Cleaning/Conserving Paper Banknotes

Discussion in 'Paper Money' started by ikandiggit, Aug 7, 2010.

  1. ikandiggit

    ikandiggit Currency Error Collector

    When I worked for a museum a number of years ago, the conservation department handled all the ephemera including newspapers, magazines and even paper money that was to be displayed. Because a lot of the material came from old family collections, they were usually in a state of deterioration because they were stored in basements, attics and even barns in boxes and there was no concern for proper methods of preservation. It was the duty of the Conservation department to halt the process of deterioration/disintegration.

    Since I began collecting paper money, the thought of cleaning and preservation has come to mind. After some research, I found that the same rules that apply to coins also applies to banknotes. Do Not Clean!

    The only cleaning (if necessary) should be done by a trained conservator. One who understands what the problems are and how to properly rectify them. None of the techniques should be attempted by someone who is not trained correctly.

    Also, I learned not to iron creases or folds. The heat from the iron can affect the ink causing it to flow and damage the details irreversibly. To flatten a bill it is recommended placing it between the pages of a heavy book. It won't remove the creases but it will reduce the ripples in the paper somewhat.

    I found this link that contains some basic information that I think would benefit paper money collectors.

    http://www.coxrail.com/preservation.htm
     
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  3. panda

    panda Junior Member

    thank you for the info. i am just now starting to focus on paper money. its weird, when i first started with coins, i had no interest at all in paper. i then starting liking foreign notes, and disliked the US ones. now i guess my taste has changed, because i find so many US notes beautiful.

    but thanks again, this is good info to know. i figured that cleaning them would be a no-no. probably much easier to ruin a note then a coin!
     
  4. ikandiggit

    ikandiggit Currency Error Collector

    I've read a few links and there are two different schools of thought. One is "never clean" and the other says that erasing pencil marks, glue, old tape and grime is acceptable and would probably increase the grade and value. However, there isn't any evidence that this has been the case (no examples were given), so I think it would be safer just to leave the note as found. If it is an extremely rare not, then I would consult with a professional conservator.
     
  5. Texas John

    Texas John Collector of oddments

    There is a big underground industry that manipulates notes so they achieve higher grades from TPG's. I've seen obviously wrinkled and/or creased notes sell at circulated prices, only to appear later at auction graded as CU and better.
     
  6. krispy

    krispy krispy

    John do you have any examples you can cite?
     
  7. krispy

    krispy krispy

    ikandiggit: Great link!

    Anyone know if NCS (or PMG) handles paper conservation in addition to coin conservation? I have wondered this for some time, haven't yet inquired, but curious to know whether they do/intend to/don't.
     
  8. ikandiggit

    ikandiggit Currency Error Collector

    i don't think I would have a problem buying a graded/slabbed note if it was professionally cleaned by a conservator as long as it was indicated on the slab that that was the case. I'd hate to see a banknote, especially a beautiful one deteriorate due to the foreign substances that were embedded in it. If the note could be cleaned to prevent it from rotting away, I feel it should be done.
     
  9. krispy

    krispy krispy

    Yeah, like the way NCS slabs coins and indicates conservation has been done. Still someone can pop it out and regrade or sell raw, but with notes the SN can belie someones attempts.
     
  10. ikandiggit

    ikandiggit Currency Error Collector

    That I don't know. Paper can be conserved through the museum here but from what I remember, it can be costly. $200 and up
     
  11. krispy

    krispy krispy

    I too know well of the ability for paper conservation, especially of works of art and documents on paper, however I am inquiring if the big numismatic conservation arm of NGC, NCS, performs such services for paper in the way they extend their services to coins. Since NGC, PMG and NCS are all related, I wonder why they do not offer similar conservation services for paper?
     
  12. lettow

    lettow Senior Member

    Erasing pencil marks and removing glue, tape, grime, etc. should not increase the grade of a note according to the standards for grading employed in most of the world and under the IBNS standards. These standards grade the condition of the paper (VG, Fine, VF, etc.) and append a notation regarding the defect so a grade would be "VF w/grafitti". VF being the condition of the paper irrespective of the writing on it. Erase the writing and you are left with a VF note. The price may be different depending on how well the removal is done.
     
  13. lettow

    lettow Senior Member

    The paper conservators that work on notes are very secretive about their work. I have a colleague who has had notes worked on by one of them. A note that was almost torn in two was repaired in such a way that it was almost impossible to detect even to a trained eye. It took almost a year and cost almost $1,000.00. Since it was a five figure note, it was worth it. When it was sold at auction the repair was noted.

    Repairing big ticket notes is one of the dirty littel secrets of the hobby. You pretty much have to be an industry insider to learn the names of the professionals.
     
  14. krispy

    krispy krispy

    Why is secrecy the case when an entity such as NCS is open about its practice, if not protective of its proprietary techniques? Is current secrecy the forerunner of such professionals attempt at beginning such a service for the greater hobby at some future point in time? Conservation of documents and artworks on paper is not something so hidden and well known academic institutions exist to train and prepare new professionals for such work in the great museums and conservation companies servicing such institutions. This is very intriguing, not so much as to uproot who these professionals themselves are, but rather to understand why this is considered a 'dirty little secret' and/or why privacy is deemed necessary.
     
  15. ikandiggit

    ikandiggit Currency Error Collector

    I've seen artwork on paper that had been torn and then repaired. I agree, the techniques used are almost undetectable.
     
  16. lettow

    lettow Senior Member

    Because many of those who have this done do not disclose it.
     
  17. gxseries

    gxseries Coin Collector

    They got good reasons not to disclose it - once the secret is out, they are out of work.
     
  18. krispy

    krispy krispy

    But do you see my point? Why is coin conservation allowed and note conservation not?
     
  19. Dave M

    Dave M Francophiliac

    Krispy could you give us a 2-sentence version of what coin conservation is? Sorry I'm not up to speed on it...

    I would guess one reason for secrecy is that if you're a dealer that has used a conservation resource, it would be very easy for rumors to spread about whether what you did was acceptable or not. You could easily be put out of business by malicious competitors or customers worried about what they were buying from you.

    Dave
     
  20. krispy

    krispy krispy

    I'm sorry if I sound redundant and a bit confused here but I'm not certain anyone is getting my point about this... Why is coin conservation by NCS = market acceptable and note conservation = not-market acceptable, a dirty-little secret.

    For the purpose of getting past definitions of conservation, let's replace notes with coins in the NCS model and ask why is it okay with coins and not notes when clearly it is an open and accepted practice to conserve coins in the hobby of numismatics and it is clearly something available to paper as it is practiced scientifically and executed frequently on documents from antiquity through modern documents in need of care as well as valuable (monetarily or culturally) works of art on paper. When I say works of art on paper, I include engravings on rag papers, which are afterall what the majority of paper currency are themselves.

    I hope this helps get to what I'm asking about. Thanks for everyone's indulgence and patience.
     
  21. ikandiggit

    ikandiggit Currency Error Collector

    I can't answer your question, Chris.

    With paper and cloth conservation, it seems like it's a closed world. The person who repaired our vintage linens was a sub-contractor and was the only one qualified in the city. She took the materials back to her shop and worked on them there and they came back perfect. The paper conservationist used liquid baths to clean the papers but she wouldn't divulge what the contents of the bottles were.

    It may be that metal cleaning was more common because of household applications. I spent a lot of time when I was a kid polishing my parent's silverware. It would be a small step to take the same kind of techniques and use them on coins.
     
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