Beginner's Guide to Collect Paper Money
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Beginner’s guide to collect paper money A simple guide for people who wants to start a paper money collection. This book tells you the important points that makes a bill valuable and worth collect. By Liliana Elena Gonzalez Castro http://mexatua.com/banknoteheaven Copyright © 2003 Liliana E. Gonzalez Castro Can be distributed freely if unchanged mailto:[email protected] 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents …….................................................................... 2 Introduction ……………..................................................................... 3 Issue date ……………….................................................................... 4 Issuing Authority .................................................................... 5 Authorized Signatures .................................................................... 6 Portrait ……………….................................................................... 7 Serial numbers ………….................................................................... 8 Denomination ………………………................................................... 9 Watermark ……………….................................................................... 10 Printer's Name ………….................................................................... 11 Overprint ……………….................................................................... 12 Specimen ……………….................................................................... 13 Notgeld ………………........................................................................ 14 Polymer ………………....................................................................... 15 Pick number …………….................................................................... 16 Glossary …..…………….................................................................... 17 Own your Banknote Heaven ............................................................ 18 Version en Español ……….............................................................. 19 2 Introduction I started my paper money collection in 1999 when I came to the USA and married my husband Dave. I did not have a clue about how to buy banknotes, how to storage them or even how to handle them, I just loved them. There are some very colorful and with beautiful vignettes meanwhile another’s are very simple. My husband was been in the numismatics business for about 20 years and he had a small collection of US banknotes and coins. We started the internet business called Banknote Heaven. I have been in numerous coin shows in USA and Mexico. The paper money collecting hobby has been always fun and educational, we can learn about the country from its currency. Every country shows portraits of kings, great leaders, heroes, famous people or important buildings or monuments. There are thousands of collectors worldwide. This has been a great hobby for kids too. People around the world collect paper money by country, year, serial numbers, face value, printer, etc. The possibilities are limited just by every person’s imagination. I am still a beginner in collecting notes, I know there is a lot to learn but I wanted to write this book because I get a lot of questions every day from new customers who want to initiate a numismatic collection and they don’t know where to start. In this book I am telling you about 13 points or features in a banknote. I have used the words banknote, note, currency, paper money and bill as synonyms. I have also included a glossary at the end. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed doing it. All the best Liliana Elena Gonzalez Castro http://mexatua.com/banknoteheaven Liliana is an Internet entrepreneur and e-commerce consulting. If you want to know more about her work, visit her personal webpage at http://gonzalez-castro.biz 3 Issue Date Most banknotes have an issue year on the front, sometimes they include the month and day and very few include state or city. The date is important because there are some banknotes from a particular period like revolutionary issues in Mexico years 1910-1917. Some collectors appreciate banknotes from year 2000 The banknote below was issued in Argentina, January 2nd, 1869 You can see more old banknotes (before 1900’s) from all over the world at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/189 You can see banknotes from year 2000 at http://mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/year2000 4 Issuing Authority The issuing authority is the agency responsible for issuing currency in that country. There may have been many more than one issuing authority within the same country especially in hard times like revolutions, war, independence’s movements, etc. Most banknotes show the issuing authority on the front, sometimes they include the month and day and very few include state or city. The banknote below was issued for “El Banco de Londres y Mexico”. For instance in Mexico, in the early 1900 almost every state issued banknotes, so we had banknotes from Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Sonora, etc. Issue date: October 1st, 1913 You can see Mexican banknotes from different issuing authorities at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/Mexico/ 5 Authorized Signatures Signatures represent the approval from the issuing authority. Long ago, most banknotes were printed but did not become legal tender until each one was signed individually by the authorized signatories. Usually at least one of the signatures is the Treasurer of the issuing authority. Some notes get more valuable for collectors because of the person who signed them. The note below was signed for Ernesto “Che Guevara” in Cuba. El “che” is a symbol of revolutionary mind. With his slogan, "Cuba, free territory of America, country or dead" he became a great leader. You can see more banknotes about “Che” Guevara at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/Che+Guevara 6 Portrait Head or face view of a person, real or allegorical in a note’s vignette. Many banknotes have a portrait of a dignitary on them as President Mobutu in Zaire’s notes or King Sobhuza II in Swaziland or Sun Yat Sen in China’s money. Some countries show a portrait of famous artists, writers, painters, heroes, etc. The note below shows the portrait of Ruben Dario. You can see more banknotes with Ruben Dario’s portrait at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/Ruben+Dario 7 Serial Number Set of numbers and or letters on a note. The serial number is perhaps one of the oldest security devices on a banknote. Using unique serial numbers on each bill, governments are able to closely track legitimate bills. Sometimes serial numbers get “unusual” like one number repeated several times or filling series as “12345678” or the notes called “radar” whose serial numbers are the same backward and forward. Collectors also buy sets of banknotes in consecutive serial numbers. The note below shows a “radar” serial number 663366 You can see more radar banknotes at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/radar You can see more banknotes with unusual serial numbers at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/unusual 8 Denomination The denomination or “face value” shows the type of currency and how much the banknote is worth. There are some inflationary notes issued by countries with hyperinflation times. Those notes have abnormally high denominations. The bill below is from Yugoslavia and it has a face value of 500 million Dinara. You can see more inflationary banknotes at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/inflationary 9 Watermark A watermark is put onto a banknote's paper prior to the printing process as a security device. Watermarks look as a blank spot on a bill. You can see a watermark holding up the banknote to the light. The note below has the Tutankhamen’s mask as a watermark at right You can see more interesting banknotes with watermarks at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/wmk 10 Printer's Name Oftentimes the printing company's name will appear on a banknote in very small letters (sometimes abbreviated also) usually in the white frame area at the bottom of the bill. Some collectors look for notes printed by American Banknote Company or Thomas de la Rue. The banknote below was printed by American Banknote Company You can see more beautiful banknotes printed by American Banknote Company http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/American+Bank note You can see more beautiful banknotes printed by Thomas de la Rue at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/Thomas+de+la+ Rue 11 Overprints Official printing added to a note for purpose of giving it a new value. It is usually done for an issuing authority to 'revalue' a country's money in order to combat extreme inflation. As a temporary measure while new notes are being printed and distributed, the existing notes are sometimes overprinted or stamped with a new value. The banknote below has a face value of 10 Centavos overprinted on 100 Cruzeiros banknote You can see more interesting overprinted banknotes at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/overprint 12 Specimen Invalid note overprinted or perforated with the word specimen. It is Made for reference files, or currency recognition by other countries. It has usually all zero serial numbers. Below is a beautiful specimen note from 1919 You can see more specimen banknotes at http://www.mexatua.com/page.cfm/banknoteheaven/products/all/specimen 13 Notgeld From