Paper savings bonds: what is printed on them and what they are worth
No paper savings bond has been sold since the end of 2024, yet many remain in drawers and safe deposit boxes, each with an issue date, a face value and a value that is rarely either.
What your bond is worth
$907.44
Paper Series I bond issued April 2001, value on October 1, 2026.
| Price paid | $200.00 |
| Interest earned | $707.44 |
| Rate in this period | 6.80 % |
| Penalty | none after 5 years |
| Final maturity (interest stops) | April 2031 |
Method of 31 CFR 351 and 359, checked against every Treasury redemption table published from 1999 to 2023.
| Month | Value | Interest | Cashable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | $907.44 | $707.44 | yes |
| Nov 2026 | $912.48 | $712.48 | yes |
| Dec 2026 | $917.60 | $717.60 | yes |
| Jan 2027 | $922.72 | $722.72 | yes |
| Feb 2027 | $927.92 | $727.92 | yes |
| Mar 2027 | $933.04 | $733.04 | yes |
| Apr 2027 | $938.32 | $738.32 | yes |
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · rates read on treasurydirect.gov and fiscaldata.treasury.gov · not personal financial advice
A paper savings bond shows four things that matter: its series, its face value, its issue month and year, and the owner's name. The issue date starts the clock for interest; the face value is not what the bond is worth. Each series sold at its own share of face: 50 % for EE bonds, 100 % for I bonds, 75 % for the old Series E and 81 % for savings notes. A $200 paper I bond issued in April 2001 is worth $907.44 on October 1, 2026, for $200.00 paid. A paper bond can be cashed only for its full value, at a bank that offers the service or by mail to the Treasury with FS Form 1522, with a certified signature above $1,000. EE and I paper bonds can also be converted, free and for good, into electronic bonds in a TreasuryDirect account, as long as the back of the bond is left unsigned.
What the face of the bond tells you
Start with the series, printed in large letters: EE, I, E, or the words Savings Note. Then the face value, the denomination in the corner. Then the issue date, a month and a year near the upper right; the Treasury counts interest from the first day of that month. The bond also names its owner and, on many bonds, a co-owner or a beneficiary marked POD (payable on death). The serial number is what the Treasury uses to find a bond in its records, and it is worth writing down before the bonds go anywhere.
Some bonds carry a special name. Paper EE bonds sold from December 2001 to December 2011 may say Patriot Bond; paper I bonds sold from March 2006 to September 2007 may say Gulf Coast Recovery Bond. Both names were a designation, nothing more: the rules, the rates and the value are those of an ordinary EE or I bond of the same month (TreasuryDirect).
What each series cost
The face value is a fixed multiple of the price, and the multiple depends on the series. Knowing it tells you how much interest a bond holds, because interest is the value minus the price.
| Series | Sold on paper | Price of $100 face | Share of face |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series EE | 1980 to 2012 | $50.00 | 50 % |
| Series I | 1998 to 2024 | $100.00 | 100 % |
| Series E | May 1941 to June 1980 | $75.00 | 75 % |
| Savings note | May 1967 to October 1970 | $81.00 | 81 % |
Paper EE bonds came in $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 of face value; paper I bonds in $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $5,000. A $1,000 EE bond therefore cost $500, while a $1,000 I bond cost the full $1,000. Paper EE bonds were sold from 1980 to 2012. Paper I bonds were sold at banks and through payroll plans until 2012, then only with federal tax refunds until December 31, 2024.
A Patriot Bond or any paper EE bond
What your bond is worth
$547.60
| Issue price (half of face value) | $500.00 |
| Interest earned | $47.60 |
| Rate in this period | 0.60 % |
| Penalty | none after 5 years |
A drawer of five bonds, valued on October 1, 2026
Families often hold a mix: an I bond from the early 2000s, a few EE bonds from birthdays, an E bond and a savings note inherited from grandparents. The five below show how differently they behave: 3 of the five still earn interest; 2 stopped years ago and hold a frozen final value.
| Series | Issued | Face | Price | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series I | April 2001 | $200 | $200.00 | $907.44 | earning until April 2031 |
| Series EE | March 1998 | $100 | $50.00 | $127.20 | earning until March 2028 |
| Series EE | November 2009 | $75 | $37.50 | $46.02 | earning until November 2039 |
| Series E | June 1975 | $25 | $18.75 | $133.15 | stopped June 2005 |
| Savings note | May 1969 | $50 | $40.50 | $268.74 | stopped May 1999 |
The I bond is worth far more than its face value because it carries a fixed rate of 3.40 % on top of inflation, set in its issue month and kept for 30 years. The 2009 EE bond is worth less than its face value and will stay below it until its 20th anniversary. The E bond and the savings note have stopped: holding them longer adds nothing. Each line of the table is one entry in the calculator above, which takes the series, the issue month and year, and the face value.
Cashing a paper bond
A paper bond is cashed in full or not at all. The first route is a bank where you have an account: ask whether it cashes savings bonds, how much it will pay at one time and which documents it needs, because banks set their own limits and some do not offer the service. The second route is the Treasury by mail, with FS Form 1522 (the form); it has no limit on the amount, but above $1,000 your signature must be certified, at a bank or by another authorized officer. The line counts the bonds cashed together: mailed as one request, the five bonds of the drawer come to $1,482.55, so the signature would need certifying.
The bank or the Treasury then reports the interest on a 1099-INT. A bank may hand it over at once or send it the following January; the Treasury mails it the following January. Interest is subject to federal income tax but not to state or local income tax. Cashing savings bonds goes through each route, and savings bond taxes explains the return.
Converting paper into electronic
EE and I paper bonds can be exchanged for electronic bonds in TreasuryDirect at no charge beyond postage (TreasuryDirect). In the account, under ManageDirect, you set up a Conversion Linked Account, follow the instructions for converting paper bonds and mail the bonds in. Do not sign the back of a bond sent for conversion; a signature is for cashing. The bond keeps its owner, its issue date, its rate and its maturity, and the exchange is not a taxable event while it still earns interest. It cannot be undone: an electronic bond never goes back to paper.
Once electronic, the bond can be cashed in part, is paid automatically at 30 years, and cannot be lost in a fire. Matured E, EE and I bonds can also be converted; the Treasury cashes them on arrival and places the money in the account's Certificate of Indebtedness, a balance that earns nothing. H and HH bonds cannot be converted.
Paper against electronic: the same value, almost always
Paper and electronic bonds follow the same rates and the same units, so the conversion does not change what a bond is worth. The $200 I bond of April 2001 is worth $907.44 on paper and $907.44 as an electronic bond of the same price. A difference of a cent can appear only on electronic amounts that are not a round multiple of a unit, because an electronic value is scaled from a $100 bond and rounded once. The value table explains that rounding with an example.
A Gulf Coast Recovery Bond or any paper I bond
What your bond is worth
$157.80
| Price paid | $75.00 |
| Interest earned | $82.80 |
| Rate in this period | 4.66 % |
| Penalty | none after 5 years |
If you are not sure whether an old paper bond was already cashed, check first with your bank; if it cannot tell, the owner can write to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150, with the serial numbers and a signed letter, without sending the bonds. Bonds received after a death follow the inherited bond rules.