I thought it may be interesting (& useful to some) if I started this thread on collecting banknotes. It comes as a result of thread on why people collect the same coin post.
About 9 years ago I started picking up a few world notes. Believe me, I was just a dabbler when I started out. I had been collecting Bank of Canada banknotes for 3 decades but drew the line when it came to world (I simply couldn't afford it).
In 2004, I went on my first trip to Europe & thought this would be a good time to pick up some currency. Unfortunately, all the Euros I found were limp rags & I was in search of the first issue, the Duisenberg signature which had only been issued 2 years previously. So that was what I wanted to get but found it to be impossible. I asked my buddy who was not interested in the Euro (AT ALL). To my surprise, this guy (an old university flatmate) was collecting banknotes from his travels. He had been to about 85 different countries & pulled out a couple large parcel envelopes and wads of well circulated examples from various nations. It was all "eye candy" for me but secretly I kept telling myself I would get much better examples than some of his soiled & mutilated notes. Any time I asked him about any banknote he had no idea what I was talking about. He knew the notes had a signature (or signatures), a serial number and a number of security features but he had no idea why (or if) it were collectible.
Some collectors just sock away banknotes (& coins) as souvenirs of their travels. My buddy did this. I was determined that I would have a better handle of what I collected (since this was around the same time I was downsizing my collection of Canadian banknotes too).
When I first started collecting Canadian banknotes, I collected all the denominations up to $100 and all the signature combinations. When I returned from my European vacation, I sold all of my $50 & $100 & used the profits to pick up a couple errors. I also sold all of my regular run banknotes & kept only signature change-overs, replacements or special serial numbers. I got more active on the forums and discovered what others collected, how notes should be graded (I was a terrible grader) & started to become more serious about my sets, (ie my collector goals). I am still downsizing my Canadian collection and am expanding my 2 world collections.
Anybody else care to share how they collect banknotes? I know that many collectors advise to collect whatever you want (themes, etc) & I am curious what others collect.
I typically collect world coins and banknotes (but with some emphasis to my own country). As such, I try to collect those banknotes I find amusing, as there's no completist collection of all the coins/baknotes of the world.
I try to collect one banknote from each type, but the definition of "type" for banknotes is less obvious than for coins: some banknotes run re-prints, often with different ink and/or paper colors, different watermarks, etc.
Anyway, I notice there are some biases in my collection. For example, I'm interested in collecting:
large banknotes (my largest one is Thailand's P# 93)
For me, it is British Empire & British Commonwealth.
I include both Somaliland & South Sudan as well as both Ireland & Zimbabwe.
Anything from Cameroon, Mozambique, & Rwanda will not find a place in my collection - as they were never part of the British Empire - & why the hell were they ever allowed to join the Commonwealth in the first place?
At this time although the "collect anything I don't have" generally resonates around my banknote collection, I would put most of my efforts into collecting German Notgeld and other German banknotes.
95% of my Notgeld collection have come directly from exchanges, as trying to buy them from shops within the UK have been virtually impossible.
Prior to Europe going to the very boring Euro I travelled quite extensively in Europe, so was able to bring back quite a little bag full.
Remember going to the Republic of Ireland for a wedding many years ago, and was treated to a trip to Northern Ireland for a day trip, so ended up in Newry. Went to a have lunch and came out with 4 different banknotes. I only have 5 different NI banknotes now
It is interesting that each one of you has noticed some trends in your collection (even if it has become very general once again as the case for @COINMAN1). Your focus has centred around German, German Notgeld, Ireland (Republic & Northern) & general pre-Euro.
Aidan, looks as if you are quite focussed (mostly Commonwealth, select African nations & Ireland).
@leopiccionia has sought amusing notes plus large & small formats, Spanish & colonial empire notes.
I know it can be tough to reign in one's focus when collecting world currency. It (plus expense) was what put me off the venture for years. Finally, I decided to start with early Euros which led to pre-Euro but that soon morphed into Commonwealth. I also have a soft spot for Caribbean, colonial and small island currency. (I love old-world designs!) I've set out a few limits (no Specimen, Fantasy, proofs, Notgeld, etc,) but I clearly need more boundaries! LOL
I was watching & enjoyed this ANA video on banknotes that feature women (for those who are interested in themes). As I watched it (& just had to search the Mona Lisa 2 Colones from Costa Rica) I thought I should add it to this thread.
Since I collect sort of "anthropologically", i.e. any Canadian items that were/are used for economic transactions, Canadian notes, bonds, and other paper/cotton/polymer artefacts are relevant alongside coins and tokens, transportation tickets, etc.
This is a lot of stuff, but other than coins and tokens, I just aim at a representative selection. With banknotes, as soon as you go back to the issues of the Dominion of Canada (i.e. pre-1935), you need to be a millionaire to build a collection that is even just half complete, so I have no such aim. For that period, I aim mostly for $1 notes, but even these are quite expensive. I have only two from the 1878-1899 period.
Still, I'd love to have a 1912 $5 with the train design, but they go for over $1000 (small print runs since the major banks (Bank of Montreal, Imperial Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, etc.) provided almost all the $5-$10-$20 notes).
However, I got interested in German notes as well since they are very interesting at many levels (design, history, economic policies, ideology) and are mostly quite affordable compared to Canadian notes. So I have about 40 notes (not counting Notgeld) from 1898 to the Allies issues of 1944-1949. There are many interesting allegories and the colors are often quite dark and even unusual from my point of view (e.g. this one).
And I have many more. Greek inflationary notes are quite affordable, so when I got a lot of Canadian notes from a Greek seller, I took the opportunity of combined shipping to add about 10 Greek notes from the 1940s. I also got some Chinese Republican lots that turned out to be really cheap, and quite interesting, for example the fact that some notes were issued by Japanese puppet banks (such as this one).
I have no aim of completing any of these collections.
Quote: "Serial_Number_8"Interesting replies so far! Thanks for sharing.
It is interesting that each one of you has noticed some trends in your collection (even if it has become very general once again as the case for @COINMAN1). Your focus has centred around German, German Notgeld, Ireland (Republic & Northern) & general pre-Euro.
Aidan, looks as if you are quite focussed (mostly Commonwealth, select African nations & Ireland).
@leopiccionia has sought amusing notes plus large & small formats, Spanish & colonial empire notes.
I know it can be tough to reign in one's focus when collecting world currency. It (plus expense) was what put me off the venture for years. Finally, I decided to start with early Euros which led to pre-Euro but that soon morphed into Commonwealth. I also have a soft spot for Caribbean, colonial and small island currency. (I love old-world designs!) I've set out a few limits (no Specimen, Fantasy, proofs, Notgeld, etc,) but I clearly need more boundaries! LOL
I was watching & enjoyed this ANA video on banknotes that feature women (for those who are interested in themes). As I watched it (& just had to search the Mona Lisa 2 Colones from Costa Rica) I thought I should add it to this thread.
Anyway, hope to hear other collector's input!
I do live in a British Commonwealth country myself - so naturally, I am collecting that area of numismatics.
South Sudan is most likely to become a British Commonwealth country in the next few years.
Somaliland was part of the British Empire as the British Somaliland Protectorate - & is in the process of fighting for international recognition of its independence. If & when Somaliland finally wins its battle, Somaliland would most likely become another British Commonwealth country.
Both Ireland & Zimbabwe have been part of both the British Empire & the British Commonwealth until their withdrawal in 1949 & 2003 respectively.
Zimbabwe is in the process of returning to its status as a British Commonwealth country, but its readmission process has been very slow so far.
As for Ireland, there is a possibility that it will eventually return to being a British Commonwealth country, albeit, remaining as a republic.
I started out by collecting world notes, a long time ago, and then began to move into collecting some countries more intensively by type: Ireland, US, Finland, Romania.
I graduated to collecting Irish government notes by date, as you do when there are lots of different dates to collect! I also collect Irish varieties and variations and error notes. I then moved into collecting older Irish notes.
I just started collecting the banknotes that interested me based on the main or secondary vignettes. Then I went to any banknote I could find under a dollar. Now I just collect what appeals to me and would make a good subject for a banknote video.
Library Media Specialist, columnist, collector, and gardener...
My banknote collection really got it’s start when as an 11 year old, my family visited India where they worked about 20 years previous and which was also my birthplace. I realized that money was not quite the same in India as it was in America. A couple of 1 rupee notes went home with me and became a slow growing seed.
Stamps took over and a few other collectibles and banknotes accumulated as I happened to see them or get them from friends that went abroad. Some notes showed up in stamp accumulations that I purchased but only sat beckoning to me for many years.
Job changes, a divorce, downsizing and moving and then my first job overseas led to my focus on banknotes. When I moved to Thailand the only thing I kept were my banknotes.
When I started paying close attention to Thai banknotes and figured out the serial number scheme, I realized that there were some Thai notes printed in extremely low numbers but unless you knew the serial number prefixes you could easily pass over them. This led me to serial number collecting. Two things from my stamp collecting days taught me two important lessons about how to collect banknotes. As a stamp collector I always went after quantity and never had anything left over for the high value stuff. An experienced collector left the seed of working on the high value stuff and then filling in with the low value stuff. As a stamp collector, there were so many determiners such as dates, perforations and watermarks that I just decided to collect everything.
Sometimes what I collect is the luck of the draw with who I come in contact with and what they have available.
Maybe the lack of a specialty would drive some crazy but it makes me happy.
I try to collect one banknote from each country. Collecting by denomination, as I prefer to do with coins, is too expensive.
I will say the variety and beauty of banknotes cannot be beat.
I collect banknotes from my own country (United Kingdom) plus some world banknotes that are pleasing on the eye.
I have started collecting World War 2 banknotes from counties that were invaded by the Japanese, there are subtle differences between some banknotes just like there are with any other banknotes. I have found the majority of these notes can be bought very reasonably at a modest outcome and many can be found UNC.
So far I'm working on the following countries:-
Myanmar ( Burma )
Malaya (British Borneo)
Philippines
Here's a couple of photos from my Malaya collection.
My focus with banknotes is post-decimal UK banknotes, including Scottish & NI as well as the standard BoE sets. I do have a modest pre-decimal & European collection (really, just holiday leftovers), but that's more just for fun than any serious collection intent.
For me, the joy isn't so much in the having of any particular note, but more the hunt of trying to find a full set. I have the same principle for coins. Hence the focus, I have to collect what is actually circulating!
It's a great way to limit expense because you never “lose” more than face value for what you take out of circulation - and are of course, redeemable for this full face value at any point. Even if you have to go to a bank to withdraw some notes (especially higher value ones, as they're never going to turn up in my change!), they don't charge you a premium for doing so. I would say a solid 98% of my collection exists because I have personally withdrawn it from circulation. My philosophy is that if it is still (at least theoretically) in circulation than I will not buy it. I do occasionally buy coins/banknotes but usually only because they've been demonetised so should never appear in my change.
Of course, the downside is that my collection is circulating quality. But I can still appreciate them for what they are, even if they're not perfect. In many cases, I feel what the coin/note represents can be as equally interesting as the artistic quality of the design. I'm sure I'm not the only collector who gets a coin with Event/Person A on, and then falls into a rabbit hole of finding out what the event was and why we're celebrating/commemorating it on our currency.
If I get repeats, I generally keep the best example & sell the previous one, though not always - especially for particularly difficult or favourite designs. I suspect I'm one of the very few collectors who actually turns a profit on their hobby.
So yes, I collect what is circulating in the UK almost as a snapshot of what we view as being noteworthy (pun intended) at any given point in time, plus to see the advancements in artistic merit & security features.
A seller in my local flea market had purchased a collection of south east asia notes. The first time I went through the notes I picked up three french indochina notes and some Japanese Government notes from 1942. Later on I bought a set of late 1980's Vietnamese notes. I also purchased a 1957 Lao 100 kip note that I fell in love with. It is the most beautiful banknote I have. I went back to the flea market and picked up some other Vietnamese notes. There were some transitional notes from the fall of South Vietnam. They were printed in China and were meant for the National Liberation Front. So I have begun an Indochina collection including the countries of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The banknotes are not uncirculated so they reek of circulation history. At this point in time it is the binder I pull out and admire the most.
Later this summer I will go back for more. There are some Myanmar notes with Aung Sang on them. I will have to add Myanmar to the collection although not part of French Indochina.
My most desired piece is the 1954 Indochinese 100 piastres for Laos. It is in my price range in good quality.
Ben: It is a very interesting note. The symbolism on the obverse, the King overlooking the constitution and the art of Marc Leguay on the reverse. The details of all the roses and the beautiful woman on it. Like all good art it captures the eye and you (I) cannot stop looking at it.
I collect banknotes from world War 2. Just like with coins, I like seeing the impact the war had on the involved countries currency. Also collect some US banknotes. At least what I can afford seeing as US large notes have gone crazy in value..
I collect banknotes from world War 2. Just like with coins, I like seeing the impact the war had on the involved countries currency. Also collect some US banknotes. At least what I can afford seeing as US large notes have gone crazy in value..
The note issues of several countries had significant alterations during World War 2, notably Poland and Ireland, as well as Guernsey for example. Some of these can be quite scarce, with others being easy to obtain.
I specialise in collecting the Irish wartime issues, 1940-1944.
Interesting. I will have to check out ireland.. you can see what my collection consists of on my profile. I also like the camp and getto notes from ww2. I was wondering if I was the only nerd interested in such things. I have yet to see someone on here that collects this stuff…🤷♂️
I collect banknotes from world War 2. Just like with coins, I like seeing the impact the war had on the involved countries currency. Also collect some US banknotes. At least what I can afford seeing as US large notes have gone crazy in value here.
I second it. I also look for banknotes from countries that were occupied by the Axis powers, such as Poland, France, and the Netherlands. These banknotes often have interesting markings or stamps that reflect the occupation.
All denominations are easy enough to obtain, except for the £20 which is a scarce note in any grade.
They are certainly NOT easy to find here in New Zealand.
As for the ones 5 Pounds upwards, I have never seen any of them prior to the mid-1950's issues.
Aidan.
I think you weren't looking in the right places!
A few years ago lots of them were trickling through ebay, mostly dried up for now except for overpriced offerings. noonans.co.uk generally have some in their sales.
