Hello all. I keep reading these posts and people keep talking about what a great find they got or a good purchase they made. I have zero clue what you guys are talking about! I love $2 bills but I have no idea what makes a good one, a valuable one, a desirable one, etc. I have a paper money book but it's like reading greek. It's just not as simple as reading a date on a coin. So basically, I need help. I want to continue collecting $2 bills but I want to truly understand what I'm collecting. I don't want to just have a notebook of bills. Make sense?
Fancy serial numbers, misprints, ink smears, low print runs, star notes and miscut are some things to look for. www.uspapermoney.info is a great site to learn from.
If somebody didn't do this: Welcome to CT Since I don't collect $2 bills, my secondary advice is Google (after the above). Whatever we're saying, google it, and you'll find it. Also, ask questions.
I'm not a paper collector, although I do have some, but I understand a little about them. In fact much of the things to look for are similar to coins. There are errors on paper money that can make them worth more than face like off set prints, basically the same as a msaligned die on a coin. Also there are lots of varieties in serial numbers that can be valuable. Examples of this are radar notes which have a serial number that reads the same way backwards as it does forwards. These are unusual varieties that are not commonly found, therefore making them valuable. Alos there are people who collect serial numbers that have dates in them, such as 03172011 (saint patricks day this year). Not all of those are valuable because of that, but some collectors are willing to pay more for them. And like coins there are rare notes. I am in no way an expert but that is the information I know about paper money.
Coins either have a mintmark (or lack of mintmark) which tell you where it was minted. This mark combined with the year give you the information to look up. Current Currency has a series date (not always the year printed) and a bank #/letter which corresponds to one of the 12 federal banks. These two pieces of info are enough for you to look up the bill. Older bills can have different info so you would have to let us know what you are interested in for more detailed info. The other main feature about current bills is that if the last letter on the serial number is replaced with a star then it is a replacement note and will likely be worth more.
Same situation When I said I don't collect paper, I still know a bit about them (radars, binarys, serial #s, series year, etc)
There's a bit of a left brain/right brain thing that goes on with collecting banknotes, and I'll toss it out here since it seems you've got a stack of left brain responses to your question. It is clearly true that some people collect paper money by serial numbers, by errors in printing, by various letters and numbers that distinguish where they are on the plate or at what facility they were printed or distributed. No question, and huge specialized collections have been made of such notes. But there is another world out there to collect, based on artistic interest in the content of the banknote, the story of what the note represents, the economic situation of the country issuing the banknote, one's personal connection with a country, language or theme, and yes, the rest of the world beyond the USA. You can often categorize collectors into these buckets as you read posts on this forum, and I'm sure like myself, others have scratched their heads at times wondering "why the heck is he spending his money on THAT?". The answer of course is that there are no rules, and we each collect for the enjoyment of a hobby. But I think we would be remiss in not showing to any new collector that there is a big world of possibilities out there. Dave
My primary focus on US currency is small size by series. I don't care about serial numbers per se. For example, in $2 notes, I'm building a collection that includes one of each note, series 1928 through 1928 G, 1953 through 1953 C, 1963, 1963A, 1976, 2003 and 2003A. As for varieties, I am interested also in star notes and "mules". Star notes are notes printed with a star in their serial numbers, indicating they were meant to replace a note that was misprinted before issue. Mules are notes printed with a front plate meant for one series and a back plate meant for another. Not all series of notes include stars or mules. How you decide to collect is, as others here have said, a matter of choice. There is no wrong way to collect.
Pick up some books. I like Whitman's Encyclopedia of US Paper Money. I also get free auction catalogs from Heritage on a regular basis, which has a load of info and pics. Guy
This sums it well, but I would also add, that for real estate it's location location location, and most of the time for bank notes, it's condition condition condition, especially in small-size. Now large-size Nationals, it's rarity first, condition second.
Great used books are for sale on amazon and other outlets. You can build up a 1st rate referance library, concerning notes for less than say $40. Used vs new average 1/4 new price.
