ddr70

I just sent a good chunk of my NBNs to PMG to grade.  The post office sure took it's time, but got my package there in 8 days instead of 4.  PMG listed as received about a week after it arrived in Sarasota.  
Here's one of the notes awaiting scrutiny.  I can't wait to add it to one of my series of 1882 collections here.  Connellsville, PA The First NB (E)2329 Radar Treasury SN on a $10 1882 VB Fr. 576 Tillman | Morgan SN 9076/T493394 pp F/118.  Love that SN especially on an early value back.
Chartered 4/8/1876, Liquidated 6/22/1928.  Assumed circulation of 4861, Yough NB of Connellsville which liquidated in 3/3/1913.  Bank officers' signatures are from (Geo W.) Stauffer, Cashier and E.T. Norton stamped in blue ink and remain legible, albeit light, to this day.  For 52 years, 3x10-20 sheets only and only a 193 of them VBs (SN 9001-9193).  Finding the $20 VB to go along with my $10 would be an awesome score!

I just sent a good chunk of my NBNs to PMG to grade.  The post office sure took it's time, but got my package there in 8 days instead of 4.  PMG listed as received about a week after it arrived in Sarasota.  
Here's one of the notes awaiting scrutiny.  I can't wait to add it to one of my series of 1882 collections here.  Connellsville, PA The First NB (E)2329 Radar Treasury SN on a $10 1882 VB Fr. 576 Tillman | Morgan SN 9076/T493394 pp F/118.  Love that SN especially on an early value back.
Chartered 4/8/1876, Liquidated 6/22/1928.  Assumed circulation of 4861, Yough NB of Connellsville which liquidated in 3/3/1913.  Bank officers' signatures are from (Geo W.) Stauffer, Cashier and E.T. Norton stamped in blue ink and remain legible, albeit light, to this day.  For 52 years, 3x10-20 sheets only and only a 193 of them VBs (SN 9001-9193).  Finding the $20 VB to go along with my $10 would be an awesome score!

This note was recently returned from grading. I am growing fond of the new holders. They seem to have solved the problem of crooked notes and bulging ridges between the note and label compartments. Track and Price lists only 13 large notes and one Value Back. The VB listed is a $20 so this is new to then census. When I received the note from the seller, I could smell the strong tint of tobacco! If only this note could speak. I am sure the yellow color is a result of cohabiting with a smoker for a long time. However, in the holder, no one will ever know!!
 

Pi Day #piday is of course March 14th (or 3.14 [3/14], or “π”) followed shortly by the Whitman Coin Show in Baltimore and Spring!  I've been busy making a sub type signature set of my series 1882 Nationals.  
My 1882 sub types set is a work in progress.  Ever seen the Circus Poster variety on a $5 Brown Back??  Take a look.  If I'm missing a better way to designate these notes, please let me know.
OK, back to Pi Day.  Check out this Elk City note from Oklahoma with a charter date of... you guessed it, Pi Day!  It sports a nice 4 digit radar serial number as well and was previously in the Douglas Knight Collection.  Then there's my Bangor, PA note, also a Pi Day charter and a solid 8 Serial Number.
Perhaps I'll see ya in Charm City.

The Venezuelan hyperinflation and the Bolivar / Bolivar Fuerte (“Strong Bolivar”) / Boliver Soberano (“Sovereign Bolivar”) Series got my attention last year while I was heavy into building and shopping my Zimbabwe set. I think they are cool looking notes, I love the animals on the back, and I love the fact that some of them have turtles on them, in addition to being hyperinflation notes / series. I didn’t start collecting them though because I was neck-deep in Zimbabwe, I didn’t have the budget to do both and I’ve long since decided that I’m happier doing 1 thing well than doing 5 in a very random, haphazard way. So, I stuck with Zimbabwe.
But we are a year down the road now and my Zimbabwe set is a lot stronger and a lot more complete now. Many of the sub-sets in it and the collection overall is about 90% complete now and I am just hitting a point where making further progress is just going to keep getting harder and slower. So, it seems like a good time to consider branching out.
Last week I noticed a seller I have bought from before was auctioning a set of 6 Bolivar Fuerte notes. There were 6 denominations that would make about a half-complete set of the 13 denominations in that series. The starting price was low, and I knew based on prior eBay sales that the auction might end at about $13-14 a note after shipping for a mix of 66 EPQ, 67 EPQ and 1 68 EPQ notes – not a bad deal.

I knew that another dealer I have bought from before also had some of these already graded from PMG for good prices and that dealer had a 10% off sale going on this last weekend for the 4th. So, I decided to look at what they had and found that I could get 5 of the other 7 denominations from them in grades of 66 EPQ or 67 EPQ for $14 each - $12.60 after the discount / sale.
After seeing that I was suddenly very excited! If I could win the auction Sunday night and bought the other 5 on sale, I’d have made an 11 of 13 denom set in just 2 transactions over a weekend for just $140-160.
I did a little bit of looking and found that buying notes of similar grade one at a time from other dealers on eBay could potentially cost me $30-35 per note and / or would have required a fair bit more time and effort. I am pretty sure I would / will never get a chance to build this set easier or cheaper than this. So, I decided to just go for it!
I did end up winning the auction for $81 after shipping. That puts the total cost of all 11 notes at $144.95 – or about $13.18 per note on average. It is hard for me to imagine building a graded set of gem / superb gem notes cheaper than that – and 7 of the 11 will be 67 EPQ or higher.
One thing I very much like about this is that it is NOT another Zimbabwe set. The full Zimbabwe set is just so huge and building that has been such a commitment and such an undertaking – there are over 90 notes in it now. The Venezuelan set is comparatively small. Unless you start chasing varieties (which I am not going to do – for now) there are only 13 Fuerte notes and 11 Soberano notes so far (up to 2019) – 24 notes that’s it! That is smaller than the Zimbabwean 3rd dollar note set (27 notes) or the 2nd dollar bearer check series (28 notes) are individually. (Swiped the image below from an eBay merchant that is selling ungraded sets of the notes).

This will be a nice chance to research some new people, a new country, and figure out why these animals are significant enough to the country to want to put them on a banknote. I am just getting these Bolivar Fuerte notes for now and I am not going to be venturing into the Bolivar Soberano notes until later.
It really is scary just how much all of this “rhymes” historically with what happened in Zimbabwe just a few years prior… the first redenomination being 1000:1, the 2nd redenomination being bigger than the first, the changing of just the last letter of the ISO currency code every time… Scary. It is almost as if history repeats itself and people just do not learn.
My wife accuses me of trying to be the “Hyperinflation King of the Registry.” I disagree with this assertion, but I would have no problem with it if it happened. 😊

Over the last three months the BEP has added the new 2017A Series of One Dollars notes for the Western or Fort Worth and the Washington DC location. The Collectors Society is also working at this time to updating the Friedberg Numbers for all the existing 2017 and new 2017A series of notes. The first to be corrected were the new 2017A Hundred Dollars notes starting with Fr #2189 and Fr #2190. The next were the new One Dollar notes 2017A series Fr #3005 for the Fort Worth location and Fr #3006 for the Washington DC location, this cover all the district location.
At this time BEP is listing all the Ones, Twos, Fives, Tens, Twenty's, Fifty's and Hundred Dollars notes for 2017 and 2017A series of notes.
Also at this time no new update from USPAPERMONEY.COM the last was on 01/23/20.    

With gold continuing its ascent towards $1,800 I had pumped the breaks on any new gold purchases about six months ago, and came to a dead stop in late March. Having just sent in, what will likely be my last submission of gold coins for awhile I was thinking I should take this opportunity to focus more on my banknote collection/collecting goals. Now appears to be an opportune time for me, with an influx of modern Ukrainian banknotes (my current focus) hitting the market at relatively low prices, or at least at what I would consider a low cost for already graded notes ($30-$40). I'm also going to take this moment to go through my raw notes and purchase a few more, then put together my first submission to PMG, which I have been putting off due to my inexperience in judging the quality of a banknote. I think I've read, studied and observed enough graded notes to feel somewhat confident in my own grading skills. I should have a submission of around 12 notes ready to go by August, we'll see. Need to start working on some descriptions for the notes I already have, but that seams more like a winter endeavor. PMG World banknotes in high grades just seem to be plentiful right now and at reasonable prices, especially when compared to gold, or even a graded world silver bullion coin from one of the many popular series.
 
As I approach the mid way point of my Ukrainian sets I start to wonder what's next? I have a couple of Zimbabwe notes and I'll probably stay current on the new series that is currently being released (I have the $2 & $5 notes) and I really like the first series of Zimbabwe notes, P1 -12. As another member has already written, the first series notes have recently been readily available and in high grades. I've been keeping my eye on the first series notes but just haven't been able to pull the trigger on them, mainly because Ukrainian notes have been popping up like deer in my garden. I'm really looking for a country, state, province, etc. whose complete set of notes comprises 50 Pick #'s or less. I was considering Transnistria after a short article I read in Coin World about their latest commemorative note and was also considering Moldova, both of which lie in the former eastern bloc and border Ukraine. I think I'll just pickpocket a Zimbabwe note here or there (the new $10 & $20) while I'm trying to make up my mind over the next few months. Suggestions welcome.
Some of my latest acquisitions.
 

Over the weekend I just started seeing these pop up for sale in eBay auctions and new sales / offerings popping up that offer these as part of a 3 note set with the 2 2019 issues, so I'm guessing these are freshly released and they're just now making it out to the dealers. So I guess I might get to see all the designs that were supposed to be released as part of the bond note series afterall. I was really expecting them to tack an extra 0 onto these if they released them and have $100 and $200 notes instead of $10 (and maybe, later, $20) notes. Even with the official exchange rate the government is trying to peg these at (25:1 with the US dollar) these new notes are worth less than half a US dollar - not much. If you use some of the exchange rates people have been using, these are worth less than a US nickel. They are pretty though, and in some ways this feels like another attempt to make a call back to the 1st dollar series. The Original $10 notes, the P-3, issued starting in 1980, was primarily red, like these notes.

On another note, I got a P-99 $2 bond note - an actual 2016 Bond note and not a new 2019 banknote - last week. Last night I won an auction for a P-100 $5 bond note, so, once that comes in I'll have both the bond notes for real this time, and both the 2019 issues, and I'll just need to get this new 2020 note (and anything else they come up with this year, like a $20 note if they release it) to stay current on the new issues.
Other than trying to keep up with the new issues and the new developments I'm still emphasizing going back and building up my 1st dollar set with new varieties as I can get them.

I suppose I hinted at this in my previous post by posting pictures of both of them but I didn't bring this up because I didn't close / seal the deal on the 2nd one until this morning.
Over the weekend, about a week after I lost the auction for that P-100 note the seller offered me a 2nd chance offer on it at my max bid price - which happened to be the initial / starting bid price. This offer, combined with some other things that happened towards the end of those auctions, increases my suspicion that some shill bidding occurred. I went ahead and accepted the offer, because I did want the note and it was a good price for the grade in my opinion (which is the only one that matters in this case). While I do suspect shilling, even if I'm right, it only cost me $2-5 on $150 in purchases so I decided I'm just going to choose to ignore it for the most part.

In the course of dealing with that I noticed that the seller had listed some P-99 notes for auction as well. The first one was ending today in the early morning so I decided to go for it. Unlike the auctions from a couple of weeks ago I waited and big until close to the end. Curiously, I bid and won unopposed this time... A lesson for the future with this seller, I guess - assuming I choose to give him any more business after this.

While I suspect shenanigans, I think I got good prices, and picked up Superb Gem graded notes for less than it would have cost me to buy raw and get them graded myself. So I'm going to call it a win.
I have to laugh at myself just a little 1) for going ahead and getting the P-100 just a week after I "let it go," and 2) because, for a while now, I've been thinking that when I finally got one of the bond notes I would probably get both at the same time or very close together. With a 2 note set, it just feels wrong to only get one / it's too tempting to not get both. The appeal of having the pair - especially as a matched set in grade - is just too strong.

It's now the end of March, one of the wackiest months in my life and probably yours and perhaps in history of the modern world.  Plagues have been with us since the beginning and I suppose this isn't gonna be the last one unless we all go down with it.  But, not here to discuss our future, but the present.  Seems as though everything except the graders have gone home, and I bet their number of coins and paper money has dropped quite a bit as only electronic trading is happening. All the venues I go to are shut down for the foreseeable future, and my website hasn't had a hit in 2 weeks.  I thought maybe with folks stuck inside, perhaps more would be looking at the site, www.exonumiaandmore.com but no such luck.  
I'm working with a company who puts up sites, so I cannot edit it until they finish with their legal beagles and so on and so forth.  So,I thought I'd talk about what I am doing to keep me off the streets looking for paper money blowing in the wind.
A while back, I bought a stash of uncertified notes, mostly $2 modern FRN's  If you care to go to my site, you can see a few, and also I put a few on eBay and will add more when Tomorrow comes.  I put so many up, I ran out of free postings, so I have to wait til tomorrow. See captbrian2.  Is it illegal here to putup my locations of info. Hope not.
Anyway, these $2's are of many sorts.  Fancy serial #'s, error notes, and so on. One of them, I especially like (the blue book shows it at $700+-, and it is with 3 other notes.  What happens is, the third printing, (the serial # & seal) are submitting to gravity, then fighting it.  The 1st note is where it should be (the serial #) then the 2nd note has it dropping down a bit. and the 4th, it begins to defy gravity and starts self correcting back up to where it belongs.  I have never seen a set like this, and I have talked with others who have seen similar, but it is quite rare from what I can get from the paper money community.  Anyway, I will try to post the pictures. 
I always have incredible trouble posting pictures on these journals, but I'll give 'er a spin.
No luck with picture. I'm gonna publish this then try to add in pictures.
 

I found someone selling the last 3 notes I needed for the 4th dollar series. One of the notes was a hair lower on grade than I've been wanting to stick to for this set but I decided to go for it, get the three notes as a group, so I could have the set complete. I'll worry about upgrading things later, if I feel like it at the time.
I'm now about 92% complete for the hyper inflation set (2nd, 3rd and 4th dollars) and 75% complete for the 1st dollar banknotes. The 1st dollar check series are a bit more difficult to deal with but overall the collection has come together quite well and these sets enjoy the #1 rank in the 2nd dollar bearer checks (P-33 to P-60), the 2nd dollar agrochecks (P-61 to P-64), the 3rd dollars (P-65 to P-91), and the 4th dollars (P-92 to P-98).
I need to get pictures taken of the recent additions to the first and 4th dollars but I'm feeling super proud of how this has come together. I have 71 of the 100 pick #s in my overall collection (including P-13 through P-31, which are not easy to get and may be nearly impossible to get graded). I have more than one variety of the P-1, P-4, and P-48 and several replacement notes. :)

Jan 14, 2020
JUST back from the FUN show in Orlando.  Put in another set just finished(for grading by PMG).  Hope to get it back quick, but I bet they're backed up 2 months minimum, so I'll just go on a coupla cruises and check the mail when I get back.  serial #'s 00000082*, not quite as low as my 00000039*, but hoping for good grading. One of them has a terrible margin cut, almost no margin, so thats gonna be a 62 or three.  As long as they all come back UNC, I'll be happy.  Anyway, I'll upload pictures when I get them back.
My table had an excellent location as it was in the front row, all the way to the left as you enter, and directly across from the NGC & PMG tables lining the east wall.  So everyone had to go past me to get to them.  We were swamped. People were actually running in the front door, and to NGC and PMG for grading.  After the crowds dissapated, and I was able to kabitz with them, I got a lot of great info regarding grading and NGC's services.  They're great people.
One of my adventures, was, I finished getting together another district set like my 2003 $2 District set #00000039*, but with a little higher serial #, 00000082*.  Now my other district set, --39*, has Marin's signature making a nice courtesy autograph pedigree, so I was thinking, what the heck, maybe one of the treasurer's or secretary to the treasurer, might be there and sign these notes, and that would be neato.  Imagine, havin' 2 sets of 2's signed by the treasurer of the USA.  Anyway, I went to the huge Treasury's booth, and asked who may be in attendance and none of the notables would be coming.  Too bad,  collectors LOVE to have the current treasurer sign their notes.  Anyway, I never give up easy.  I asked, "Could I leave them with you and you get them signed and then mail them back, and I'd pay any expenses.  NO WAY!!  LOL, they just don't do that.
So, I was talking to four people there, one in regular clothes, one sheriff (A treasury agent officer in uniform) a suit(one of the big deals with the treasury but he downplayed his position), and a lady.  As we joked around, (I was trying to loosen them up so I could get them to jump through my hoop) but to no avail.  BUT...  Not going to give up easy, I asked is there any luminary there which would be important.  To which they said no. Most of this conversation was talking to the fellow in regular clothing and near the end of my saga, I asked who he was and he said, "I only designed the package the notes came in."
Now that restoked my fires for fame and fortune and I asked if he would sign the notes, and I would see if PMG would grade them with a "courtesy autograpy' note on the holder.  NOT SO FAST!!!
So I went to PMG and asked if they would do it.  1st, everyone I asked said no, then at the last, the fellow in charge of the 'get your money graded' table said, I need to get authorization from PMG management. He said he'd email and ask, so I went off to call them.  NOT SO FAST, by now, Thursday afternoon, they were closed.  So... I waited until the next day, and called in, put on hold and never did really get an answer, got disconnected.  Being the PMG manager said he'd email home base, I figured he'd get the answer first.  SO.....  Later that day, he flags me down and says YES, we can do it  BUT, he has to come over here and we have to witness that.  "GREAT!", I yell out.  
So, I race over to the Treasury booth, and spout the big news!!  "I won, I won", says I.  At that same instant the suit woman says, holding a little book, "We can't do it."  "It would be defacing government property".  And she hands me the book, and with a the greatest face of dismay, I lost the war.  Won the battle, lost the war.
BUT...,  I did get Brian Brown, the designer of the package the notes came in from the mint to sign inside the book for me.  I bet I'm the only one who has that in the 2000 packages made by the mint.  Neato huh.  Well, lost the war, but 'got a medal', doncha think?
So, I put them in for grading, and when I get them back, I'm gonna see if PMG will allow some points for the book signing.   (never give up)
My web site has great pictures, and as soon as I get them back from PMG, I'll post them.  
www.exonumiaandmore.com   
Happy collecting, and NEVER GIVE UP!!!  The pot of gold at the end IS there!
Capt. B

Happy New Year! I stumbled upon Lawrence and his exquisite signature he was not only representing the bank I collect (Ch#252), but also apparently lived in the neighboring state. I assume bank presidents were equally mobile in the early 20th century, looking for the best job. Looks like he lived in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia. 
 

If you want to really feel like your collection is small and futile, check out the Bebee collection at the ANA museum website. You can see just about any rarity you could hope for. DDR70... you will salivate at the high denomination, territorial NBN's. It's just an astounding collection! http://www.ana-museum.org