2019
"Collector's Corner"
2019 Entries:
December 25th 2019: Merry Christmas & Happy holidays! Hope everyone is well and healthy! I have made a few additions/revisions to this site. First I added a few terms such as "Mule" ; "Remainders" ; "Net" & revised some of the existing terms defined on the Notable Terms page. I just added the US Currency site to Notable Sites page (& added a blurb on FB groups on the same). Check out my entry on December 16th below which pretty much summed up my buying experience until this past Christmas eve *(I know, I know- my bad: I should have been visiting and doing the Christmas spirit thing!). Anyway- that night, and much to my surprise, I picked up 2 TPG banknotes for less than half BV. I also got an old TPG German war era note for 1/4 BV & an uncommon Hungarian note for about $10 less than BV (so no big deal there- other than it was a GEM & rarer variety!). Both the German and Hungarian examples are definite keepers while the two Cypriot examples may go up for resale someday. I lost out on several 1970's German Democratic Republic examples and remain in awe of early issues from Israel, Singapore & Hong Kong (all of which seem to reach far ABOVE BV with brisk bidding many days before their auction ends).
December 22nd 2019: There are a number of sellers on eBay who have detected a very small misalignment on the printing of the 10 counter for the 2018 Vertical $10 note. Some sellers have listed these regular banknotes as ERROR banknotes (some of these sellers have listed the same for as much as 26X face value). Now I ask you this: would a typical banknote collector (who has seen a lot of slight printing imperfections over the years) pay 26X FV for a recently issued banknote with such a slight/minor misalignment? If you said/or thought "probably not." then you're likely in the majority. BUYER BEWARE! Unfortunately, it is often the "wild, wild west" market frontier on "planet eBay." I wish I could claim that this is NOT the case, but it is. Minor misalignments (& slightly raised/lowered serial numbers) and other tiny imperfections are usually within the normal tolerances of printing banknotes. Check out this YOUTUBE video on printing Swiss currency to see how complicated producing a banknote can be.
If a printing variation does get rather large than small variations (anomalies) may occur - but these usually stand out. For instance, in the original 2002 Journey $10 there were a series of circles within circles in the designs at the left small vertical panel on the front of the note. Some of the inner circles went missing on a very small batch of a few prefixes (FEB to FEN). Again, these notes were considered within tolerances but a few intrepid collectors decided they were special and raised the demand for these "missing circle" notes (however weak). To learn more about this minor variation in print design see p 323 of the 31st Ed of the Charlton Canadian Government Paper Money catalogue. Some collectors may pay a SMALL premium (like $5-$10 over regular BV) for the missing circle anomaly. Many won't pay (& could care less!) .
Go to the back of the Charlton catalogue mentioned above if you wish to see real ERROR banknotes! This is one of the reason I always recommend that a banknote collector buy this excellent reference guide. Sure, the websites are awesome in providing some good/timely information (especially on forums) but the standard catalogues are your GO TO for authoritative info that can save you thousands of dollars! Just read over the introduction on "Grading paper money" to get a grasp on assessing a note's condition- and you save big by avoiding over graded purchases. You will no longer buy a TPG holder but analyze each banknote you acquire & be way ahead of the crowd (who take years to get the different grades firmly established in their heads).
December 16th 2019: Last week I picked up a Cayman Islands $40 banknote (P9) with a PMG UNC66 EPQ grade for more than $100 USD less than book. I always consider BV for UNC 64 so I was pretty confident that I scored a pretty good deal. It was this win above (plus a few similarly GEM graded uncommon notes I won well below book) which made me assert that the paper money market had cooled down considerably. However, this past weekend, I backed off on several banknotes I had my sights set on, as bidding was brisk, and each example went well beyond book. So the cycle goes (hot and cold) and I would advise anyone wishing to acquire some world class banknotes to be vigilant if they do wish to pick up a high grade example for BV or less. This doesn't mean taking a peak now and again (as I once did) but trying to gauge and get a feel for when the market is "hot" (& when its not). Trump backed off some trade levies and Boris Johnston won a Conservative majority in Great Britain. Hindsight is 20/20 but we all must learn to play the market according to the info we're given.
Now, if only I can get my hands on the P7 ($10) & P8 ($25) from the Caymans!
December 6th 2019: The banknote market seems to be cooling down before the Christmas season so I would advise that it may be a good time to pick up 1 or 2 "must-have" banknotes, if you're in the position to buy. The thing is- many of us turn our attention to more pressing family matters this time of year plus bad weather (life, etc) can just get in the way of making a bid. This eliminates competition. Why not take advantage of a cooled-down marketplace? Just remember to practice patience (& due diligence). Know the note that you're bidding on (think of a FMV, BV, etc & consider have you seen many of these, is it really in as good shape as the seller claims, etc?) I always ask myself a LOT Of QUESTIONS before I buy. Don't be afraid to ask the seller any concerns you may have well ahead of time (before you bid). Be a wary consumer because you may wish to sell this same banknote down the road. For more tips on buying, scroll below.
November 30th 2019: on November 18th "Broken-Coin" a member of CCF posted his latest error acquisitions. If you would like to see some very dramatic & interesting world banknote errors, I would encourage you to check out that link. This CCF member ("Broken-Coin") is very candid about his acquisitions (how much he's paid, etc) so its a great thread that reveals much. Later, he mentions that he used to live on CCF but now he "spends most of his "online time on Facebook Groups." Although I prefer forum outlets, I thought I would give the FB group a try and joined myself. I am a great believer in how social media can be an awesome outlet for one's hobbies. Collecting great Canadian (or World) banknotes shouldn't always be about buying (or tossing out money) on this or that. One should take stock in one's acquisitions from time to time and share what they think they know/have learned (or at least be open to what others think they know/have learned). Having said that, there''s a "market place" to buy & sell too.
For me, creating a few videos (updating this site), participating in CCF, CPMF, the Banknote Index & now FB Groups have made this hobby so much more enjoyable. I recall when I first started how exciting it was to meet likeminded individuals at the first Canadian Paper Money Society meetings at the odd show or convention I attended. In those days I was just a "dabbler" and even though I had been collecting for 20 or so years never really had very many "prize" or "trophy" notes. I also remember thinking (as I got older and acquired a few more valuable rare banknotes) how one doesn't really want to broadcast this information that they have this ______ or that expensive (rare) banknote for obvious security reasons. The hobby can then become lonely from time to time (unless one just keeps his/her nose to the dabbling level). So, social media is a bit of an outlet for those who have finally started to put together a decent array of more valuable banknotes.
Finally, I'd just like to thank "Collector 34" from Turkey who on November 27th posted a question about a $100 US replacement and his Swiss 100 Franc repeater SN on CCF. I suggested he take a look at this site in order to discover more about special serial numbers, what's collectible, & book value. He did check it out and posted "Awesome site you have there @walk2dwater" If you'd like to say "hi," post feedback, or constructive suggestion please feel free to do so either on CCF or CPMF (I posted 1 announcement on the World Paper Money thread).
November 19th 2019: I have added some banknotes to the various "Notes Available" and created a separate link for "Special Serial Numbers." I am also working on my 6th video on collecting paper money. Keep tuned for more updates!
November 3rd 2019: As I posted a week ago, lots of my old notes are being sold on eBay. While some buyers have asked about the notes on this site, many remain shy. If you have bought something from me and are interested in more please feel free to contact me. I have sold some of my Canadian banknotes from my collection over the past 5 years and there seems to be a fairly strong market for them right now.
There are many good buys to be had on the WORLD banknote market. Several sellers on eBay will sell BIN UNC notes well below the SWPMC BV. The trouble I have is deciding whether to invest in cheaper BIN batches (speculate on their BV going up) or whether to bid on auction style TPG tough notes (which are a much firmer investment in my mind). Watch my videos below (VIDEO #4) to see which country's notes I still favour over others.
October 24th 2019: Many notes are being sold through eBay and some savvy collectors are contacting me and striking great deals on a few VERY Collectible extra banknotes selected from my personal collection. Don't delay- contact me asap if you're interested in picking up some terrific/tough CDN prefixes/special numbers or world banknotes at awesome LOW CDN prices (mostly below BV). Cheap postage & NO TAX! EMT preferred!
October 19th 2019: A little while back, Kyle Mathers (from the Banknote Index) asked if I'd be interested in writing a review of Charlton's Canadian Government Paper Money catalogue and I jumped at the opportunity. When I first started collecting I had no idea this catalogue existed (because it didn't!) Once I had a full time job years later and got back into the hobby I first laid eyes on a copy at my local library. I truly found the information overwhelming and didn't give it a decent read through until I perused a thread on "Typos & Suggestions," on the Canadian Paper Money Forum (CPMF). This was cool: I could see how powerful the Internet was (a media tool for the masses) and started reading the catalogue in earnest. After a little while I started finding small inconsistencies, typos and minor errors - and posted these myself on the CPMF. I am now a big fan of this book since each edition continues to provide me with so much information. I have placed Charlton Press at the top of my Acknowledgements page and if you wish to view my review just posted on the Banknote Index please do! BTW: if you want an online reference to check for info on your World banknote I highly recommend the Banknote Index!
PS: still selling my notes on eBay but only a few from this site. Too bad some of the old guys from the RCNA conventions, CPMF and others I've networked through these sites (over the years) don't contact me & take advantage of this network!
October 12th 2019: Wow- what an oversight on my part! I was just going through some of the catalogues when I visited a few dealer's sites. One of them had a reference to the ANA (American Numismatic Association) and I just knew I had missed adding it to my Notaphilyc Sites page! This site is jammed packed pull of info and really worth a number of repeat visits.
October 9th 2019: I have added another video on grading banknotes. Hope you enjoy! Please go to my channel on Youtube if you'd like to leave a comment.
October 5th 2019: Just listed another three notes on eBay. Also added another article and completed a few revisions. If you have bought from me before, on eBay or privately, than you know you can count on a fair deal. Contact me asap before the note you want is sold!
September 29th 2019: Notaphilyc Culture is over a month old & I have made further edits today. I started listing some of my collection on eBay so had to delete some of my listings here (as the items are sold/no longer available). Remember to browse the Notes I have listed and contact me (the administrator of this site) at notaphilyc@gmail.com if you'd like to save big on World or Canadian paper money!
September 20th 2019: I finally got around to the 4th video which I have been working on for some time (in fact, I wasn't even going to publish this site until I had this video completed earlier this summer!) I have seen members from the Coin Community Forum (on the WORLD PAPER MONEY thread) ask what banknotes to collect & thought I better get this one out there!
September 8th 2019: I have added a few banknotes from my personal collection. While the site is only 2 weeks old, I finally feel like it has become somewhat presentable.
September 2nd 2019: It has just been a little over one week since I first published this site (yes- it's that new!) .
August 27th 2019: I am working on adding images of the first 3-6 denominations of each Canadian denomination to the 1935 BOC page (to current series). I will add "Carousels" of popular notes for the Journey & Frontiers Series.
I have added a "Money Market" section below on the advice of a Youtuber who asked about how one sells his/her notes. (Thanks to Dave Murphy!)
August 24 2019: I have just published this website today. I still have plenty of work (& some sections are still "under construction" but I believe it is ready to be seen by the World Wide Web).
August 20 2019: I'm very close to having the site up and ready to be published. I hope to achieve this by the end of this month. I spent a good deal of time on my "World Banknotes" page charting my evolution as a collector. I put some of the finishing touches on the World Banknotes Available pages but still have considerable work to do to complete the Canadian Section. On Notaphilyc Sites I added the "Banknote Index" & other useful Websites.
From August 11-16 the Dow-Jones & TSE experienced wild fluctuations. Some economist blamed drops on ominous bond market indicators while others blamed the ongoing US-China trade war. When I see such economic uncertainty, I can think of one thing only: Now is the time to purchase world paper money. Why? Because collectors with deep pockets get shy at times like these and there's bargains to be had on both rare & common stuff.
You may be wondering where I am with regards to Canadian Paper currency. Well to be honest: I feel that our market is still quite hot (it's a sellers market) and I am speculating that this is due to Canada's transition to polymer. The recent arrival of the 2017 Commemorative and 2018 Ten Vertical banknotes drum home this point (that older Canadian paper will continue to be hot).
Many US dealers have bought up large quantities of 1935/1937 series stock so it is very difficult to purchase any high grade notes (from these series) without paying USD (which is way ABOVE CDN BV). IMO: If you want to buy Canadian banknotes, the best thing to do is buy recent series or world notes! Why? Because World notes don't have the majority of American collectors' attention at this moment. The jury is out on Canada's polymer so deals can be had. Anyone can pick up great bargains and sell the notes later (to buy notes that may be on their wish list).
NOTAPHILYC CULTURE or notaphilic corner?
I remember going to the 2006 RCNA (Royal Canadian Numismatic Association) convention in Niagara Falls and even there, seeing a group of banknote collectors huddled in a corner amongst swarms of coin collectors. One overriding impression I got from the Canadian Paper Money Society's luncheon was how collectors of banknotes come from all walks of life.
I suppose it would have been more fitting to have named this website "Notaphilic Corner" (use the correct spelling of "notaphilic" rather than "Notaphilyc Culture" (with the incorrect spelling) but I suppose I want this site to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, an every man's site (& simple for new comers to access). I hope this site will appeal to both the "dabbler" and the "hardcore" currency collector. In fact, I hope anyone can take a little something from these virtual oddball pages.
Some of this "IMO" site will be based on tidbits I've picked up over the decades of collecting Canadian currency. Other parts of this site will be based on info I have picked up from several websites, Charlton, SWCPM, collectors, dealers & books (see "Acknowledgements" link below). I turned to World paper about five years ago and have gotten far more serious ("hardcore") to acquire specific nations this past year. While doing so, I made a commitment to acquire some extras and offer them up here (& on eBay).
I am quite aware that there are many collectors who have studied, catalogued and collected more countries, specialties (specimens, proofs, etc) for much longer than I. There will always be far better authorities on such subject as grading, identifying collectible signatures, prefixes, specific rarities, etc. So please use your discretion in terms of what you wish to take away from viewing each video and from exploring this site.