Saving Old Notes ?

I have been saving old $5, $10 and $20 notes with the smaller image of Lincoln, Hamilton and Jackson. I wonder if they're worth saving as most of the bills have creases and few are uncirculated. Am I saving them for nothing or should I spend them?

 

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i save them too, i would also like to know

 

Save them!!! Save as many as possible unless they are in really poor shape. The fed's destroy and shred them immediately upon redemption so it is our numismatic responsibility to hang on to them! There is even a market on ebay for these circulated old style notes excluding 1995 series unless they are in super shape.

 

Okay here is a prime example of why you should save them. Just look at what these two notes went for and he found them at work!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3415&item=3962998122

 

What would mean more to me is knowing what made those bills worth 2.5 times their face value (plus shipping)?

 

Beats me but I saw an 1981 series twenty that was in pretty used condition go for $30 on ebay.

 

Some of it just boils down to the durablility of the materials used. The average $1 bill is expected to last less than 18 months in circulation, where as its not uncommon to find a 30+ year old coin in your pocket change.

Add to that the collecting standard principal of "supply and demand" and the picture as to "why" starts to come into focus.

Hope this helps.

 

Yes indeed so the point is to save save save your old currency from the evils of the fed's and circulation! If your only motivation is making a buck instead of preservation than just take a good look at that auction.

 

Lawdogct and GDJMSP hit the very points of the intent of my question. Does the buyer know something I don't or maybe he/she has a particular fascination with fivers. The seller mentions a particular era during which these bills were produced, referencing the signatures on the notes. I know that kind of thing can be the seller blowing smoke but it could also indicate that the buyer and seller know something about those notes that I don't that makes them particularly desirable. All in all, it could very simply boil down to age and condition.

If we consider the original question at the beginning of the thread, we have to ask ourselves if these bills were collectible simply because they are of an obsolete design and in good conditioin or whether there is more to it than that?

I'm not really expecting somebody to have the answer, having asked the question rhetorically, but if somebody does know some answers I'm all ears.

 

Well thats have a look here. They are both series 1981, both San Francisco L districts, and they go in order with the blocks of A and B and they were just printed up to block C so maybe the person wants a complete set.

 

If you have money to waste, then save them. Otherwise, invest the cash in something. Or, use them to buy strictly crisp unc. versions of the same notes. Those might be worth saving, but not old circulated ones.

 

Not Worth Saving

I agree. The old $5, $10 and $20 notes I've been saving are mostly in awful circulated condition. If crisp and in uncirculated condition, I would agree about saving them. And if I were wealthy I would save them all but frankly I could use the cash. Except for a few nice specimens, the notes are creased in the center and have bad folds; some even have tears and writing in ink, as well as discoloration of the inks. I would like to save them all but frankly I don't see any value to saving. I recall being told to save the "Ike" Dollars back in the 70's. Are those extremely valuable now? They're also not in circulation anymore.

 

40 year old Silver Certificates are worth about $1.00 in circualted conditon. Any investment would have been infinitley better in the last 40 years.

Almost the same for Ikes. There are more coin collectors, so there is slightly more of a market for them, but you would be hard pressed to get twice face value.

If saving those old moldy notes is a savings plan that keps you from blowing cash, then maybe you should keep them. Butm any other investment would be better.

 

Wait just a minute now. Spending the ones with writing and tears are fine but even if they have a crease somewhere it does not matter. The nice notes are worth saving darnet!
Did you guys not learn from this auction? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3415&item=3962998122

If you read the description one even has a quarter inch tear on it but those two fives still went for over $24!!!! It is our numismatic responsibility to save the nicer old notes even if they do have a crease or two. BTW those old silver certificates go for $1.90-$3 in circulated condition.

 

Notice at that auction how many people actually BID on the notes.

Semi-circulated (is that like semi-pregnant?) notes aren't worth getting too excited about. I've been known to save a few myself, but we have to remember that any dealer worth his salt could get you some for less than $24.

Or get friendly with a gas station attendant. They see what we might call "uncommon" stuff all the time. When my wife was one, she was given for payment gold, platinum, large size notes, you name it. And this was when gas was $.99 a gallon. What with the price of gas nowadays, who knows what you'd find? That just gave me an idea for a new business. KLJ's Gas, Bait, and Coins. The slogan could be "Please keep the nightcrawlers off the Morgans!"

 

I've seen circulated notes receive all kinds of different bids! Do you really want the old currency to end up looking like this??

 

"Go for" and "are worth", are two very different things. Anything can be hyped up and an unkowlegabel buyer can be ripped off. If you can fund me a buyer of circulated silver certs for $3 a piece, let me know and I will be an instant millionaire,because you can buy them for a ot less than that.

BTW - most silver certs that were saved from ciraution were put away 40 years ago. Waiting 40 years to make even a $2 profit on a $1 bill is not a good investment.

There are millions upon millions of circulated notes of the older series forn the past several years. They will never be worth anything. There are probably more than enough CU ones to go around, but those are worth saving. If not in strict Unc. condition, it is not worth saving them, unless you intend to rip off unsuspecting and ignorant people on eBay.

I people insist on preserivng things for posterity regardless of the economic cost, then put away new current notes and coins and maybe your grandchildren's generation will give you a small "thank you."

 

Actually, yes!!!! You are looking at possibly 1000s of $$ in notes that cost about 2-3$ to buy. Bettre than spending 1000s of $ on circulated notes that will never have any real value, or at least not until long after you are dead and gone.

 

Oh please. Value this and valuable that. How about forgetting about making a quick buck and preserving something for the novelty value that is old from times past.