Series E Bond Calculator (1941 – 1980)

Series E bonds — the original "war bonds" — were sold from May 1941 to June 1980 at 75% of face value (a $100 bond cost $75). Every Series E bond has now reached final maturity and stopped earning interest: they earned for 40 years if issued through November 1965, 30 years after that.

What an E bond is worth today

Its value is frozen at the last redemption value it reached at maturity — often 4 to 9 times its face value thanks to decades of compounding. A $25 bond from the early 1940s typically redeems for well over $100. Enter the series, denomination and issue date in the calculator to get the exact figure from the Treasury tables.

Found E bonds in an estate?

E bonds most often surface when settling a parent's or grandparent's estate. Three practical notes:

• They can still be cashed at many banks or by mail through Treasury Retail Securities Services — there is no deadline.
• Interest is taxable in the year cashed (federal only, no state tax). Decades of accumulated interest can be a meaningful 1099-INT — worth planning around.
• Make an inventory first. Add every bond to the private inventory, print the report, and bring it to the bank or attach it to the estate file.

Bonds issued before 1952 matured before modern electronic tables begin; for those rare cases the Treasury's paper records govern — everything from 1952 onward is covered here.

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