At one time, you had to either bundle up your series EE savings bonds and take them to a financial institution or take a list with you that indicated the year, number and denomination. An employee would have to then take the list or the bonds and look up the value of each one in a book provided by the Treasury Department while you waited. Today, you can find the value online at home.
Step 1
List all the EE bonds, their dates, denominations and serial numbers or gather the bonds by the computer before you start. You'll need the information to help you find the value of the bonds.
Step 2
Go to the Treasury Department's site called TreasuryDirect. You'll find the link in the Resource area for the savings bond calculator. If it's sounding pretty simple by now, you aren't mistaken.
Step 3
Search to the bottom of the page where you'll find a blue box with the words "Get Started." Go ahead, click on it and get started.
Step 4
Flip the series bar to EE and fill in the information requested for one bond. You'll find the date of the bond in the upper right hand corner, the denomination in the upper left hand corner and the serial number in the lower right corner, above and to the side of the number at the bottom.
Step 5
Click the button "Calculate" and you've found the value. If you have an inventory of bonds, continue until you've finished all of them. The website, provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, also gives you the ability to save your list. To find out how, simply click on "How to Save" and find the appropriate browser for directions.
References
Resources
Tips
- Keep the bonds in a safe place and keep a list of serial numbers in another spot. Even though you have the list on your computer, it doesn't do any harm to protect your asset. While you can surrender the bonds if you have the serial number, having the bonds on hand at surrender makes the process easier. A second list of serial numbers, not online, is simply insurance.