I got a call from my grandmother a week or so ago, and she said that a while ago after my great grandma passed, she was cleaning out her apartment, and she stumbled across a book of old money. She's held onto it now until my grandpa just passed and she wants to sell it. She knows I collect, and I already told her that I would buy it from her. I just thought it would be fun to share it with you guys, I am excited about it: I'm just posting pictures of the nicer notes, but I will list everything total below. I hope the pictures look okay on here... Let me know. Once again, at grandmas house, no scanner capabilities. 1934 $5 L-A: Front: http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t424/tbudwiser/057.jpg Back: http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t424/tbudwiser/058.jpg Red seal $5's: (including one '63 *) http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t424/tbudwiser/059.jpg FRN $5's: http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t424/tbudwiser/060.jpg There is a nice handful of red seal $2's, but not worth posting pictures for: 1928G, 1928F, 2 1953's, 2 1953B's, 3 1963's, and one crisp AT LEAST AU 1963A, which I may as well post a picture for: http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t424/tbudwiser/055.jpg She had stacks of circulated 1976 $2's, I flipped through them checking for stars, the H-A/B-A mismatched error, and other collectibles, but all that I found that I wanted was right here: http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t424/tbudwiser/056.jpg I told her to go ahead and spend the rest of the $2's. As for singles, there are a lot. I'll start off with the few SC's that there are: http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/t424/tbudwiser/040.jpg Those 2 wrinkled are almost consecutive, I'll have to slam them in a huge book for a year or 2. Then, there are just a bunch of older singles from the early '80s (series 1977 to 1981A), some consecutive. Total face value is $125. I'm going to pay her $160. Is this a good deal for possibly the both of us? With this deal, obviously because she is a close relative, I want to walk the fine line of both of us getting a good deal. Let me know what you guys think, I would appreciate it. Thanks for checking it out!
Got yourself some great pickups...i thought you were going to say put the wrinkle ones in a book for a day or two not a year or two.Isnt placing them in a book for a period of time cause them to get "flatten".
Yes, sticking them in a large heavy text book is the only way I could think of to flatten them, without causing them any harm (to my knowlege). And thank you. A day or 2 has never done it for me in the past, and these are probably the most wrinkled notes I have ever had/delt with.
Nice find. Sounds like a good deal. Be careful pressing notes. You will likely cost them a potential EPQ/PPQ rating if you were to have them graded, and might not improve their appearance much at all. All folds will still remain visible, and you will sacrifice what embossing there is left. It mostly makes sense when there is a bend to the note without an actual crease. It sometimes make sense to press bent notes - if you want to frame the note and don't plan on having it graded or sold. But the practice is frowned upon by collectors, because some people will press the notes to improve their appearance before selling them. If you must press it, steam the note above a kettle until it starts curling up. This will loosen and stretch the fibers that were otherwise bent or damaged in the folds. Then place it between two white pieces of paper (so the ink from the book's pages does not smear onto the note) and place the paper and the note in a book. Stack some other heavy books on it, and leave it there for at least 48 hours.
Funkee: Do you mean "press" as in iron it? I never said that I was going to do that, nor would I ever even consider that. I frown upon that. If you mean press as in slapping into a fat book for a while, I've never heard anybody ever say it causes damage and I don't really see how it could cause damage...
Pardon me, I was not referring to an iron. By "pressing" a note, I was referring to the use of a weighted object to flatten the note, with the intention of making creases and wrinkles less apparent. Usually pressing it in a book - like you mentioned. Keep in mind that pressing the note will never rid it of the creases and wrinkles. It may only make them finer or less pronounced. Many collector's think of this as cheating. I only think of it as cheating, if you go off and sell the note, and try to pass it off as something better than it really is. Putting the note in a book will not necessarily cause damage to the note, but you will lose some appealing properties that directly result from the way the notes are printed - specifically embossing, or the raised texture of the note. If you still want to proceed - steam the note; use plain paper as I mentioned above. And stack many books on it, not just one. I'm talking about 30-40 pounds of books. And yes, this process can damage a note. If you take a brand new printed note; it will have good embossing. Although pressing it in a book won't cause any new creases or folds, it will rid the note of the raised texture that is often prized by collectors and may cause the grade to drop it's EPQ/PPQ rating. A 64 EPQ note will bring a higher price at auction than just a 64. If the note has a very significant crease with damaged fibers, pressing the note may cause more damage to the fibers and weaken it further. Imagine the fibers look like this ___/\___ as an extreme example. If they don't lie flat, then weight from the top will cause those fibers to be crushed, rather than lie down. If the note is visibly weak at the crease, don't press it at all. The note has to be stretched so the fibers are straightened before weight is applied; but the stretching itself may cause the fibers to break. As the note is stretched, it needs to be repaired - and at that point professional restoration is your best bet.
Where might I check to get them profrssionally restored? Since they're almost consecutive, and '57B, I may as well look into that.
Anything where you apply heat, whether dry or steam is a real bad idea. It changes the genetic makeup of the paper. Takes the crisp away and makes them raggy. But I know you know this already Travis.
You are correct. Paper is easily damaged by heat; it reacts with oxygen (combusts) at high temperatures. However, US currency is not made from paper. It is made of cotton and linen. It does not react the same way to heat and can withstand slightly higher temperatures before yellowing or combusting. The steam will wet the note and keep it from reaching combustible temperatures. Using an iron risks evaporating all the moisture and burning it. That is not a possibility with a kettle. Notes were printed wet, and were even washed by the BEP in the past. The steam from a kettle is only slightly above 212F and not as hot as an iron. Steam at this temperature will not affect the DNA of the fibers - like you describe. It will not cost the note much crispness. And if you're resorting to something like this, the note probably doesn't have much crispness left anyway. Steam will cause the fibers to relax, so they can expand or be stretched. As it cools down and dries, the fibers contract. By keeping the paper in a certain form while wet, the fibers will tend to hold that shape better when dry. To the OP, as far as restoration goes, check out http://www.theconservationcenter.com/. Keep in mind that restoration and preservation can be very costly - sometimes in excess of the value of the notes. It may not be worth pursuing, because it may not increase the value much. In fact it likely earn it an Apparent/Net rating from a grading company. But it may just help prevent it from deteriorating further. Here is a good overview of some processes, but I still wouldn't recommend attempting it yourself. http://www.ehow.com/how_5855299_do-paper-restoration.html
