Getting creases out of paper money

I got an older style $10 a few weeks ago. Seeing that it was an old style bill, I folded it up to keep for an emergency. I later looked at it closer and saw that is a 1969 A series so I decided to keep it. How can I get rid of the creases formed when I folded the bill?

 

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you can't get rid of them without ruining the note. it's just like coins, you don't clean them. pressing the note will ruin the embossing. just keep the bill the way it is. it's not that rare of a note to attempt it anyways. :thumb:

 

Precisely.

The damage is done. The creases are broken fibers, and you can't unbreak them.

Some people may try to press the note to make them less evident. But it's not as simple as just putting it in a book. In addition, you risk weakening the creases further.

Collectors value originality. Pressing the note will void it of that. It will also not improve the technical grade.

Your best bet is to just put it in a currency holder and leave it as-is.

 

Here,s a suggestion that might work for you but it can damage the note if you dont do it correctly, so if i were you i would practice on
A couple ordinary ones first.

To start with get out a clothes iron and set it on the very lowest heat setting next get a dish towel made out of 100% cotton dampen it
Not to wet or to dry place it over the note and apply the iron go ahead run it over a few times and see what progress youve made
This may take several passes to get the desired results, trying to use short cuts here like turning up the iron to high will result in a
Damaged brown color note!

 

I sit on the other side of this debate.

Don't iron the note. If a note is pressed properly, it's possible to make the folds less prominent. However, passing it off to a buyer as if the note were better condition to get more money, is unethical.

If you were to sell it and do not disclose what was done, a buyer may believe the note is higher grade than it actually is based on photos, and pay more money. This would constitute note doctoring and fraud in my opinion.

So even though it is possible to make the folds less obvious, the folds will still be there regardless of what you do. It will not affect the numerical grade a Third Party Grader (TPG) like PCGS, PMG or CGA will assign. The ironing process will also weaken the fibers and make the note flimsy, void it of any embossing as mentioned, and sacrifice paper originality (PPQ/EPQ/OPQ grade) in exchange for making it appear to be a higher grade. The PPQ/EPQ/OPQ attribute does carry a premium.

Because the numerical grade will not increase and you will lose the Paper-Quality attribute, you will actually devalue the note by ironing or pressing it.

 

I'm not planning on ever selling this note.

 

Actually, if done correctly this does work really well my grandfather had my grandmother iron his notes as he liked them nice and crisp minus the damp cloth in
The process i mentioned above this is very much achievable, you just have to be patient!

 

I guess you can call your grandmother a doctor.

 

The point is not to rush, and to check your work often for best results

 

Unless you plan to have this note burried with you, eventually it will be back in the market place. Then who ever buys it, will have a damaged note. Even if it is handed down through inheritance for many generations.

 

Jimrob23, is that you?

 

Have no idea what a jimrob is??

 

lol

 

Okay, you've convinced me. I'm not going to try to get rid of the folds. I just wish I had looked at the date when I folded it and put it in my wallet.

 

Just be careful and let us know how it turns out

 

I posted this in the past. During the sevebties I dated a teller at a very large bank. She would save interesting notes for me including silver certificates and any notes she found interesting.
When I had at least four new notes I'd put one note in each pocket of a pair khaki pants then add the pants to a load of light colored clothes to be washed. Then line dry the notes then
iron them with a low temperature iron. I still have those notes. They look good to me.

YMMV

Mike

 

I think more people are putting a value on it, some people dont care they just want it to look good

 

I have done this with an iron no water on several confederate notes. I do not subscribe to the idea it is in any way an ethics thing. Your not making it something its not. I have had several confederate notes where the cut cancel got folded back on itself. I used an iron to put it back. Not a problem.

 

Generally steaming and/or ironing a note to remove creases or folds diminishes the value of the note. If you're keeping it and have no plans to sell it then iron away.

 

I don't agree that is hurts the note in anyway. If you put water or steam and it discolors the note I would say it harms the not to what ever permanent damage was done. But to iron lightly a note to take out crease is about the same thing as saying if you put a note for a year in a heavy book and some creases are eased or gone makes it of less value, that is crazy. I mean really are you saying that if someone stores a note for a long time in between a book to press it then there is some category it should go into as not as valuable? So should people fold the note and make the creases stay to some level to make it valuable? This sounds like the Homeopathy area of note collecting. If less is more if i don't take any will I OD?