Hi everyone, Been a long while since I posted here but recently I sort of re-entered the collecting hobby... These are recent note buys and I'm curious what everyone thinks about the notes and possible condition generally... All told these 3 averaged about $100 each... I've a few others that I will post in the next few days... Thanks in advance!!
Neat! I haven't an iota of info on notes so I can't tell you the condition or anything, but they look crisp and generally in pretty good shape
The bottom $1 SC has a couple of brown marks on the two short edges. Those give me cause for concern. Could they be burns from an iron used to smooth out creases, folds, etc? I'd need to inspect that note in hand, closely. The $5 FRN looks very nice. The first (top) $1 SC has some wear. The corners aren't crisp. $100 average cost each for ungraded notes seems high to me. As long as you like your purchases that's really all that matters though. Although you did ask.
I did indeed ask and appreciate the comments!! I didn't think about the possibility of an iron being used on the bottom note, guess I will see when it arrives tomorrow. I do have a return option available if that is what it appears to be. I know the top note has some wear, hopefully it looks better in hand... I thought the 5 FRN, looked quite nice as well... There's always lessens to be learned and certainly more research to do...
If you don't already have a reference book - I would recommend that you pick up a copy of Paper Money of the United States by Arthur L and Ira S Friedberg. If you are serious about collecting paper money you really should have this book. It lists all of the signature combinations for issued notes and you will quickly see that values vary by changes of signatures. The values in that book are good for general reference only however. It offers a great overview of large, small, fractional, colonial, confederate and others. If you decide to specialize in one area you can then purchase a book that details just that area. Large size notes were called "horse blankets". Men didn't all carry wallets early on but a lot had money belts. So a lot of times you will find a crease in the note along the center of the length. When wallets became popular notes were "quarter folded". Once in half and then in half again so it could be slipped in a section of a wallet. Check the backs of your currency at an angle under a light and you can get a better sense of whether it had been previously folded. Happy hunting! Rich
Almost impossible to grade currency from photos, so I won't even try. Too many times I've sprung for a note that looked like it just came from the BEP but when I got it, it had all types of problems. I wish you luck that you get nice notes.
Good morning, Thanks to everyone that commented, it's greatly appreciated... AS for that reference book.. it was the first book I bought as I saw it had some great information in it. As to the 1923 Silvers, I wanted to acquire one each of the 3 signature combos. If I can find some of the star notes (in my price range of course) I might pick some of those... I know the 239 star will be the most expensive and may be out of range for a nice example. I understand the frustration of trying to grade from a photo especially raw. Though I've seen some graded notes that make me wonder how that grade came about.
+1 The $5 has a centre crease (most visible on the reverse) which makes it a VF35 to EF 50 for me: but as @Mountain Man put it, it is almost impossible to tell from scans or photos. One must inspect each note in person to be certain. That's why buying currency (or coins) online is pretty risky unless you're buying TPG but even then there was a lot of liberally slabbed notes in the early days. ["Buy the note - not the holder"] It does pay to brush up on your grading so you know what you're paying for (Condition is critical). Let us know what you think when they arrive.
I posted this earlier, but the Paper Money of the United States: A Complete Illustrated Guide with Valuations by Friedberg and Friedberg can be downloaded from here for free and legally, but it contains no valuations. Its great as a reference book: http://www.neilsberman.com/currency/
