Ironing Paper Money?

No no not at all. I've only really ironed two notes in recent times so I thought I would share my experiences with them. One was this 1985 ten and the other was a 1963B (Barr) note...!

 

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Now that's pretty numismatically irresponsible, unless you require the person you spend it with to swear in blood that they will never, never, ever allow it to get into the hands of the Federal Reserve for shredding.

(You did know that that's what they do to old and mutilated currency, didn't you?)

 

Yes I sure did but it is so sad to see such a nice and old error note so worn and beat to death that I wouldn't want to be reminded of what happens to the currency. I fully advocate the shredding of mutilated currency btw.

 

I'd honestly love to know how an error note stayed in circulation long enough to get into a condition like that. You'd think somebody, somewhere (either in officialdom or the collecting universe) would have noticed.

 

That's the beuty of it KLJ, not only is that piece an awesome error, it's a great conversation piece that i'm sure will hopefully live on for a long... long..... time.

 

I bought this note out of my cash register drawer about 9 years when I was working at Hardee's (fast food restaurant). I guess that means it wasn't that old at the time...It would have been between 1995 and 1997.

JBK - You're right.

As I previously mentioned, I am a novice when it comes to paper money. Considering the permanence of ironing a note, I have made my decision.

Just as I would not clean a coin, I will not iron the note.

I would rather error on the side of preserving the note...I've got it in a plastic sleeve and it doesn't look THAT bad. Besides, it's not MINE...I'm only the keeper for right now. Eventually, it will end up in the hands of another collector who could be devasted by the fact that such a nice error was ruined by ironing it.

 

Glad you have seen the light.

 

It's odd how the note got so beat and worn after only being in circulation for about 2-3 years. Maybe it was washed in someone's pants...

 

Thank God you saw the light! It would have been a shame to permanently ruin that note.

 

I remember we did this in grade school. We were told that because the paper in currency had a high cotton content. If you wet a bill in hot water and then iron it and repeat 5 or 6 times the bill will shrink about 20%. I tried it and it did shrink. try it on a old circulated bill sometime.

 

Ironing a note is as bad as laundering it.Don't do either to a note at all! Never do it!

Aidan.

 

This was the only reason why I registered was to say not to do this. I was going to do this with an old dollar I had, but I decided to test it on a few random ones before. I tried without starch, and it darkened it a little, but didn't crisp it that well. I tried with starch, and the starch baked onto the bill and created a dark blob over everything, but it did crisp it . I don't know if it was my iron or just in general. Lets just say I am glad I tried it on a few random bills before messing up an older one.

 

Original condition banknote are still the best investment for collectors. Ironing, water-pressed, washing using AB solution, tea leaves solutions, scrubing, rubbing, washing using Chinese Herbs are harmful to your banknote. They are easily detected by trained and experienced collectors. The possibility of not being able to sell away your banknote is high. Most serious collectors look for original condition banknotes. It is the newbies who like banknotes bright and clean. So don't do it. You may end up with a banknote valued at it's face value.

 

I don't know why this thread got revived, but from personal experience, I've found that a mylar holder and years of pressure smooth out folds nicely. They never go away, but after years of pressure, they start to become less of a distraction from the beauty of the note itself.

I've held older large size notes that have been ironed and they feel like cloth rather than a bank note.

 

I have had very good success in making my bills look more desirable. Place your bill between two new Bills Then place a clean white handkerchief over the bills and start ironing at the lowest temperature. Check the bill after ironing a couple of minutes. Then move the iron up to the next temperature and continue the process. Please note the bill will remain flimsy and any grading company would send the bill back in a body bag. Like the other individual that said Ironing a bill is like cleaning the coin I totally agree. If you would like the bill to be Chrisp sprayed light mist of starch on the bill let it dry over a heat lamp and then I’m the same way