I am not a paper collector I just keep what I find that is different or looks cool. I would like to put together a Paper type set to show my nephew the different US currancy, and I was hoping to get some suggestions from y'all about what to put in the set. I don't want to spend a lot of money on single notes I just want to put together as many different ones a possible. Thanks
'Inexpensive' when it comes to paper money will likely only net you very low grade uncertified problem notes, not the best for sharing the stunning designs of US paper money from past Series of notes. The farther back you go in Series even the low grades start to eat away at your budget, especially with varieties, errors, fancy serial numbers, etc. Before you buy anything, I recommend you buy some books on US Paper Money to familiarize yourself with what's out there that you are interested in acquiring within your budget parameters and that you wish you share with your Nephew. Acquiring some of these notes can take a very long time. Have a look at this thread for many specific reference books and web sites: Information Resources for Paper Money Collectors I highly recommend these guide books to start with: "A Guide Book Of United States Paper Money: Complete Source for History, Grading, and Prices" (Official Red Book) by Arthur L. Friedberg, Ira S. Friedberg, Q. David Bowers "Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money" 27th edition, edited by George S. Cuhaj and published by Krause Publications "Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money 1928 to Date" 9th edition by Scott Lindquist & John Schwartz (with color pictures) Here is another post where I assembled many useful Currency links: Currency Websites Like collecting anything else, you should decide what your budget will allow you to do collect and try to stick with it. I try to collect the very best quality in paper currency as I feel it will continue to hold its value and gives me excellent examples to admire in hand. Will you collect only small sized notes, or include large size Series of notes as well? Do you intend to get into the various types of notes: Federal Reserve Notes, Federal Reserve Bank Notes, Legal Tenders, Silver Certificates, Gold Certificates, Nationals, Fractionals, Colonial... There are many, many eras within US currency history to choose from and a type set could be a major challenge if you bite off too much. Another idea, the Bureau of Engraving & Printing (The Treasury Department of the United States) has a web site with an e-shop just like the U.S. Mint has, only it's a bit limited in offerings. You can find some collector items related to notes there that may be enough to quench your Nephew's interest at first, though prices are steep! For years the B.E.P. has reproduced old currency designs from original plates which are reprinted and sold to collectors at various paper money and coin shows like ANA and FUN shows. You can easily search and choose from many 'Souvenir Cards' on eBay and other sites to find VERY affordable examples of old US Currency. The benefit of these is the cost savings, as old notes get VERY pricey even in low grades, but the other thing is the pristine quality of the intaglio prints you get in the reproduction (they only lack serial numbers and such layers from issuance), This degree of quality is something that most collectors could never attempt to obtain such high grade notes in terms of quality on actual notes. Souvenir Cards are available in countless varieties and issuance and are an excellent option in place of the real issued notes, check out this thread for MANY examples of Souvenir Cards Let us paper collectors know if you have more detailed questions and good luck with your type set!
If you stick with small size notes, most aren't too expensive. You could start with getting the different colored seals: Green - Federal Reserve Note -- there are also some types of FRNs from 1934 that have "light green" seals which are noticeably different Blue - Silver Certificate -- $1 silver certs are easily located on ebay and the like. 1928 and 1934 $1s have a very different back from current $1s. Red - United States Notes -- These basically come in $2 and $5 and are also easily located on ebay. (there are also $1 and $100 but those are more expensive) Yellow-Orange - Gold Certificate -- Several denominations from 1928. Brown - National Bank Notes and Federal Reserve Bank Notes -- Maybe you could locate a National Bank Note from your city? Tracking down notes from the cities where I've lived was fun, and people I've shown them to found them very cool as well. If you can't find one, then an FRBN would be an inexpensive way to get a brown seal. There are also special notes from WWII with different seal colors: Bright yellow seals for notes released in North Africa, and a slightly different shade of brown seals for notes in Hawaii. (The Hawaii notes also have an obvious "HAWAII" overprint on the front and back). These can be a bit more expensive to find, but they hopefully won't break the bank. You could also locate an inexpensive large size note -- 1923 $1 Silver Certificates are common. As far as major design changes, once notes switched to a small size in 1928, they basically stayed static until the "large head" notes appeared starting in 1996. There are a few smaller changes -- 1928 notes generally have the denomination spelled out in letters on the front, while series 1934 and later added a large numeral in addition (except for Federal Reserve Notes). The United States Note (red seal) version of the $2 has Monticello on the back, and was switched to the Declaration of Independence signing in 1976 (when it first became a Federal Reserve Note). Let us know what you decide to do!
Good info/ideas above, one question is what you consider "inexpensive"? I thought 300-400 was expensive for a note until I found a small bank 1902 note I wanted. Another question is how critical is condition? If you are happy with notes that have a few folds/wear then you have more options. If you are a MS coin collector you will probably be the same with bills. My suggestion it to look for 1929 (brown seal) bills from towns that are important to you. Find the closest town to where you live/grew up/born.
This will probably get boo'd down by the currency collecters here But if you are not really a collector (as you said) ... and your budget is limited Have you thought about buying high res digital copies? That would allow you to have many more (and rarer) types to show your nephew (and all in pristine crisp uncirculated condition) Here is an example of a graded note that might run $500 on ebay ... and underneath a digital copy that you can buy for $3 Here are more digital copies (all bought for about $3). If you put the copies in some nice heavy currency holders, it gives a good effect. If you bought real versions of these, the top note might run $10k, the middle note perhaps $4k, and I dont think you can even buy the bottom note it's so rare. Anyway just thought I would throw out this cheap option. Of course buying a few real notes is a lot more cool and exciting than buying digital copies -- it all depends on your budget Note that the digital copies have both the fronts and the backs of the notes, however they are on two separate sheets of paper. If you go this route, you can have a myriad of notes to show, and with the money you save buy a few thousand dollars worth of old gold and silver coins ... or just bank the savings!
Y'all have been very helpful I can see this is going to be fun just trying to figure out what to add first. I never knew there was so many choices in paper I will go to Ebay and snoop around but will try and do research before spending any money there. I don't much about grades of currancy but figured maybe fine or better would be a nice enough note for looking at, what are the reputable graders I know with coins there is a bunch of junk graders that call everything MS70 or what ever is the highest grade the other TPG has listed.
PMG and PCGS Currency Grading Scales for Paper Money: • Paper Money Guarantee: PMG PAPER MONEY GRADING SCALE • PCGS Currency: PCGS Numerical Grading Scale
Here is a web site I created for some (genuine) currency notes i bought earlier this year ... along with some history behind each note. https://mindstar.com/currency/ Thought this might help you narrow down what interests you.
I for one will boo the high resolution digital copy idea. Why pay someone for their inferior digital print when you can buy/collect Souvenir Cards printed from actual B.E.P. plates of dies used to print classic Series of notes. Souvenir Cards provide you with actual intaglio prints, exact size as the originals and in the printing format intended by the B.E.P. for paper money. The cards are uniform, come with a short history and are printed on heavy archival paper. Souvenir Cards have a collector base in and of themselves but also cross the philatelic (stamps) and paper money collector base. If you just want digital copies, look for an overview book on US currency with large color reproductions so you have everything bound in one nice book for a single price. Digital copies just smacks of cheapness and conjures up replica coins, counterfeits and someone trying to make a fast buck off budget minded collectors. Just my $2 on that idea.
I like the souvenir card idea ... are they expensive? and are all the notes available? or is it just a limited set of notes? Certainly if you have the money to spend ... go for real currency notes!!
Souvenir cards are not expensive. They are an economical way (as I explained earlier in this thread, post #2) to collect old Series of notes on a budget. Of course, some cost more than others and may not be for every budget our there. It's up to the individual to shop around for best prices, like anything else. The prices on Souvenir Cards differ but you can find many selling on eBay to get an idea of what past issues sell for. The more recent ones seem to command a higher premium as there are not as many on the secondary market, while ones from the 70s and 80s may be had for under $10 a piece. You can also check out Ken Barr Numismatics, he has many listed (a bit higher prices) but you can see the range of what are available. Bob Bailey is another good resource. Those new cards selling on the BEP e-store are quite expensive and may be cheaper to buy at ANA or FUN conventions, or on the secondary market. Here is the CT Souvenir Cards thread I mentioned above. Many many great examples are shared there.
Here is one that I put together.....since I posted this, I've added a lot to my type set and will be assembling it and posting it here soon. But here is what I had then... http://www.cointalk.com/t90849/
A subset that you can get relatively cheap in decent condition is the fractional currency used in the mid 19th century. They're older, have decent artwork and the 5th issue in VF is about $20/each.
If you wish to go the Military Payment Certificate route many VF examples can be had for A song in raw condition there are 7 notes in the Series 641 and the whole set can be had For under $50!!
