Robert's World Money

Bringing you bank notes from around the world

BANKNOTE COLLECTING 101

I am asked so many questions about the hobby of collecting banknotes and of course there are many websites out there with information on banknote collecting, but very few actually start at the basic level. I remember when I first started collecting banknotes I had to learn as I went along and while that is a good way to learn, it is always nice to understand a few basics. So I hope this helps those who are interested in starting a great hobby and start on a collection that you will be proud to show anywhere.

This is, in relative terms, a fairly new hobby so there is not a lot of information out there for new collectors or people thinking about collecting. I want to add here though that there are people who have been collecting for about 40 or 50 years and there are now some banknote societies forming, but this is in response to the growing number of collectors who are finding out not only what a great hobby this is, but also how interesting and educational it is.

Anyway, I hope this information helps you if you have just started collecting, or are thinking about collecting.

If you do have a question that you feel I haven’t addressed or answered please email me and I will do my best to reply as quickly as possible.

BANKNOTE:

What is a banknote? This is a question I most get asked by new collectors.

Basically, the term banknote refers to a note that has been issued by a bank to use as a form of currency exchange. While there are a few exceptions, which I will go into later (specimens, private banks, special issues etc) this is the easiest way to determine whether a piece of paper (or plastic nowadays) can be classed as a collectible banknote.

For many countries their money has different terms. In the US we say a 1-dollar bill, in England they say a 5 pound note (they only have 1 pound coins so there is no 1 pound note anymore) For easy reference most people use the following terms.

BANKNOTE
BILL
NOTE
CURRENCY
MONEY

PAPER MONEY.

Of course there are many slang terms, which I think are fun such as:
MOULAR
SPONDOLIKS
DOSH
GREENBACKS
And probably a lot more I am sure.

PICK #:

What is a pick number and why is it needed? This is the second most asked question and while it seems a strange to say that a banknote is pick 111 there is a good reason for this system, and the pick # is used by all banknote collectors and dealers to easily recognize exactly which note is being discussed, sold or traded. The pick # is named for the pioneer in cataloging banknotes and his name is used to depict a specific banknote.

As you start collecting you will find this an invaluable way to not only catalog you banknotes, but to help you purchase/trade notes. Actually the pick system goes a bit deeper than the use of the # to determine which note is which – there is also a letter code that depicts the country also. So RO101a is the code for the Romanian Polymer 1000 lei banknote.

IN would depict India etc. However, as most collectors and dealers specifically talk about the Country that they are interested in buying the note from the letter system is not widely used. For example if I wanted to buy 100 RO111, I actually would tell the supplier that I want Romania pick 111.

There are a few variations to the pick #, and I will touch on it a little bit more here, but I will cover it later in detail as it can get a little complicated.

To briefly outline some alternatives – you may see a pick # that says pick 111s – the s in this instance denotes that this is the specimen note from this issue (I will explain specimen notes later) In addition you may see pick # 111a or 111b the a & b depicts certain variations to the original issued note. Some changes can be very minor, but enough to warrant an additional letter, but not enough to warrant a new catalog #. As a rule a lot of letters after the # is for signature changes on the note, or maybe new date/year issues. As a beginner this may not be too important, but just so you will understand when you see a pick # that has letters before or after.

Pick # may seem a little complicated at first, but as your collection grows you will begin to appreciate the value of Albert Picks contribution to banknote collecting.

I WANT TO COLLECT A BANKNOTE FROM EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD: How do I do this?.
Certainly, I don’t want to put a damper on your enthusiasm, and as I carry banknotes from most countries around the world (not all I promise) I think this would be a great collection to start. However, one has to be realistic on this – unless of course you have the income of Paul McCartney or some mega famous movie or sports star then financially it may not be achievable very quickly. Of course if you try to collect a banknote from every current country that issue banknotes, then this maybe a little more achievable (even more so now with many countries joining the EEC) but still a daunting prospect. I like to think of collecting banknotes as goal oriented. As we are lucky enough to have this world split up into continents, I think it is a much better way to go. Don’t get me wrong, when I first started, guess what, I was going to collect a banknote from every country in the world – existing and now gone (such as Biafra) it did not take me long to realize that my wages did not stretch that far and for some ex-countries (for want of a better word) it is virtually impossible to get a banknote from there. I nearly lost interest as I saw my collecting dream starting to disappear, and I am so glad to this day that I realized that I was making this a challenge not a fun hobby. I still wanted the challenge and to enjoy the hobby, so I decided to concentrate on one particular continent and enjoy collecting the notes from there. It is always hard to guide people on where to start collecting, and I do get asked a lot, once we have dispensed with the every note from every country (I wish I had this advice when I started) I tell them something that seems to contradict what I have said, but basically, I think everyone should start out collecting banknotes from what they see they like. Once you get a few notes in your book then maybe see what sort of notes you are more interested in a go from there.

Anyway, this section could be a complete book in itself and for ease of reading and not boring you too much I have listed just a small selection of the types of collecting you may want to consider. Finally, if like me you want the challenge and you want a definitive answer – start collecting banknotes from Australasia and Pacific Ocean the notes are beautiful and it is a continent with not many countries.

I will also add a list of all current countries and all ex-countries as soon as possible broken down into continents.

Possible collecting goals.
COMPLETE CONTINENTS. (Is still quiet difficult, but can be done on smaller continents)
BANKNOTES DEPICTING BIRDS
BANKNOTES DEPICTING ANIMALS
BANKNOTES FROM COLONIAL COUNTRIES
BANKNOTES FROM ONE SPECIFIC COUNTRY (If you want a challenge check out China or Russia)
BANKNOTES FROM COUNTRIES NO LONGER IN EXISTANCE (this is a tough one and can be very expensive)
BANKNOTES FROM EMERGING COUNTRIES (Such as the ex-Russian Federation Estonia, Turkmenistan etc)
INFLATION BANKNOTES (Just look at Zimbabwe at the moment or the old Yugoslavian notes)
POLYMER BANKNOTES (this is becoming a new collecting theme for many collectors due to the fact that these notes are some of the most beautiful and amazing notes out there)
There are many many possibilities such as ship notes, bridge notes etc……… I will try to come back later and explain these categories in more detail but if you have any questions then please contact me. AGAIN, I would suggest at first look at some notes that are on offer and if they fit your budget and you like them you should buy them. They are always nice to have and to start showing people. Most people have no idea about this hobby and even less about the beautiful banknotes that different countries produce. You will be embarking on a hobby that amazes people and garners a lot of interest.

WORD OF CAUTION ABOUT STARTING A COLLECTION.

You may see for sale what looks like a great bargain – some sellers will sell you a set of 100 banknote from different countries at what seems a great price, compared to buying them individually. This is NOT a good idea for many reasons.

Firstly, while they maybe genuine UNC notes (see next section on grading) you will get many duplicates from the same country. In addition you will get the notes that nobody really wants – the smaller, low denomination notes are nice to have in a collection if you want every note from that Country – but they will be cheap and easy to find anywhere. Secondly, it may be worthwhile purchasing one set, but when you buy the second set you will find 80 to 90% of the same notes from the other set you brought. They use a couple of different nicer notes to showcase and pad it out with the same sort of notes. These packages contain lots of notes from Tajikistan, China food coupon notes, Kyrgzstan, Indonesia etc. Basically what happens is that you end up with only a few countries with duplicate notes and I don’t want to see you put off collecting from the start.

There are so many beautiful notes out there at a reasonable price and basically these are not the notes to start you collection with. They say an instant collection, it is my experience that they put a lot of people off collecting or give them a bad experience of buying banknotes.

GRADING.