United States Series 1981A $1 Federal Reserve Note (St. Louis District) — Certified Mule Variety

NEAR RADAR/5 DIGIT COMBO

• Denomination: $1.00 (One Dollar)

• Currency Type: Federal Reserve Note (Green Seal)

• Series: Series 1981A

• Federal Reserve Bank: St. Louis, Missouri (H - District 8)

• Catalog Reference: Friedberg # 1914-Hm (Fr. 1914-Hm — Mule Variety)

• Serial Number: H 03216010 A

• Signatures:

  • Katherine Dávalos Ortega (Treasurer of the United States)

  • Donald T. Regan (Secretary of the Treasury)

• Plate Position / Identifiers:

  • Check Letter & Face Plate: A 1 (upper left / lower left quadrant indicator), A 9 (lower right plate number)

  • Back Plate Number: 678 (located at the bottom corner of the left ornate border framing "ONE")

Fancy Serial & Mule Evaluation

• Fancy Serial Status: Near-Radar / 5-Digit Pattern (Normal)

  • Serial Number: 03216010

  • Digits Present: Contains 5 unique digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 6).

  • Pattern Analysis: It opens with 0321 (a step-down count) and closes with 6010. It has bookend matching elements with three 0s and two 1s (0...1...010), but it does not strictly form a radar, true ladder, repeater, binary, or trinary. In numismatic cataloging, it is categorized as a normal serial number.

• Mule Check: CONFIRMED MULE (Fr. 1914-Hm)

  • Back Plate: 678

  • Why It Qualifies: When transitioning from Series 1981 to 1981A, standard non-mule 1981A notes used a reset run of low plate numbers. However, a small run of leftover back sheets printed with Series 1981 plates was paired with Series 1981A faces.

  • Back plate 678 is one of the 17 recognized 1981A mule plates (301, 305, 306, 416, 417, 674, 678, 679, 680, 697, 698, 699, 700, 701, 702, 705, 706).

  • This note sits right alongside your H 36653307 A note (which had back plate 679), making them consecutive back plate siblings from the exact same transitional plate batch.

Technical & Visual Assessment

• Estimated Grade: Gem Crisp Uncirculated (Gem CU 65 – Gem CU 66)

• Preservation Highlights:

  • Flawless pack-fresh paper crispness with deep, original embossing.

  • Crisp, pure white borders with bold, deep black intaglio and vibrant green overprints.

  • Razor-sharp 90-degree corners with no rounding, softening, or blunting.

  • Completely unhandled surface free of teller ripples, counting crimps, folds, or pinholes.

• Centering:

  • Face: Nicely balanced margins top-to-bottom and side-to-side.

  • Back: Even, generous white borders neatly framing the reverse design.