I just picked up The Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money by John Schwartz and Scott Lindquist thanks to a recommendation from here. It's really interesting to see all the data. I just can't decide what type of collection to start. I know that I want to stick with U.S. notes from 1900-current, perhaps even some before 1900. I like the star notes too. I can't spend a couple thousand bucks on any one note. I wish I could though. I was thinking to just collect notes from the NY district since that's where I'm from. Do people do that or do most people do the "complete district set" type collecting? Do some people just concentrate on the short printed notes since they're more scarce? What type of collections do most people do here? Just looking for the right direction to start. Thanks!
If you're working on a budget, but you have champagne taste, I recommend souvenir cards as a starter. These are a fairly inexpensive way to obtain intaglio prints, from original BEP plates, of some of the rarest and most attractive notes issued. You might scan through this thread -- one of the most popular on the Coin Talk site. http://www.cointalk.com/t94663/
My budget is very limited, so I collect a specific theme to stay within the budget. Though you were probably thinking of collecting US banknotes, I collect World Banknotes that depict animals. This is part of my collection: http://www.banknotebank.com/collection/MMMM . I have over 2000 banknotes now.
Welcome to collecting papermoney. If you are looking to collect Small Size Notes from the New York District and want an instant collection....well, perhaps I may be able to help you? RickieB
