I have added an example for the Banco Colombiano from Guatemala to the Impossible Set also indicating that this bank requires much more research.
The note is S121b, an example of the 1 peso issue, dated 17th April 1900 and my research so far posed a few questions. Earlier dates of 17th October 1879 and 5th April 1900 are also recorded, as is a Specimen issue, with most of the notes cancelled and not issued (S/N 59999 to 184998) suggesting a single print run.
So far all of t
I actually managed to get a day-off today (well working from home anyway) so thought I would also catch up with some hobbies - I can't believe my last Journal entry was in August!
Work has been hectic, but in a good way, and the hangover from Lockdown finally seems to have worked its way out of the system which means everything is now full steam ahead. Even better that the main projects are very interesting and all working, but I would say that as they were my idea, albeit up to 10 years a
https://notes.www.collectors-society.com/registry/notes/ViewPersonalCollection.aspx?UserCollectionID=1822&Tab=list
This month saw San Luis Potosi join my Mexican States set which also allowed the Banco de San Luis Potosi to fill another gap in the Impossible Set. Given that ‘Potosi’ was only added to the State name at a later date to highlight the importance of silver and gold mining to the region, it seems only appropriate to add a bank more closely tied to the famous Bolivian silver m
San Luis, or Saint Louis was Louis IX, the King of France who was a devout catholic and led several crusades in the late 13th century, dying on the 8th crusade from dysentery. Pope Boniface VIII made Louis IX a saint in 1297 with his feast day being next month on August 25th. A number of places in the region are named after him, so it is not just the city and the central Mexican State in Latin America with a surprising French connection. The reason for establishing the first Spanish settlement i
As my username is Colonial Coins UK and as my interests moved beyond the UK I started collecting coins of the British colonies, however the corresponding banknotes were beyond my reach, even more so than some of the coins. As the ‘Impossible Set’ for Latin America does include a few of these former colonies a note from Belize (formerly British Honduras) and a couple of examples from British Guiana have been added this month removing the ‘No notes’ label. Reading up on the history of Barclays B
Having been distracted by unreported control letters on a non-Mexican series of notes this is a little bit late for the end of May but as I had already selected the notes to add, I thought why not.
The journal entry ‘From Ukraine to Guatemala’ commented on a recent auction for a 1 peso note issued by the Banco Comercial de Guatemala and how completing the issues for this bank would be an impossible set all on its own. The second Guatemalan note this month is also a 1 peso example but this
A previous Journal Entry ‘A pile of tatty notes’ was on the control letters on the El Estado de Durango 5 pesos note however this issue wasn’t going to represent the State of Durango.
https://boards.pmgnotes.com/blogs/entry/1426-a-pile-of-tatty-notes/
Durango, State No. 8, is one of the largest states in Mexico, and similar to many without a coastline, has an economy based on mining and the production of a range of agricultural products. Improved transport and communication links rapi
The recent Journal Entry from @Fenntucky Mike entitled ‘My Bankroll Is A Foot Thick…’ (2023 April 20) highlighted the amazing prices that some Ukranian banknotes are achieving at auction and I would like to add a recent Latin American example.
The note in question is a 1 peso example, from the first issue in 1892, by the Banco Comercial de Guatemala (S131). When this note appeared at the recent Daniel Sedwick auction (2023 May 3-4th, Lot1309) it had a starting price of 10,000USD and
To say April has been busy would be an understatement, fortunately it has also been very productive and on top of everything else I even managed to start a couple of new, really interesting, projects at work
Although I have plenty of notes to expand the 'Impossible Set' the downside of all this activity has meant that I haven't been able to sort out the descriptions and so no new notes have been added. One of the major advantages of collecting coins and banknotes is that it is a flexible h
This month all of the notes added are from Mexico, some of which have been covered in other Journal posts as examples for the States of Chiapas, Campeche and Jalisco (‘Chiapas is Mexico State No. 5’, ‘Campeche takes the No. 6 slot’ and for Jalisco ‘The land of Tequila’)
https://notes.www.collectors-society.com/registry/notes/ViewPersonalCollection.aspx?UserCollectionID=1822&Tab=list
The first of the other notes added is the earliest date for the 10 pesos notes issued by
Jalisco is the 3rd Mexican state added this month and is north of Chiapas and Campeche and more or less west of Mexico City, although the State is on the west coast Jalisco is lacking a major port. My knowledge of the State extends to the 1986 soccer World Cup with matches played in Guadalajara, the State capital – not sure why everyone here in the UK remembers that tournament.
Then there is Tequila, a major export for the State, and increasingly popular here in the UK but as I would rather
Having added Chiapas to the ‘Mexican States’ list I can now add another southern state. Campeche, which borders both the Gulf of Mexico and Guatemala is the subject of this Journal Entry – it also adds another bank to the ‘Impossible Set’.
1 Chihuahua
2 Tamaulipas
3 Veracruz
4 Guerrero
5 Chiapas
6 Campeche
Impossible Set info at:-
https://notes.www.collectors-society.com/registry/notes/
It has been a while since I have added to the ‘Mexican States’ which has stood at four entries for a while, this Journal Entry now adds Chiapas to the list and also a bank to the ‘Impossible Set’.
1 Chihuahua
2 Tamaulipas
3 Veracruz
4 Guerrero
5 Chiapas
Impossible Set can be found at:-
https://notes.www.collectors-society.com/registry/notes/ViewPersonalCollection.aspx?UserCollectionID=1822&Tab=list
A very busy month meant that I have only been able to add 3 notes to the Impossible Set, although this did add the first examples for 2 countries.
https://notes.www.collectors-society.com/registry/notes/ViewPersonalCollection.aspx?UserCollectionID=1822&Tab=list
The first note added was the Argentine 1 peso note which was highlighted in the previous Journal Entry as it was the first square note in the collection.
The second note is from the Bolivian Bank established by
All my banknotes are basically rectangular in format, although they do vary dramtically in size and orientation so it was great to add this 1 Peso note from La Provincia de Buenos Ayres to the collection as it is square! This also adds another bank to the Impossible Set which helps.
https://notes.www.collectors-society.com/registry/notes/ViewPersonalCollection.aspx?UserCollectionID=1822&Tab=list
As a Napoleonic collector I realise that some of the early French Revolution issues are
This month saw the sale, by StacksBowers, of the Rosenmann and Ellicott Collections of Latin American banknotes at the NYINC. These were extremely impressive collections, both in rarity and grade, however given some of the prices realised completion of this Set may be more Impossible than I thought . At the moment, earlier Brazilian and Venezuelan notes also seem to be very popular everywhere with my bids not even coming close to the final price.
For some unknown reason I had also missed Co
This month has seen the ‘Impossible set’ grow by four notes making a grand total of 15.
The new additions are from French Guiana – Banque de la Guyane, Paraguay – the 1870 Argentine Occupation and Suriname – Centrale Bank van Suriname. The fourth addition is from the Bank of Guyana, Guyana for which I have already posted a Journal Entry as it completed the country!
These notes cover former British, Dutch, French and Spanish colonies and thus represent some of the fascinating history
Just added a $5000 note from the Bank of Guyana to my Impossible Set.
As Guyana has only been independent since 1966 the Bank of Guyana has been the only source of currency and therefore Guyana is complete
The back of the note shows the typical landscape in Guyana and the national bird – the hoatzin, which I had never heard of. This species seems to be unique in the bird world with blue skin and a fascinating adaption to life in the rain forest meaning it is also referred to as the ‘Sti
One of the goals for my collection is to put a Set together made up of a note from the Revolutionary Period for each State in Mexico - a total of 30 notes. I think this is achievable, and is proving a great way to learn about the region, and the Set is ticking along nicely. Some States had multiple Banks, for example Yucatan had El Banco Mercantil de Yucatan, El Banco Yucatecco, then El Banco Pennisular Mexicano plus a range of later private, military, state and municipal issues so there is plen
My first graded banknote was a 'dos caritos' issued during the Mexican Revolution in Chihuahua and I promised myself that I would not attempt acquiring all the combinations of control letters, dates etc as there are more than a 1000 known.
As there is always an exception to every rule I had decided that if some of the interesting varieties appeared cheaply then I would snap them up and this note ticks that box.
It is still a 20 pesos note (S537b, M926f) with black scalloped
https://notes.www.collectors-society.com/registry/notes/mysets_listing.aspx?PeopleSetID=34594
This year has seen a couple of milestones in my collection, the first dealing with coins and the second banknotes. After more than a decade, I finally managed to complete my NGC Registry Set consisting of the main types of Napoleonic Francs and, much to my surprise, I have also managed to complete my first PMG set, this was much quicker but then it was 5 notes rather than 30 coins!
The Se
Here in the UK there seems to have been a shortage of £5, £10 and £20 notes from cash machines lately - no idea why?
The outcome of this was that I received a £50 note instead!
Although some people may be familiar with these they are not something that is in everyday use here at all. I have only had about half a dozen £50 notes in my entire life and that was many years ago when I lived in London. This is one of the new polymer notes which were introduced in 2021 and even has the first
Not only is this another country from Latin America to add to the collection but it attracted me for a couple of reasons. First the cancellation holes are square - I thought that was a bit different as most seem to be round.
In my collection I have a Guatemalan 1 peso with Cybele riding a chariot being pulled by two lions whereas this time she seems to have gained a passenger in Mercury, which is no doubt why it now takes four lions to do the hard work!
It is no surprise to
The quest towards a note from each of the Mexican States continues and I am now able to add Guerrero as State No.4, the list so far:-
1 Chihuahua
2 Tamaulipas
3 Veracruz
4 Guerrero
Guerrero is in the southwest of Mexico and is named after Vicente Guerrero Saldana (the chap on the front) who, having joined the Mexican revolutionary forces in 1810, progressed to the rank of General with control of the southern forces. As a result he played a key role in Mexico gaining
When I started collecting coins I was drawn to the discovery of new varieties as I found this fascinating, more so as it turned out that the standard reference books for world issues don't usually contain much, if any, information concerning such details. It transpires that the situation is much the same for medals.
So, having recently added banknotes to my collection it rapidly became apparent that 'paper' was no different and records concerning Series, control letters, dates, signatures e