Hello All, I recently was given a portion of my grandfathers coin & currency collection by my mother. The coin side I can handle, but I need advice on how to proceed on sorting through the currency side. It contains maybe 300-500 individual bills consisting of things such as Silver Certificates (some as block sets), printing error bills, radars, unusuals, first day of issue w/ cancelled stamp, complete block sets & complete series. Included are denominations in $1, $2, $5. On the coin side I have a pretty good idea of how to proceed. As for the bills, I really don't know anything about them. I know they all have some sort of value or I doubt he would have collected them. All the bills are in plastic, but are just in 2 large stacks. They are divided into groups however, and a descriptive paper accompanies them. My idea on how to proceed is this: 1. Buy archival 3 ring binders and archival bill pages 2. put all bills into the pages keeping all series and blocks together. 3. assign each spot on the pages a number 4. catalog each bill electronically, either in excel or in a dedicated currency database program 5. Get a book or three, and keep you all busy with questions regarding grade & worth I already posted about the worth of 1 block set HERE, and a large bill HERE. Now that I have dug deeper into the currency, I'm thinking I should really organize this all before I start posting or I will get it all mixed up. Any advice from you collectors who have a lot of bills or have been through this? Any thoughts on this in general? Maybe you can recommend the proper storage supplies? Are there any type of supplies paper currency cannot be stored in? Thanks
If I was you I would get them ( banknotes) all graded by either PCGS or PMG. Now all you'll have to do is when & if you deceide to sell you will know the value from a professional paper grader & no haggling with dealers who may not give you a fair price. I've been collecting a long time could not tell the difference between a 40 & 45 ,this (5 point) can mean a big difference on some banknotes.
Hmmm, at PMG's $12/note bulk submission rate, that could be $3600 - $6000 in grading fee's! Cant really afford that. The plan is to do all this so that I can identify the "Winners" and get them graded.
My sediments exactly. Nothing against TPG's, but recently I've seen distric/block sets sell on Heritages Tuesday Night Auction all in raw condition.....each set had from 12 to 56 notes in the set. On the other hand, I just got back from the Post Office sending off 4 killer notes for grading, and paying for $4,000 worth of insurance just to get them there.
Cataloging them electronically and marking the sleeves would be a good start! You should use archival safe materials. As you do research you can make notes in your file about approximate grade and value. From there you can decide if some are worth getting graded. Good luck - Darryl
I'd like to suggest that if you already do not own a copy of the most recent edition of the Paper money Friedberg reference book , that you spend a few bucks to get it. There is no substitute for quality reference literature . Properly and accurately identify each note . Your best insurance against selling " short " is knowledge .
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Is that the same as "Whitman - The Official Red Book - A Guide Book of United States Paper Money" by Arthur L & Ira S. Friedberg? Thats the book I have at the moment.
I believe that is the most current edition, yes. I'm certain you will find that a worthwhile investment and a treasure of information .
Whatever work best for you . I'm just very cautious about the information I store on my computer . It may seem like a ridiculous concern to some , but I'd rather employ the best possible security for my personal & financial information . Cyber theft is big business and it happen to anyone of us at any moment .
