The series is located in the top right, with the issue date beneath it. The face value is in the upper left. The name and address of the buyer or recipient are below that. The bond’s serial number appears on the bottom right of the bond.

What can you do with old paper bonds?

Once you’ve confirmed that your savings bonds have indeed matured, you should cash them in. There are two ways to redeem a paper savings bond: cash it in at a local financial institution, or mail it to the Treasury Department.

How do I find the value of old bonds?

To determine the value of your old bonds, you can use the Savings Bond Calculator on the TreasuryDirect website. You’ll just need the type of bond, its denomination, and the date it was issued. There’s also a place to type in your bond’s serial number, but you don’t need that in order to get a value.

When did the first EE Bond come out?

The bond started to earn interest on what it cost (not on its face value). Over time, with compounded interest, the bond grows—or, if matured, grew—in value. The original maturity date for EE bonds issued from January 1980 through April 1995 varied with the issue date.

What’s the interest rate on a May 1989 bond?

Set at 85% of the average of these yields for the applicable earning periods. Rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one percent for bonds issued May 1989 and later, and for bonds and notes which entered an extended maturity period on or after that date; otherwise,…

When does the Treasury change the Guaranteed Rate on EE bonds?

Treasury may change the guaranteed rate when an EE bond issued from January 1980 through April 1995 completes its original maturity period—all have done this already—or completes one extended maturity period and enters another. (See the table above for the original maturity periods.)

What’s the average life span of an EE bond?

An extended maturity period is usually 10 years. The exception is when a period of a different length is needed to complete the EE bond’s total interest-earning life span of 30 years.