I guess when that 1918 $2 dollar Boston note came walking in the door, I was hooked. So I want to start collecting notes, but where do I begin? A book? I want to focus on early U.S. Right now I have some nice red-seals, and some various foreign notes. That is about it. Thanks, jason
The Battleship Notes are pretty wonderful....my only advice to is buy high grade notes...you will not regret it.
Rickie is right. I'm compiling funds for a nice AU+++ with EPQ or PPQ. It's a king's ransom, but it's worth it!
We haven't had a Boston district guy in the District Currency Collectors Group... :devil: Here are two great books to get hold of if you are starting out with US Paper Money: A Guide Book of United States Paper Money by Arthur L. Friedberg/ Ira S. Friedberg (The one Darryl mentioned above.) and another... Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money by John Schwartz / Scott Lindquist I use both books for my needs and highly recommend them both! ALSO, While U.S. Paper Money is a great place to start and what you are likely to discover here is that most PM collectors on CT focus on US notes, don't forget that there is a HUGE world out there! World Paper Money can be very compelling and equally beautiful and challenging to collect. The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money is one decent book to start with looking at a lot of what's out there and to see if anything else beyond US notes inspires you. Welcome to Paper Money! :thumb:
Uber high grade notes are great, but unless you have serious dough you'll never own 2/3 of all large notes. (A lot of scarcer notes make Carson City Morgans look like a deal)! So unless you want to look at pictures all day, VF notes are perfectly exceptable and in some cases a F to VG will work. You'll see when you get a book. If we are talking a few hundred more than yea save, but if we're talking 15 grand than???
[HR][/HR] Yes, young Skywalker... that will insure that the force will remain strong in that Battleship! I have recently seen examples in the 64VCN to 66EPQ going for $2700 to $3700.00
WOW, I can buy 10 in Fine for the cost of 1 on CH! VF is a good compromise between a great example, and spending your food money on a banknote. What ever you decide it's going to hold it's value for sure. What ever you do, don't charge it on a credit card! We're on the verge of a total economic calapse and now is not the time to be in debt!
It's up to you to decide on what you can afford and what is the bare minimum grade a note can be in before you pass it by. I know RickieB once said that he will not buy below an AU58. Some others just want to have a particular note and don't care, and will buy one in VG8 condition. As for myself, I tend to stick to nothing below Fine 15 if I can help it since notes below that grade have major eye appeal issues.
So much to choose from. Though I've collected quite a few large sized notes and love them, my real passion is obsolete currency. There are literally tens of thousands of varieties to choose from. You can find pieces for $10 that only 4 or 5 are known. The downside is many, or most, are in relatively poor condition. Of course, that means nobody has one better so they all sell the same. Just beware, paper money is more addicting than coins, at least for me. Guy
I agree with the crowd that encourages you to acquire the finest examples of notes you can afford. The $1 1896 Silver Cert. (Fr.225) graded 1 belongs to Cliff Andrews. He has several PCGS award winning sets of "Low Ball" notes in both small and large size notes. Over at Collectors Universe (PCGS Forum) he is known as TooTawl. http://www.pcgscurrency.com/SETREGISTRY/OtherSets.aspx?m=589
