Have you ever noticed a U.S. dollar bill with small stamps or inked markings that seem unusual? While they may look mysterious at first, these marks often tell a real story about where the bill has been. These markings are known as chop marks. They are not graffiti or damage, but stamps added by money changers, traders, or currency handlers to confirm that a bill was checked and accepted as genuine. Each mark reflects a stop in the bill’s journey through different hands and locations.
Chop marks are most commonly found on U.S. dollars that circulated outside the United States, especially in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where the dollar is widely used alongside local currencies. The practice has deep historical roots. In China, merchants centuries ago stamped silver coins after verifying their weight and purity, creating trust in busy trade environments. As paper money replaced coins, the same practice was extended to banknotes.
For traders, chop marks serve practical purposes: they signal prior verification, reduce disputes, and help build trust where modern counterfeit-detection tools may be limited. The stamps are usually small and placed carefully so the bill remains usable.
Legally, lightly marked bills generally remain valid currency, though heavily marked ones may be rejected by banks or machines. For collectors, however, a chop-marked bill offers something special—a visible reminder of how money travels across borders and through history.