What is Collecting to You?

I am of the newer generation of banknote collectors and have been collecting for about five years now. Although I have been collecting for a short while now, I still feel as if there are some things that I am yet to learn about collecting practices and the like. I have a few general questions that can and should be expanded upon as you respond if you so choose.

1: What do you use as an organisation system?; Do you use binders, bulk boxes, envelopes, or something else?; How do you label your banknotes if you label them at all?

2: How do you go about acquiring banknotes?; Are there specific types of shops that you look for?; Have you found online purchasing to be effective or not?

3: What got you into collecting?; What specific regions or themes do you collect?; What makes this personal to you?

I‘ll start off with my answers to these questions.

1) I have found envelopes to be the best solution for me, sorting by Country - Issuer - Region - City/ies - Series. Also adding in year and numbering system (P#) range. This is a great solution for me since it is relatively cheap compared to other solutions while still providing good organisation. It also fits in my small safe excellently compared to binders, which is a plus. I keep my notes individually inside of sleeves, semi-rigid, and rigid top loaders. For my expensive notes, I custom cut and clean two sheets of rigid clear plastic to fit inside of a BCW case exactly with the note between. I label all of my notes with the country/region, denomination, currency unit, year, numbering system (P#), condition, and commemoration (when applicable).

2) I have a set budget every time I go into a shop that may sell banknotes, like an antique store or coin shop, since solely banknote stores are a rarity.  I do have a few places that I purchase from online, mostly sellers on eBay that I have trusted for years. I always purchase a few inexpensive notes from them as a gauge for their grading exactness and shipping quality.

3) I got into collecting when my sister brought me some currency from her trip to Thailand in my mid teens. I thought it to be so beautiful and decided I wanted more. This sparked me to begin collecting and it became another hobby of mine, along with martial arts and golf. I now focus my collection on Indonesian, US, and Russian notes primarily. The Indonesian banknotes do not hold much of a personal connection, I simply think they are beautiful. US notes represent my upbringing and how the money I use in my life is ever changing and evolving with me (less the $1 bill). Russian notes are particularly special to me because they give me a sense my of heritage and my ancestor’s lives and culture, since mine was mostly lost in translation and bureaucracy during the early 20th century; they serve as a sort of memorial of where my family is from.

I’m looking forward to seeing my fellow collectors’ answers and perspectives on collecting banknotes! Feel free to ask your own questions if you think of any; I’d be glad to respond to them.

Have a marvellous day!

——

Daniel LeBowsky

Voided_Username01

I1: What do you use as an organisation system?; Do you use binders, bulk boxes, envelopes, or something else?; How do you label your banknotes if you label them at all?

 

I stored all my banknotes in Leuchtturm Vario 1C, 2C and 3C sleeves and the placed them in a binder. My binders are marked according to the regions - Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe (East and West), America North, America South, Commemoratives, polymers etc. Never store your banknotes in an envelope especially in UNC condition, as the chemical in the envelope  may damaged your banknotes in  the long run. 

 

2: How do you go about acquiring banknotes?; Are there specific types of shops that you look for?; Have you found online purchasing to be effective or not?

For local banknotes, you can get them from your banks, from friends, exchange with trusted overseas collectors, online shops and dealers etc.

 

3: What got you into collecting?; What specific regions or themes do you collect?; What makes this personal to you?

 

Always a collector from a very young age, started with a few postage stamps, a few coins and then discovered banknotes is much better. I have not looked back since then. Banknotes is better as it's unique (serial number), as most of the banknotes I bought tend to hold its value. Beside, it is nice to look at, especially those large notes.

This is just my opinion.

Never store your banknotes in an envelope especially in UNC condition, as the chemical in the envelope  may damaged your banknotes in  the long run.

Wow, I never knew that envelopes would do that. Although, it does make sense. I’ll start saving for a better quality replacements for these with less risk.

Thank you for your response ahkai! Nice to see how and why you collect.

Always a fun question to think about. For me, it's just a bit of fun seeing what things turn up in my change & then researching why we have those specific things on our coins/notes. I actually wrote a fairly extensive word document for my UK coins, which I have printed out & keep in a separate accompanying clip file. I did start writing a banknote one, but haven't got round to finishing it. Yet…

1 - So, I have a few different set-ups depending on how I organise the coins

1. The “Core” coin collection - I.e. my primary interest UK post-decimal circulation coins, and associated realms such as Crown Dependencies (E.g. Isle of Man) and the British Overseas Territories (E.g. Gibraltar). I keep the best example in a self-adhesive lighthouse case (I prefer black to white, creates more contrast), and then the lighthouse is kept in an acid-free pocket sheet, which themselves are then stored in a clip-file.
2. The “duplicates" of my core collection - These coins are simply individually placed in the acid-free pocket sheets.
3. “Valuable" coin - Anything that has a value - either in the adhesive lighthouses OR the coin capsules depending on value. Or kept in the original packaging for some of the more recent items.
4. The “foreign” coin collection - basically anything else which is of no value. Sorted by county, and simply put in a plastic bank bag (Like the ones you used to get your change in), and all the bags thrown in a big tin!
5. “Core” Banknotes - Primary interest notes are in acid-free PVC sheets (Usually the 3 tall ones), kept in a clip file.
6. “Other" Banknotes” - Just kept in an acid-free photo album

2 - For both coins & notes, I prefer ones I've taken directly out of circulation. With the higher / newer notes, I'm able to just get them directly from the banks. Coins I wait to turn up in my change. If I can't get it from circulation, I occasionally buy them if I can find them at an acceptable price, which usually means accepting low/mid quality notes. I prefer online for this - dealers either seem to always have top-quality notes OR overcharge for lower quality. Obviously, exceptions both ways, but in general.

3 - I got an Isle of Man 50p in my change as a kid. One with the motorcycles on it. Thought it was cool, and then started pulling other coins out of circulation. When I was a bit older & had a job, I expanded into low denomination notes and am now in a position to collect some of the higher denomination notes.

I'll see about getting some photos for you.

Snapshot of my core collection with the accompanying written text.

Close up on a coin page (with some paper notes for gaps)

A folded segment of fabric, an official piece celebrating the tercentenary of the Bank of England. I have one at either end of my core banknote collection. Lighting isn't great, but its a lovely shade of blue.

And the notes themselves. Organised by Home Nation; England, Scotland, NI. Then each nation broken down into issuing banks in order of their creation. And then each Series.

Super cool A Collector! I’m not much of a coin collector myself but I do always take a minute to look at and appreciate its design. You’ve got some beautiful Scottish notes there.. I’m a bit jealous! I think that your having of a document with information about your UK coins is excellent and probably is perfect for anyone looking at it, collector or not. Edit: The fabric is truly beautiful, it really makes the presentation unique and creates an elegant aesthetic!

Thanks for sharing!

For me, both coins & banknotes are part of the same tapestry. In the UK at least, our circulating currency highlights the things which we as a nation should be celebrating. I've learned all sorts of pieces of history by researching individual pieces which I never knew about.

From the UK's concentrated effort to end slavery via its dominance of the seas (See West Africa Squadron, which turned up as research on the coin celebrating the bicentennial of the Slave Trade Act 1807), to significant historical documents (Magna Carta & the Bill of Rights). Or even where our national emblems come from, whether that's the Lion of England & Unicorn of Scotland, or Britannia who represents us as a whole. Did you know Britannia has been around for nearly 2,000 years? She first turned up on early roman empire coins!

And that's what I love. It's falling down the rabbit hole of history, then taking time to appreciate the sheer artistry that created the currency. Noticing all those little details and having answers to exactly what each element represents. Nothing is there “just for the sake of it”. Everything has a meaning.

=====

I love the Scottish notes too (being Scottish myself might add some bias. 😛) but alas not many of them turn up for me these days. Think I worked out there was about 110 post-decimal Scottish notes, excluding signature variants. I have about 25 of them (though duplicates/signature variants push me up to ~60 notes overall). So still quite a way to go yet.

They're frustratingly difficult to get, especially the higher value £50/£100s. I went into no fewer than 20 banks on my last trip to Scotland. Not one of them carried those denominations in Scots notes, only the standard Bank of England ones.

On the flip side, I've had the pleasure of visiting a sizeable portion of the locations depicted on the notes. Let me tell you, none of them disappoint!

One of my most recent visits was to beautifully situated Culzean castle - just outside of it is a “magic” hill. If you place things on it, they roll up hill! Whether it's a ball, or a car in neutral. (Okay, it's technically downhill, but the natural shape of the hill gives the appearance of up hill). Rather unnerving sitting in a car rolling “up” hill!

Electric Brae if you want to look it up.

My NI notes are even more deplorable. Think I've got like three out of the ~90 unique designs.

But working on it slowly. If they were more readily available from banks, or online at or near face value, I'd have a lot more of them.

=====

The fabric is pretty cool. The picture is of Britannia on a pile of money, which is the logo for the Bank of England. I really like it, and it does add a little more pizazz to collection. But it's also a wonderful tie-in piece rather than just a random bit of fabric.

My write-up is sort of half technical data “borrowed” from Numista, and half researched text about the elements. Some coins I could really ramble on about! In the end, I got 3-4 commemorative coins per A4 page, and standard coins got a full page write-up. When I checked it, I'd finished my Bank of England banknote write-up, but not got round to any of the commercial banks [I.e. Scottish/NI issuers].

I think it's quite handy to have around. Tbf, I only wrote it because it helped me retain the information more easily. The printed copy was a much later addition when one of my friends really got really really into coins for a few years. Then I've just kept it up to date since.

I've learned all sorts of pieces of history by researching individual pieces which I never knew about.

This!! Researching everything about the piece, finding out its symbolism, purpose, and history is such a huge part of collecting. I’ve found that Notgeld are some of the most obvious examples of this, since they tend to be more local, they show the things important to them: A church, maybe agriculture, bees, their town square, or even a famous composer (N#205310). The history and significance of the piece is one of the most beautiful things about it. 

visiting… the locations depicted on the notes.

It is always so cool to visit the places on the notes. I loved my trip to Washington, D.C. because I got to see what my notes were modelled after. It’s one thing to look at a photo, it’s a completely different and immersive experience to actually be there and truly appreciate it yourself.

1. What do you use as an organisation system?; Do you use binders, bulk boxes, envelopes, or something else?; How do you label your banknotes if you label them at all?

I store my banknotes inside (semi-rigid?) currency holders/sleeves which sit inside 3-pocket BCW currency sheets and in binders. Pretty much the way some vendors sell banknotes at coin shows. Binders make it easier to store in a bookshelf and it is also easier to flip through. The banknotes are organized alphabetically by country. 

2: How do you go about acquiring banknotes?; Are there specific types of shops that you look for?; Have you found online purchasing to be effective or not?

Mostly on eBay and at local coin shows. eBay is great if you have something specific you want to collect. But I love going to coin shows and going through their binders, organized boxes and bulk bins. Once in a blue I'll drop by a local coin shop to see what they have. Online and coin shows seem to be the best for me.

3: What got you into collecting?; What specific regions or themes do you collect?; What makes this personal to you? 

My siblings and I had a small coin collection which they ended up giving to me when we became adults. Dabbled in coin collecting for a bit until my brother came back from a multi-country Asia trip and I had asked him to bring me back his change and some banknotes. The banknotes really sparked the interest in collecting - the rest is history.

I collect world banknotes but do like Latin American and Caribbean notes for some reason. Probably because I've visited a few for vacation. I also like polymers. 

ChillyWilly

I store my banknotes inside (semi-rigid?) currency holders/sleeves which sit inside 3-pocket BCW currency sheets and in binders. 

Wow, super secure!

Binders make it easier to store in a bookshelf and it is also easier to flip through. The banknotes are organized alphabetically by country. 

I’m in the process of saving up for a binder system myself! I’m going to get Leuchtturm Vario sheets and some of their binders with cases.

My siblings and I had a small coin collection which they ended up giving to me when we became adults. 

That‘s so kind of them! Great siblings you have.

Dabbled in coin collecting for a bit until my brother came back from a multi-country Asia trip and I had asked him to bring me back his change and some banknotes. The banknotes really sparked the interest in collecting - the rest is history.

I see we have a somewhat similar banknote collection starting story! I somehow got my whole family to start going to central banks looking for uncirculated notes 😂.

I collect world banknotes but do like Latin American and Caribbean notes for some reason. Probably because I've visited a few for vacation. I also like polymers. 

The Latin American notes have such beautiful designs, I love them too! Polymers I think are neat since they‘re new and a bit more unique compared to their paper counterparts.

Super cool ChillyWilly!

I posted this approach to collecting thread back in Feb 2022. 

I actually started collecting our (Bank of Canada) banknotes when I was 12 or 13 because my older brother (16-17 yo) started an amazing coin collection which was impossible to compete with. This was back in the mid-seventies. Our parents & grandfather gave him fascinating silver Quarters, 50 Cent pieces & silver dollars with the heads of kings & queens I had never seen before.  I tried to collect coins but by that time Canada had switched to cheap nickel coins & silver was seldom seen. My coins were just crap so I abandoned them for paper. My only source for banknotes was my paper route & I would stash away the odd AU to UNC $1.00 or $2.00 note though it seemed like a fortune to do so (at the time).

I was always broke so I often purged my collection of the few notes I had (sadly).  I usually took the notes that were in the worst condition & spent them. It wasn't until I got a P/T job at a carwash that I could start collecting again.  There, I would see the odd Modified 1954 $20 but they were often in VG to Fine condition & that was like putting $50 to $100 away (there was a lot spending power in a $20)! I also noticed these new 1979 $5.00 & $20.00 being introduced so I was desperately in search of the best 1972 Fives/Twenties I could find.  That was my approach, initially, to acquire the best that I could afford to tuck away.  I also realized that they did have different signatures, prefixes & serial numbers (the new Fives/Twenties had their numbers printed on the back).  I discovered my first replacement ONES & TWOS with asterisks before the serial numbers. So, during my carwash days, I built the core of my collection as signature sets with the odd replacement.

Around the early 1980's, I got looking for currency sleeves, pages & put my notes in a binder. I saw the early catalogues in the library & realized there were much earlier series than the 1954 Devil's Face so I wanted a 1937 set.  Like most broke coin collectors, I was ruled by a tight budget so I only shopped for F to EF notes at the Sears coin shop or coin dealers who would set up tables at our mall.  I had very vague & general notions about grading & storage options were always cheap choices.  I eventually bought a cheap used catalogue & got a few Devil Faces & 1937 notes. 

I was a closet banknote dabbler.  I told nobody about my paper money hobby b/c I knew nobody else who collected paper & thought it was an odd hobby. I hid my binder of banknotes in my closet, went off to university & forgot all about it. My mother gave me the binder back in 2000. By this time I had a job & was in my 40's.  I didn't think much about continuing the hobby until my dad passed away a year later & we had a huge garage sale. I handled thousands of dollars from this 2 day sale & that ignited my interest again.  During the sale, I got 30 or 40 of these TENS which were in terrible condition. I started going to my bank branch & withdrawing as many as I could to find decent & tough prefixes.  I also started getting into cool special serial numbers (low #, radars & repeaters). 

I saw currency being sold on this new platform called eBay. I met top collectors, dealers & went to shows after I joined a CDN forum. I sold pretty much all my early notes (picked up as a kid) on the bay & upgraded my sets. Then I limited my denominations (sold my $50 & $100 notes) in order to get replacements, errors or change overs.  In 2006, I went to my first RCNA hosted workshop on banknote preservation & grading. But World currency was just around the corner. I always had these serious collectors urging me on to collect World. I kept resisting until 10 years ago. Sets, binders & approach to collecting (including TPG(Third Party Graders) vs ungraded are some of the topics I discuss on my hobby site now which keeps me busy & financially out of hot water (so I'm not just buying more notes!) LOL

Serial_Number_8

I actually started collecting our (Bank of Canada) banknotes when I was 12 or 13 because my older brother (16-17 yo) started an amazing coin collection which was impossible to compete with. 

I too actually technically started with a coin collection! I was trying desperately to collect all 50 state quarters. This was when I was around 8 or 9. I ended up just getting rid of it when I was 10 because I thought I was too ”mature“ to have it. Boy, was I wrong!

My only source for banknotes was my paper route & I would stash away the odd AU to UNC $1.00 or $2.00 note though it seemed like a fortune to do so (at the time).

This is just about how it happened with me and my first UNC US money!

I was always broke so I often purged my collection of the few notes I had (sadly).

Oh no! I‘ve been there with my recent issues of 50s and 100s.

 There, I would see the odd Modified 1954 $20 but they were often in VG to Fine condition & that was like putting $50 to $100 away (there was a lot spending power in a $20)! 

My closest relating story to this is when my parents go to the casino, they call me over to their house and I’ll have a look through their winnings for any notes I don’t have. Obviously, I have to replace it with equal value, but I have gotten some really nice notes from it. I once found a UNC 2009 100 dollar note from the Richmond district. Not knowing just how rare it was (I hadn’t discovered Numista yet), I ended up purging it! I still have regrets to this day. 😭

Around the early 1980's, I got looking for currency sleeves, pages & put my notes in a binder. 

Working on the binder part now!

I was a closet banknote dabbler.  I told nobody about my paper money hobby b/c I knew nobody else who collected paper & thought it was an odd hobby. I hid my binder of banknotes in my closet, went off to university & forgot all about it. 

Wooosh! I could never, the amount of self control I lack to not tell anyone about my collection! My friends still call me odd for collecting banknotes but I still make ’em look at them

My mother gave me the binder back in 2000. 

So kind of her for keeping it all that time! A good thing she did.

By this time I had a job & was in my 40's.  I didn't think much about continuing the hobby until my dad passed away a year later & we had a huge garage sale. I handled thousands of dollars from this 2 day sale & that ignited my interest again.  

I’m terribly sorry for your loss! But wow, that’s a lot of money! My dad has a large collection of baseball cards in the tens of thousands that he hasn’t touched in years. Us kids have no interest in them, so we’ll likely each get a pretty penny off of them (not to fast forward his death 😬, he’s still got a long time).

Sets, binders & approach to collecting (including TPG(Third Party Graders) vs ungraded are some of the topics I discuss on my hobby site now which keeps me busy & financially out of hot water (so I'm not just buying more notes!) LOL

Ah yes, the terrible thing of buying too much money we just can’t spend, we’ve all suffered from it! I too have just started making a website as a sort of in depth digital portfolio of all of my collection. It’ll definitely keep me busy for a long while!

I’m terribly sorry for your loss! But wow, that’s a lot of money! My dad has a large collection of baseball cards in the tens of thousands that he hasn’t touched in years. Us kids have no interest in them, so we’ll likely each get a pretty penny off of them (not to fast forward his death 😬, he’s still got a long time).

Thanks & that's nice of you to reply to sections of my post. Dad was a hoarder so there were tiny paths into his garage & shop. The reason for the 2 day massive yard/garage sale was there were lots of tools & old junk (that was never thrown out). That's why the large amount of cash handled (plus I advertised in our local rag). 

My dad has a large collection of baseball cards in the tens of thousands that he hasn’t touched in years.

You never know. Depends on the card (player) & condition I'm sure. Hope he lives a long happy life.

Ah yes, the terrible thing of buying too much money we just can’t spend, we’ve all suffered from it! I too have just started making a website as a sort of in depth digital portfolio of all of my collection. It’ll definitely keep me busy for a long while! 

-Its selling has become so much more complicated (tricky with every nation wanting taxes, expensive with the listing fees/paypal & every digital currency wanting a cut, which we didn't have to deal with before). Keep us posted about your digital portfolio. 

Working on the binder part now!

Good luck. Its an important step b/c once you see your sets then sometimes it allows you to cull parts or become more focussed.

Nice questions.  I store my banknotes in sleeves that are then further stored in Canadian monster boxes.  If you go to @numismaticnoteswithbenjamin on Youtube, I did a video about how I store my banknote collection.  I also have a collection of coins as well.

If you have any other question after seeing my videos, I would be happy to engage with you.

Benjamin

Oklahoman

Nice questions.  I store my banknotes in sleeves that are then further stored in Canadian monster boxes.  If you go to @numismaticnoteswithbenjamin on Youtube, I did a video about how I store my banknote collection.  I also have a collection of coins as well.

 

If you have any other question after seeing my videos, I would be happy to engage with you.

 

Benjamin

Storing notes vertically, in their sleeves & in boxes is the way a lot of dealers & collectors keep their extra notes. I do that myself. 

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that moisture can ruin coins/notes -so always store your collection in a dry place (never in your basement).   At an RCNA convention on preservation I attended, the workshop facilitator asked us collectors who had coins damaged by poor holders (or from moisture). Just about everyone of us put their hand up & admitted it had happened to them.  

I've always felt it is better to spend a little more rather than cut corners & regret getting poor quality sleeves, holders, pages, etc. 

Collecting has been a lifelong hobby for me & I feel very fortunate that I have met so many interesting individuals who either tried (or succeeded) in steering me the right way.  I feel like many who have replied to this thread, that its so educational (love those historical rabbit holes) & with that I find it super relaxing.  Even going through & reading various posts on the many coin/banknote forums (learning something new) I find very soothing.  

Every Saturday, I post weekly reflections on collecting banknotes. 

This past month I reviewed some of the more common questions asked by those starting out or returning to the hobby.  Hopefully I have addressed a few good questions you may have on my Collector's Corner page.  

Please stop by & take a peak!

(Thank you!)

😇

If you think any of my videos would add to your page feel free to use them. I look forward to exploring your page further.

Oklahoman

If you think any of my videos would add to your page feel free to use them. I look forward to exploring your page further.

Thank you! Much appreciated: I will add them to my Social Media page.

Serial_Number_8Keep us posted about your digital portfolio. 

It has been put on pause for the time being! I’ve actually started on making a catalogue for Russian Paper Money, since the SCWPM just isn’t as detailed as it should be (and doesn’t seem to ever update). I have a considerable amount of the signatures and am about a third of the way through the R.S.F.S.R. & finished with the Russian Federation. Still a long way to go, though. It will be free for everyone as a downloadable PDF.

Working on the binder part now!

Good luck. Its an important step b/c once you see your sets then sometimes it allows you to cull parts or become more focussed.

I purchased a bunch of binders for my collection, and am using some beautiful Lighthouse ones I was gifted for my more core pieces (Russia/Post-Soviet, Latin/Hispanic countries, US, Philippines, and Indonesia). I followed ahkai’s advice and splurged on VARIO sheets (jeez are they expensive!). 100% worth it in the end.

Voided_Username01

 I’ve actually started on making a catalogue for Russian Paper Money

May I ask what is the purpose of this catalogue? I mean, there are many catalogues of Russian paper money - good ones and not so good. Of course they are mainly in Russian. I think the task should be to select the best parts of them and translate into English

It has been put on pause for the time being! I’ve actually started on making a catalogue for Russian Paper Money

-Good luck!

Feklisov

Voided_Username01

 I’ve actually started on making a catalogue for Russian Paper Money

May I ask what is the purpose of this catalogue? I mean, there are many catalogues of Russian paper money - good ones and not so good. Of course they are mainly in Russian. I think the task should be to select the best parts of them and translate into English

It felt like a fun project to work on, and mostly a way for me to organise what I tend to (try to) focus on most in my collection in a way that makes sense to me. I hadn’t even considered that there were other catalogues, since they’re used so little. I would translate the ones in Russian, but I only know the alphabet, some “banknote terms”, and what is necessary to get around. I wished to do it in catalogue form, rather than just on a spreadsheet or something, so that anyone who wanted to use it for their collection, could.

Serial_Number_8

It has been put on pause for the time being! I’ve actually started on making a catalogue for Russian Paper Money

-Good luck!

Thanks!

Voided_Username01

It felt like a fun project to work on, and mostly a way for me to organise what I tend to (try to) focus on most in my collection in a way that makes sense to me. I hadn’t even considered that there were other catalogues, since they’re used so little. I would translate the ones in Russian, but I only know the alphabet, some “banknote terms”, and what is necessary to get around. I wished to do it in catalogue form, rather than just on a spreadsheet or something, so that anyone who wanted to use it for their collection, could.

I think I get the idea. I just wanted to say that Russian researchers have already done a lot of work and compiled some good catalogues. But I also understand the difficulties that a non-Russian speaker faces when using them. I just don’t know any good catalogues on Russian banknotes in English. Kardakov's 1953 catalog is still a classic, but it is in German and does not provide information on the signatures

Feklisov

I think I get the idea. I just wanted to say that Russian researchers have already done a lot of work and compiled some good catalogues. But I also understand the difficulties that a non-Russian speaker faces when using them. I just don’t know any good catalogues on Russian banknotes in English. 

Exactly that, I wanted to make one that is as accurate as possible in English, but not taking away from the work that many Russian researchers have done.

Kardakov's 1953 catalog is still a classic, but it is in German and does not provide information on the signatures

I haven’t heard of that one! I’ll check around for it; my sister speaks German and would probably help me with it if asked, but it shouldn’t be as big of a language barrier as Russian.

Ummm…this is numista…how about submitting your Russian edits and contribute to making the site world class?

The catalogue started actually because of this. With Russian notes, the SCWPM is incredibly poorly done. As I complete the catalogue I’m writing, I will continue to update Numista with Pick numbers in tandem, though at a slower pace. Writing my catalogue is helping me see all of the identified variants of these notes across sites, allowing me to put in more accurate information the first time.