Over the past 5-6 years, I started collecting a few world banknotes here & there. This was a pretty big departure from my Canadian note collection so I started a hobby site called Notaphylic Culture 3 years ago. On that linked "Collectors' Corner" page, I have shared some of my personal opinions/discoveries & added a world motifs page that collectors might be interested in (just a few examples & by no means comprehensive).
Over the holidays, I figured I might as well begin a thread on QEII banknotes over at CCF for currency collectors who may be interested in this specific area. Again, the thread is by no means comprehensive but just a starting place.
Queen Elizabeth II Banknotes:
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I don't understand, why didn't you start the thread here?
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"Perhaps the much sought after Canadian Princess Elizabeth 1935 note will become even more elusive for most collectors?"
BC9a (or P-46a) or the Large seal 1935 $20 had a mere 200,000 printed & issued so it will always be scarce (in any grade). The trick is trying to get one with some eye appeal since they were well worn workhorses too. The French version (BC-10/P-47) had 202,500 but is just as scarce (or more so). I don't think it can become any more elusive than it already is.
BC9b (below) had a much larger run of 802,700 so it is four times more likely you'll end up with one of these:
However, just to put it into perspective, BC24a/P-61a 1937 Osborne-Towers $10 had 6.4M or 8 times as many printed as BC-9b. And all Osborne-Towers 1937 banknotes are tough (& scarce in higher grades). Very seldom does a series last a year (or two) but that was exactly what happened with the initial BoC series. Many of the $2 and $5 caused mass confusion since they had an alien colour scheme that was not what the public was used to after years of Chartered banks issuing conventional colour schemes Canadians expected. For that reason, the blue TWOS & orange FIVES were actively culled from circulation (tellers were directed to place them in the damage file to be returned) so that made those notes tough to find in 1937. We must also remember that few people could afford to set aside $10 or $20 (a lot of money back then) so few notes remained by the time the new 1937 series was adopted.
When I first started collecting Canadian currency, Australian pre-decimal (& Commonwealth of Australia) replacements were going through the roof. I remember this b/c I met up with some fellow collectors & we were all scratching our heads (why?) The only reason we could think of was that they had been successfully employing polymer for about 2 decades & US demand must have been heating up the market. In comparison, we took stock in the many BoC rarities. They seemed like a bargain at the time.
"I suppose the oldest note is the Canadian 1935 $20 note, but what's the second oldest, if you don't mind telling us?"
I believe that would be Malta (1949) where Princess Elizabeth & Prince Phillip moved to that same year.
From my QEII thread:
MALTA
From 1949-1951, Villa Guardamangia in Pieta, Malta, served as the residence for Princess Elizabeth & Prince Phillip before Elizabeth ascended the thrown. This may be the reason we see early 1949 Maltese banknotes with the QEII portrait:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Guardamangia
BC9a (or P-46a) or the Large seal 1935 $20 had a mere 200,000 printed & issued so it will always be scarce (in any grade). The trick is trying to get one with some eye appeal since they were well worn workhorses too. The French version (BC-10/P-47) had 202,500 but is just as scarce (or more so). I don't think it can become any more elusive than it already is.
BC9b (below) had a much larger run of 802,700 so it is four times more likely you'll end up with one of these:
However, just to put it into perspective, BC24a/P-61a 1937 Osborne-Towers $10 had 6.4M or 8 times as many printed as BC-9b. And all Osborne-Towers 1937 banknotes are tough (& scarce in higher grades). Very seldom does a series last a year (or two) but that was exactly what happened with the initial BoC series. Many of the $2 and $5 caused mass confusion since they had an alien colour scheme that was not what the public was used to after years of Chartered banks issuing conventional colour schemes Canadians expected. For that reason, the blue TWOS & orange FIVES were actively culled from circulation (tellers were directed to place them in the damage file to be returned) so that made those notes tough to find in 1937. We must also remember that few people could afford to set aside $10 or $20 (a lot of money back then) so few notes remained by the time the new 1937 series was adopted.
When I first started collecting Canadian currency, Australian pre-decimal (& Commonwealth of Australia) replacements were going through the roof. I remember this b/c I met up with some fellow collectors & we were all scratching our heads (why?) The only reason we could think of was that they had been successfully employing polymer for about 2 decades & US demand must have been heating up the market. In comparison, we took stock in the many BoC rarities. They seemed like a bargain at the time.
"I suppose the oldest note is the Canadian 1935 $20 note, but what's the second oldest, if you don't mind telling us?"
I believe that would be Malta (1949) where Princess Elizabeth & Prince Phillip moved to that same year.
From my QEII thread:
MALTA
From 1949-1951, Villa Guardamangia in Pieta, Malta, served as the residence for Princess Elizabeth & Prince Phillip before Elizabeth ascended the thrown. This may be the reason we see early 1949 Maltese banknotes with the QEII portrait:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Guardamangia
Serial_Number_8
Joined: 2 May 2020
Posts: 1557
Posts: 1557
Posted: 18 Feb 2022, 23:58
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Edited: 19 Feb 2022, 00:04
Edited: 19 Feb 2022, 00:04
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Quote: "Camerinvs"It's amazing that they would produce two notes that are so similar that they could easily cause confusion, and of course I'm talking about the EC $10 and $50 notes. Even the colors are almost identical.
- It was a huge design failure & I lived there a little over a year later but saw few of them. It made me want a good example but I just never found one for the time I lived in St. Lucia. That's b/c the banks recalled all 1993 series very fast, brought in the 1994, so that is why I have since sought the 1993 series avidly. While most dealers have known the 1993 series was tough, a lot of collectors haven't distinguish them & just seek whatever is the cheapest (such as 1994 &/or later series).
When I did finally see one I was surprised that they made the numeral markers so hard to see. If lighting was poor it was really hard to know which denomination one had (only the reverse design is different).
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I submitted 50 banknotes to PMG for grading. Over 30 of the notes were from various countries (many having QEII portraits) & 19 were special serial numbers from the Philippines.
I am adding images of 3-4 of my submission results weekly, plus commentary ,on my Notaphilyc Culture site on a separate page I've entitled PMG RESULTS.
For the most part, I was pleased with my results. Below is a Bermuda 5 Shilling I bought from Allen's Coins of Ohio & was very happy to get a Super Gem UNC 67 EPQ grade:
The Commonwealth of Australia note was purchased as AU-UNC but I could see it looked at least Choice so I submitted it & it came back GEM UNC66 EPQ:
I have made 3 previous submissions to a TPG here in Canada called BCS (Banknote Certification Services). He has been very good (professional/timely) but he does not certify world currency. My PMG certifications were my 4th bulk batch submission.
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Hi Serial_Number_8,
The Bermuda banknote is awesome - impeccable
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BluHawk
Hi Serial_Number_8,
The Bermuda banknote is awesome - impeccable
Thank you! I also thought the serial number was pretty cool too (900700). One of the benefits of doing repeat business with a seller is that they tend to treat you well & often send me their better stock & cool numbers (if they have any).
About 2 years ago, I won this solid $1 radar from NZ:
A year later, I bought this $1 from Allens (& its a Gem Unc like the note above). This “sister note” came as quite a surprise since there was no added premium. In fact, it was a very good price (much lower than most $1 NZ notes I saw on eBay at the time):
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Just bumping this QEII collector topic since @brmwilson started asking about QEII notes & there should be some good leads for him here.
Also: I acquired a set of notes from Jamaica!
P-49a 5 Shillings (with the Latin motto):
P-51Be 10 Shillings (English motto & last Brown signature):
P-51Ce 1 Pound (same as above/modified with last signature):
I really wasn't overly concerned about which variety I acquired & only wanted a decent EPQ example of each. Not sure whether I'll be able to purchase the 5 pound as its pretty dear in higher grades (& there's still other countries I need).
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My best Elizabeth is this one.
NZ $100 Hardie 1981 - 1985, 1 of just 1 million notes issued of this type.
NZ $20 notes, Top 1967 Fleming (1st signature of decimal notes) and 1985 -89 Russell at bottom.
$100 were scarce and still are, this made the $20 the biggest note in standard usage. The Fleming is EF
and Russell is UNC (Signature looked like Renee to me).
$50 note added in 1983, these were more common than $100, but never really caught on as a “standard” note
until the 1990s and 2000s. Occasionally $50 were added to pay packets in the 1980s.
Note shown is a last signature Brash from 1989 - 1991.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
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Moneytane
My best Elizabeth is this one.
NZ $100 Hardie 1981 - 1985, 1 of just 1 million notes issued of this type.
NZ $20 notes, Top 1967 Fleming (1st signature of decimal notes) and 1985 -89 Russell at bottom.
$100 were scarce and still are, this made the $20 the biggest note in standard usage. The Fleming is EF
and Russell is UNC (Signature looked like Renee to me).
$50 note added in 1983, these were more common than $100, but never really caught on as a “standard” note
until the 1990s and 2000s. Occasionally $50 were added to pay packets in the 1980s.
Note shown is a last signature Brash from 1989 - 1991.
- Gorgeous & tough notes @Moneytane (what's not to like?) Well, they're pricey. I have just watched them go up & up (beyond my budget) whenever they're offered on auction (which is seldom).
I finally won a $20 with the early QEII portrait but the last Hardie signature (least expensive/tough note). I bid on the 1st signature of the $5 P-165a, $10.00 P-166a & the first/2nd sign of the $20 and they all went well over their estimates (the Five went for twice the estimate). Package just arrived yesterday:
P-167d:
Serial_Number_8
Joined: 2 May 2020
Posts: 1557
Posts: 1557
Posted: 23 Mar 2024, 14:10
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Edited: 23 Mar 2024, 14:15
Edited: 23 Mar 2024, 14:15
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If you can afford it, yes. Signatures are also important to the collection, as some are worth more than others. A few countries do not have signatures, so once you have a full set you are good for many years until the next upgrade on the designs - China, Japan, Korea (both), Vietnam, Russia and a few others.
+1
ahkai sums it up nicely.
Signatures, serial number prefixes (or series) & date imprinted (like condition) are paramount to most paper specialists (those really serious about a certain nation), etc. Most series are ND (No Date) & don't have the year imprinted (just the year issued) so typically most collectors just focus on the series (prefixes &/or suffixes) & signatures.
It's the prefix/suffix (Block letters for US) & signatures that allow collectors to pinpoint when the note was produced on these ND issues & they often have either large # issued, mid-sized or low # issued. On occasion the design of the note also comes into play & on my site, I encourage collectors to take note of design modifications such as the modified notes from the ECS since they become very collectible & tend to trend much higher/faster than series that had no such modifications.
Here are 2 One Dollar ND (No Date) notes from the Eastern Caribbean States:
The first note was printed in 1985 & users of the currency recognized a big glitch: that the printer's design had omitted Anguilla!
These notes were hoarded by non-collectors & collectors b/c they figured these notes will be worth a fortune down the road. Unfortunately, all that has happened is the P-17 (1985) versions are now easy to come by in Choice to Gem UNC:
P-17L $1.00 (issued from St. Lucia -designated by suffix L without Anguilla on the map):
P-21U $1.00 (issued from Anguilla-designated by suffix U & with Anguilla on the Map):
These notes were printed in 1988-1989 so much fewer & fewer were kept b/c they didn't have the Anguilla omission. In 1993 a new (& poorly designed series which lasted only 1 year*) was introduced & the $1.00 was phased out (replaced by a coin). This second (modified) version tends to be a much harder note to come by & just keeps climbing in BV.
* See April 2022 entries above for a bit about what happened to the 1993 series which caused confusion due to the poorly designed markers.
Serial_Number_8
Joined: 2 May 2020
Posts: 1557
Posts: 1557
Posted: 26 Mar 2024, 15:32
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Edited: 26 Mar 2024, 15:50
Edited: 26 Mar 2024, 15:50
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As for prefixes, they interest me in so far as they indicate a special series (e.g. replacement or test note) and if possible, also if they help with the chronology.
True, but prefixes are even more important than most realize. Two different signatures can share the same prefix: creating what we call a signature change-over. The first big example for Bank of Canada was with BC-24b/P-61b the 1937 Series $10.00:
Half a million Z/D prefixes had the Gordon Towers signature & the other 9,500,000 were Coyne Towers (BC-24c?P-61c). These are pretty tough to get b/c this happened when collecting paper was truly in its infancy. Most examples were found years later, such as this example:
The 1935 series was too brief for signature change overs. The same can be said for replacements & the production process was much slower (methodical) so that replacements first appeared on the 1954 Devil Faces & they were short lived since the design was modified 2 years later (1956).
Signature change overs, replacements & test notes have been seen from the 1954 DF's to the Scenes of Canada series & have been very popular. In the Birds Series, the printers stopped using X to designate replacements and switched to using regular prefixes (mid series). The notes became known as “insert replacements” b/c they were simply regular prefixes inserted but with replacement function.
The Canadian Journey series (BC-62/P-101 $5 & BC-63/P102 $10) presented design modifications, signature change overs & DATE change-overs! This was the first (& only) time, a rare treat for CDN collectors including this whacko who started chasing them. Here's one of the first, the FEE prefix on the $10 which had less than 500,000 printed with the 2001 date (majority P-102d 2002 FEE). I added an enlargement of the imprinted date:
Original Journey $10 (Issued in 2001):
Original Journey $5.00 (Issued in 2001):
Upgraded Journey $5.00 (Issued in 2006):
I also have an original HPA $5.00 Journey (P-101) & the modified version (with security thread) HPA $5.00 (P-101A). This also happened with the Devil's Face & Modified 1954 notes for a few prefixes. The funny thing is, the Modified prefixes are quite scarce (& seldom seen, let alone offered). On rare occasions they have been offered by US sellers (unaware) just like the odd test note (again designated by prefix). So they're a bit of a bargain since US collectors don't chase them & don't drive the prices up like the more sexy Devil Face series change overs (H/A $1.00 for example). Most coin collectors dismiss the import of prefixes too, so again they can be a bargain if this happens.
So when it comes to what people collect the most popular pursuit I would say is the design modified versions, next the signature variations, & lastly the signature/prefix change-overs for the specialists. Sometimes prefixes are short or just scarce too. I have mentioned certain scarce prefixes for today's Frontiers series before (Macklem-Carney/M-C FTH $10; M-C BSW $20; M-C AMK $50; M-C EKZ $100).
Most World banknotes follow this pattern of splitting prefixes between new signatures: the challenge is to find the info (our Charlton has it all documented pretty clearly). Pam West has documented it on her site (or in catalogues) for some of the UK nations. Finding the right catalogue helps big time.
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Thx for the detailed explanation, Serial_Number_8.
The same seller who unknowingly listed a test note not long ago had also listed, back in May 2021, one of those “insert replacement” notes without any hint in the description. I won it for $1.59 above face value.
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