COLLECTING ZIP CODE NOTES

Hot Collectible Delivers Zippy Fun from Philately to Notaphily

Mr. ZIP (a.k.a. Zippy) was introduced to America in 1963 with the Zone Improvement Plan of the United States Post Office. According to Wikipedia Mr. ZIP featured prominently alongside the musical group The Swingin Six in a variety show that the Post Office used to explain the importance of using ZIP Codes. There are more than 40,000 ZIP codes in use today. Rather than using just the name of a city and state, Zip Codes added five digits to mail addresses of which the first three digits specify a particular Sectional Center Facility for mail processing while the last two digits specify a postal zone within a city. According to Reader's Digest, besides Beverly Hills, CA 90210, the most famous ZIP codes include ‘60606' for Chicago, ‘70130' for New Orleans, and ‘33162' for Miami.

Notaphilists have long searched for unusual serial numbers on US Currency including low serial numbers, Star notes, solids, radars, repeaters, binaries, and birthday notes. A hot new collectible among Young Numismatists (YNs) to add to your currency search list are ZIP Code Notes. Zip Code Notes already have a low serial number leading with three zeros, followed by a valid 5-digit ZIP code, which further grounds the note to a specific geographic place. As with other special serial number notes, the more ‘the stars align,' the more powerful the connection and more valuable the note. Of extra value are ZIP Code Notes for cities located within the same Federal Reserve District as issued the note and especially for series 1963 to 1983 notes issued before the ZIP+4 improvement added one too many numbers to mailing addresses that currency serial numbers cannot accommodate.

 
$100 Oklahoma City ZIP Code ‘73157' Note – Also a Star Note

 
$1 Columbus, Ohio ZIP Code Note ‘43201'

For example, the ultimate ‘stars aligned' ZIP Code Note might be a $1 series of 1963-B Barr Note from the Chicago Federal Reserve District with Chicago Zip Code Serial Number 00060606, making it also a binary serial number. So, what's in your wallet? Let Mr. ZIP remind us to avoid spending valuable Zip Code Notes for mere face value. May something zippy be enshrined in your collection.

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