Error Note Chronciles: Butterfly Fold 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 Butterfly Fold Error.

A Butterfly Fold Error occurs when the paper is inadvertently folded prior to one or more of the prints. In the case of this 1977A $1 Federal Reserve Note (Atlanta) with a Butterfly Fold Error graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine, the fold occurred before any ink reached the paper. We know this because the bottom left of the front of the note contains green ink from the First Print, which should have stayed on the back of the note. (This particular note is being offered in a Heritage Auctions sale in October 2023.)

1977A $1 Federal Reserve Note (Atlanta) with a Butterfly Fold Error graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine Click images to enlarge.

With this 1977A $10 Federal Reserve Note (Richmond) with a Butterfly Fold Error graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ, the fold occurred after some ink had already reached the paper. The First Print on the back of the note has all the expected ink. But before the ink from the Second Print was applied, a fold occurred that not only left a blank area on the front but also caused some of the design from the front of the note to appear on the back. This particular note realized $720 in a Heritage Auctions sale in May 2023.

1977A $10 Federal Reserve Note (Richmond) with a Butterfly Fold Error graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge.

These errors can also occur on world banknotes, such as this Cuba, Banco Central De Cuba 2010 (ND 2016) 1,000 Pesos with a Butterfly Fold Error graded PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ. Paper money error collectors may wish to check out several Chinese notes with Butterfly Fold Errors that are being offered in a Spink sale in October 2023, including a group of three 1999 (ND 2000) 10 Yuan notes with consecutives serial numbers and each with a Butterfly Fold Error of a different shape. This lot has a pre-auction estimate of HKD260,000 to HKD450,000 (about $33,000 to $58,000 USD).

Cuba, Banco Central De Cuba 2010 (ND 2016) 1,000 Pesos with a Butterfly Fold Error graded PMG 64 Choice 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:

• Board Break Error
• 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
• Missing Print 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
• Star Errors
• Stuck Digit Error
• Watermark Errors