Love Collection

Thanks a lot!! wow what a note and u$600 with 12 hours to go!! What did it end up selling for?!

Hey Mike, the first 70* note turned up today safe and sound! 🤩

Yes I could imagine in Europe there are some real treasures locked away! ah yes it’s interesting to see notes that had used the stock images available! I have seen quite a few different ones now! that one is quite unique that apart from the cow the same Columbus portrait was also used on the 1910 pesos issue! 😁

Oh that’s really good to hear! Seems like you have your work cut out for you! Especially if you are only 10% through a set! Maybe you should break it down into different years or types to make the goal of completion that little bit easier! Nicaragua has very limited specialised issues….and I have seen very few that have come up for sale over the years. I had the opportunity to see the below beauty as it was offered to me about 4 years back but I just wasn’t in a position to part with the cash for it! From what I’m told there is only one other known example at the National Bank museum that is in far worse condition! Ive been told that there exists collections at least in Nicaragua that span generations, and they have no need or want to sell. I would imagine that such collections exists in other parts of the world such as Mexico also!

Yes definitely that’s what it’s all about! I started this hobby as a kid and have been collecting on and off ever since…I have sold and traded a little bit but it’s never been about the investment or making money. and yes they are awesome notes! Hopefully my friend one day will let me buy one or two of them 😅😂

How frustrating I lost my response as I got sidetracked!! haha definitely Mike you need to join the “70 club” and yes it’s a shame what has happened in Nicaragua, I am hoping at some stage it will bounce back like it did in the 90s. also like your idea about building some custom sets. I’ll have to get on it and let you know! My Nica friend had also sourced some excellent solid serial #s but he wouldn’t part with them. They are really hard to source in Nicaragua due to generally only having one prefix per issue. So you are limited to a possible max of 9 per note! I’ve add some photos! I also understand what has happened now with the Ukrainian notes with the additional interest in the new releases and high grades which everyone loves to have as part of the collection! Hope you can take advantage of some of the rarer pieces that come to light! And well I understand that many people also use high quality notes as investments, but for me it’s about the hobby collecting and hopefully passing on this legacy to my kids. For that reason I’m not afraid of any price drops and I would see that as a great buying opportunity 😁

Yes thanks I already had that one on my watch list! It will make it a trilogy if I manage to get that one! I’m hoping as it’s a specimen it might not go as high! I do already have that note in 67 so it will be an upgrade! And thanks a lot I have really tried to focus on completing the Nicaraguan sets to the best of my ability and more recently I’m focusing on higher grades or quality notes I don’t have. And yes if your putting together a Latin American set that can be a daunting process! are you trying to collect a series from each country or how are you trying to break it down? If you need any help or guidance with Nicaragua please don’t hesitate to ask. I know that a lot of the ungraded inflationary Nicaraguan notes can still be picked up for cheap, but there are even some modern 1990s notes that are becoming increasingly hard to find. I have picked up some other neighbouring Central American countries notes mainly to take advantage of combined shipping! however I know that I’ll probably never be able to fill out complete sets.

That’s the way! Yes I’m actually happy that I’m in a position to start acquiring a few more notes also! I haven’t been acquiring too much of late. And yes I know the feeling when you set a budget for an auction, but I just wanted those perfect notes! I was close with a 69* in the collection but it just wasn’t quite the same! And same here I could have used that money to fill holes with older rarer notes…but I feel like I have joined the 70 club now! 🤩😎 It’s like the below but I’ve been told it’s serial #55 which is cool that it’s a such a low serial #….I had also previously bought some ungraded low serial # notes of this same note inc serial # 7 of the same guy which I’ll have to get it graded one day also! I think the issue with the prices was a completely separate issue in Nicaragua itself that had as a result of some political issues which caused the economy to tank in April 2018 onwards….so many local collectors started offloading their collections and there was more supply. I had the opportunity to purchase beauties but unfortunately I was also not immune to this as I owned a business and property there still. I ended up closing up the business just before Covid hit in 2020 after sustaining heavy losses. And on one of my properties I have had 7 different tenants in the past 4 years and the rent has now halved from what I was receiving pre 2018 which is in stark contrast to what has happened here and no doubt in your part of the world! The exception always is the extremely rare notes which never seem to dip in price. And obviously is not reliant on the local market activity. I don’t know if you will see a similar phenomenon with Ukraine given what is happening in that part of the world at the moment.

Congrats on the wins Mike!! and a shame about the ones that got away!! Especially the 70* I was so frustrated about a month back when I was outbid on a 70* note. Which was the first Nicaraguan 70* I had seen available in years!! Then as luck would have it a Nica collector friend of mine tells me he has a a pair of 70* notes and he would be willing to part with one. Then luck shines again and another completely different note pops up a few days later and I ended up bagging that one also! As far as the pricing is concerned fortunately I haven’t seen such noticeable increases in Nicaraguan notes….although there are a few people chasing big dollars for particularly the 1990s graded 20 and 50 Cordobas notes. However I’m yet to see any of these actually sell. However I noticed a huge upswing in prices from 2010-2020.

Thanks Ali, I appreciate you adding this one for me! However I was only able to add the note to one of the slots it looks like it didn't get added properly to the other two as there was no score data as per the photo! Thanks

Hi Ali, Happy New Year! Can you please add the latest Nicaraguan 5 Cordobas Note P219a in the three sets that it would belong to: Nicaragua Type Set, 1900-Date, P28-Date, Issued Notes Nicaragua Complete, 2014-Date, P209-Date, Issued Notes Only Polymer Issues, 2007-Date, P201-Date, Complete Including Varieties The note I have is 8090201-045 Many thanks, Travis

That’s good! So I assume just a year/signature variation ?! 👍 Mine was a completely different note design and pick number but the same denomination! But it was sorted which was good 😁

It is a little frustrating as I recall I had to source another note to fill that slot at the time! 😅😁 If it was an error speak to PMG first and in my case they waived the costs for the reholder fee. 👍

Great score with your Venezuelan notes 👏😊 I don’t have any certified but I was intrigued with them also and picked up some notes a few years back! I guess you really have to study what you are buying! I know I have had the issue with a few notes that the Pick numbers have been labelled incorrectly. PMG were able to fix one that was a mistake. Another was because they actually updated the Pick numbers for Nicaragua giving a 100 Cordobas note it’s own pick number rather than just a B. This then caused the new notes that were graded at the time to actually have Pick #s that are one number out!!! You can see an example from BanknoteWorld below of the 20 Cordobas note that you have that is labelled as P209 which was correct at the time!!

Hi Ali, Are you able to add the latest issue Australian polymer notes? I picked up a P63 $10 note and can’t find a set for it! Looks like the last one is P62 $5 and the RBA have since released $10-$100 denominations! Thanks 😊

Ok it’s good to see your keeping to your core collections! I liken collecting to a race that you will never finish! I am sure in 20 years there will be pieces I will be still searching for!!

Yes I was shocked also as half my set disappeared one day! Then Ali clarified that they are breaking all the specimens off into their own sets! 😳 which does make sense and it’s a good way to showcase both issued notes and specimens! 👍😊

Hey that’s why it’s your set...I feel you should do what makes you feel good and not overthink it. If you wanted to go into detail of both animals and historical figures maybe space them out and label them?! maybe something like: - Simon Bolivar - un excerpt about him... - Sea Turtle - This note is part of my growing set on turtles 🐢 I actually was just watching a video from Drew Binsky on Facebook called I tried to exchange $100 in Venezuela. I failed. I tried to post the link but it didn’t let me. It’s an interesting insight into the Bolivares and how difficult they are to actually get your hands on worth a watch if you haven’t already seen it! And with the Aussie silver Oz coins I hear you...We get issues that are even available for sale at our local post offices and there is some amazing designs and themes, but there is just way too many to collect and you would need limitless resources if you wanted to try and keep up!! 😅 I often get asked if I collect Australia and as much as I would love to I would never be happy as I would never be able to even partially complete it! I’ve added some photos from our trip to the Perth Mint where most of those proof issues come from about 5 years ago....there you can see what would no doubt be one of the most expensive coins in existence the 1 tonne gold Kangaroo! you could easily spends 1000s in the gift shop and we had a few coins custom etched for us!

Great job with this set! I just checked out your NGC coin sets and can see you have a very diverse range including some Aussie sets! 👏😊

That’s it like you said before it’s the novelty factor! It would be nice to have at least one in the set however I have a lot of holes to fill and even more now they decided to split off the specimens!

😊 I was definitely intrigued with the hyper inflation notes also, my in laws had told me stories about how literally you would have to take a suitcase full of cash to buy anything of value and the cost of goods could literally double overnight! And you would have to spend countless hours just counting up 1000s of notes that might only be worth a few dollars! 🤯 Argentina was also another country that had a turbulent financial history! So I can see the attraction there and look forward to seeing what you put together 👍😊

The rare varieties can be painful....I had this issue with a newer polymer replacement note....I had a rough circulated note but couldn’t locate an uncirculated note anywhere until one finally popped up on eBay last year...unfortunately a lot of the Nicaraguan collectors had this one in their sights also and I ended up winning the auction with a u$200 bid which was a hard pill to swallow on a note that has a face value of less than u$10!

Yes definitely the one that got away....it popped up at a time when I had only just started to dabble in certified notes and couldn’t justify it to myself at the time. I am sure we all have those stories, I know of many other buying opportunities I had passed on because I thought at the time it was overpriced or out of my league. Only to find out years later what a great opportunity it actually was! 🤦‍♂️

Hey Mike, I am honestly unsure but I wouldn’t imagine it wouldn’t go for very big $$ as the demand for high graded quality in Nicaragua notes just isn’t there at the moment! I picked up this beauty 69🌟 my highest graded note for just under u$150 last year.