Woman Reveals Dollar Bill With Rarely Seen 00000001 Serial Number

A family sorting through their father's possessions were shocked to discover a very rare $1 bill.

Erin Kelley shared a picture of the bill Tuesday on Reddit, where it has received more than 97,000 upvotes. The dollar bill features the serial number 00000001.

"It is the first bill released in the B-series of one-dollar bills released in 1969, printed in New York," Kelley told Newsweek.

Kelley's parents once owned a restaurant in Union City, New Jersey, where the bill's significance was discovered.

"In 1972 a group of patrons were playing a game of liar's poker with our dad and he pulled the bill out of his wallet. The only reason he even noticed the serial number is because he was playing liar's poker," Kelley said.

Liar's poker is an American bar game that is often associated with Wall Street traders. It involves wagering on the frequency of digits appearing in the serial numbers on currency. A mix of reasoning, chance and psychology, liar's poker is sometimes compared to the card game Cheat.

A former Mayor of Westwood, New Jersey, Erin's father Skip Kelley is now living in hospice care following a six-year ordeal with cancer.

"We were reminded of the existence of this bill while going through Dad's belongings as we gathered as a family to be by his bedside," Kelley said. "Knowing that he saved something special to be sold one day to support his wife after passing is comforting."

Kelley said her dad always had an interest in coins and bills, teaching her and her siblings about them when they were younger. While he amassed quite a collection, few of the items were valuable.

In posting the picture and story on Reddit, Kelley was sent thousands of comments and reactions to the bill, including some extra information she wasn't aware of.

"I was curious to see what kind of information could be gleaned from the Reddit community," she said. "For example, [one commenter said] the Secretary of Treasury on this bill is John Connally—former Governor of Texas—who was nearly killed by a bullet that passed through JFK in Dallas."

Other Redditors reacted leaving comments on the potential value of the bill.

"Thats possibly worth something," one commenter said. "But I'm no money expert."

"I'm no collectible appraiser or anything but something this rare has gotta be worth at least $1 right?" joked another reply.

On eBay, one listing exists for a 1969 B $1 bill with the serial number 00000002. Listed for $1,999.99 by the Kearney Coin Center, it has yet to be purchased.

Kelley said that they will definitely sell the bill but have been thrilled by the fun that the viral internet attention has caused.

"Never did I imagine that it would get the traction that it did," she said. "All the attention that has come as a result is a fun anecdote."