Ink Smear Error
• Insufficient Inking
• Inverted Back
• Inverted Overprint Errors
• Misalignment Errors
• Mismatched Prefix Error
• Mismatched Serial Number Error
• Multiple Errors
• Multiple Impression Error
• National Bank Note Errors
• Obstructed Printing Errors
• Offset Printing Error
• Overprint on Back Error
• Paper Jam Error
• The PCBLIC Error
• Printed Fold Error
• Solvent Smear Error
• Stuck Digit Error
• Watermark Errors