• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Fenntucky Mike

Member: Seasoned Veteran
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,526

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    131

 Content Type 

Journal Entries posted by Fenntucky Mike

  1. Fenntucky Mike
    Recently, I saw an auction popup on eBay, a couple of Ukrainian shahiv "postage stamp currency" notes. What initially caught my eye was the 20 shahiv, which was missing the perforated edges.? The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money does not currently list an unperforated variety for this note, although they are known to exist, and if real it would be a great find. But after looking at the images more closely it just didn't look right to me, not that it wasn't genuine, but I was pretty sure it was trimmed. The only thing that was still a little misleading was that it was close in size to the 50 shahiv it was pictured next to, which had perforations.  Since I wasn't 100% sure of whether it was trimmed or not, I decided to still pick up the lot if the price was right. These don't typically sell for much, especially in less than stellar condition.
    Images from eBay seller.


    After finishing with the 20 shahiv I now turned my attention to the 50, and it looked bad. The printing looked like garbage, the front design mushy and lacking details, the back the same and with incorrect text, font and size. I believed the 50 to be a contemporary counterfeit! This lot was now piquing my interest, a possible nonperforated 20 (but probably not) and a counterfeit,  I decided I was now going to place a more aggressive bid on these. A few days later, as the auction was ending, I placed a snipe bid and won the lot for $11.61, $12.60 total with the shipping.  
    The notes arrived and I sat down and inspected the 20 shahiv. I first overlaid the nonperforated 20 over a perforated example I had, the nonperforated note was smaller than the perforated. Not good but not a deal breaker since if a sheet of nonperforated notes came off the press it would have to be cut into individual notes and if the cuts were off or done by hand the note could very well be smaller. Next, I looked at the cut quality, again not good, jagged, stops and starts and a large chunk in the lower left corner. Definitely looks like it was cut by hand, and that larger piece still attached in the lower left corner is probably the connecting tab between perforations. The final nail in the coffin was an examination under magnification in which remnants of the perforations are still visible. Well, not a shocker and a note that will just go into a top load and be labeled as "Trimmed" in my collection. Still an interesting piece, and I have a feeling it was trimmed at the time of issue or shortly after as the coloring of the edges seems to be consistent with the rest of the note.
    Overlaid, trimmed over perforated.

    Side by Side, perforated left, trimmed right.

    Remnants of perforations still visible under magnification.

    With the trimmed or nonperforated debate over on the 20 it was time to focus on the 50 shahiv note to determine whether or not it was counterfeit. In a side-by-side comparison to an authentic note in my collection the results were definitive. The printing on the suspected counterfeit was sloppy with lots of bleeding of ink throughout, there was a sever lack of details, especially in the background and wreath, the text was sized improperly and the font incorrect, and the paper used was of a lesser quality. The back suffered from all of the same symptoms that the front did, despite only containing a single line boarder (the boarder is just sad), Tryzub, and text. There is no doubt that this note is a counterfeit. The question of "is it contemporary" is still hanging out there, but I believe it to be as it has the look and feel of others that I've seen. Nice! 
     

    This was well worth the investment to acquire these, not that a trimmed/damaged 20 shahiv and a counterfeit 50 shahiv are worth anything, they're not, but the goodtime had in examining these notes and the knowledge gained was priceless. Plus the contemporary counterfeit is going to look great in my shahiv collection,  it's listed in the SCWPM as Pick # 11x. For more on Ukrainian shahiv banknotes see my journal entry "Shahiv It Up, Baby, Now". 
     
  2. Fenntucky Mike
    A  Feature Photo/album/album cover art work to get everyone in the Holiday mood. 
    I was scouring the world for Ukrainian banknotes the other day and one auction, at a major overseas auction house located in Prague, had 39 PCGS graded Ukrainian banknotes!  I've come across PCGS graded Ukrainian banknotes many times, so it's not like it's unusual to see them but typically PMG graded notes out number PCGS graded notes BY A LOT!  A quick search of ebay lists 217 PMG graded notes and 21 PCGS graded notes, a roughly 10:1 difference, and this spread is typical of what I normally see on a daily basis. That's why a listing of 39 PCGS graded notes is shocking to me! The group of notes is IMPRESSIVE, with five Karbowanez issues, several specimens and error notes, the error notes are worth the time just to look at. Here are a few of the more dramatic ones.





    The fold errors are cool but those inverted overprints are AMAZING!  I've a few error notes, including a fold error, but man those overprints are fantastic. I'm super jealous right now, one day though. 
    The PCGS holders look good and have more information on the labels compared to identical notes graded by PMG. I'm not planning on switching to PCGS graded notes, HELL NO, but I do have a couple that I'm planning on crossing to PMG and the new PCGS holders are an improvement over the old ones. In addition to the 39 notes I have also been seeing a ton of PCGS graded Ukrainian coins, more now than in the last five years combined, right now on ebay there are 116 Ukrainian coins  graded by NGC and 63 PCGS graded coins. A much closer spread than the banknotes. 
    The graded notes and coins have me wondering, how big of a play (if at all) is PCGS trying to make in the world market and the banknote market in general, PMG currently has a strangle hold on graded notes in general and NGC is the king of the hill in the world/ancient coin markets.  Did this auction house submit these and do they have an exclusive deal with PCGS in regards to who they send coins and notes to for grading or were these from a collection and consigned to auction by a collector? I don't know, but it's interesting to see the increase in PCGS graded items in my collecting areas and hopefully it will mean more items get shook loose and hit the auction blocks. A bunch of PCGS graded notes is actually a blessing in disguise as they typically bring less at auction than their PMG counterparts, and the Karbowanez probably will sell for below typical pricing, but the specimen and error notes will be an exception, as the holder they are in should not affect the pricing. I expect these to realize pretty good prices. Especially those overprints. 
    Happy Halloween! 
  3. Fenntucky Mike
    Back at the auction frontlines.... I'm still striking out, but there were a few interesting occurrences and a high end note that sold. 
    In late September/early October a Ukraine P50 was listed at HA, I believe the preauction estimate was $1,500 - $2,000. I wasn't seriously bidding on this and placed a midrange preauction bid, when the day of the auction arrived I had been out bid by $700  and sat and watched the note sell for $4,320 with BP! I was never a contender on this one. I wasn't surprised by the preauction estimate, as that is right in the ballpark for what this note typically sells for, but to double the estimate. WOW!  
    I always think of this note as the MAD Magazine note, because of the depiction of the young boy reminds me of MAD Magazine's fictitious mascot Alfred E. Neuman (no relation to Eric P. Newman ). I just know that if the cap was removed from his head two giant ears would be revealed. You read it here first P50 is now going to be referred to as the "MAD" note. 



    I've been tracking "MAD" notes for a while now and the trend has not been good, for me, the price has been going up based on the limited data that I've put together. Overall, along with everything else, prices realized for Ukrainian notes have been trending upward.  The other interesting thing is that all the notes are within 2 digits of each other so far, of all the MAD notes saved I wonder what the serial number spread is? All of these were probably from the same brick of notes and all have graded 64 to date...

    Next on the list of swings and misses was a 200 Karbowanez from the same series, 1942 issue, being offered by S&B. This note was graded PMG 58 EPQ with a preauction estimate of $100-$200. The preauction estimate, again, was a fair number when compared to grades and prices realized on other notes I've seen. I placed a pre-bid slightly above the high estimate and waited to see what happened. Well, I eventually lost and was outbid prior to the auction, the note ended up selling for $312 including BP. Again, a pretty healthy price for that note considering that note, graded PMG 50, sold at HA for $132 with BP not that long ago. I guess the higher grade and EPQ designation would account for most of that increase but I saw a 63 EPQ go for less around 3 months ago. Anyway, I lost again. 


    Finally, this past Thursday I was outpaced on a couple of lots over at World Banknote Auctions. One a P115 (PMG 68 EPQ) and a P114a (PMG 67 EPQ), both with auction estimates of $30 - $40, again a fair estimate. I have both notes graded already but each would have been an upgrade, so I placed a pre-bid slightly above the high estimates for both and sat back and waited for the news.  Yep, out bid again. Looks like the P115 sold for $69 with BP and the P114a for $63.25 with BP. I also noticed that one of these notes ended up in the registry set of a fellow collector, well done my friend. I doff my cap to you. 




    On a side note I did have a few big wins in regards to auctions containing raw notes and I'll have a Journal entry or two about those in the next week, in the meantime, back into the meat grinder for me and we'll see what happens as the next lots of Ukrainian banknotes go up for auction. Hopefully I don't get Chewed Up and Spit Out again. 
  4. Fenntucky Mike

    We Chew And Spit You Out!

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Auctions
    Well, the trend of getting crushed at auction has continued in earnest this last week with major disappointments, for me, on several fronts. First there was a Ukraine P1b (inverted back, which is the normal orientation for this note. Pick 1a, standard orientation, is the much rarer/harder to find note for this issue.) with a preauction estimate of $400 - $500, it is a lovely note in the old PMG Gen 2 holder with the blue-green tint, I already had a graded example of this note but at a lower grade so I was semi-interested in this note. I bid it up to $450 which was my limit for this one, in the end it sold for $757.50 (price includes BP and shipping). Bye bye P1b. 


    Next were some Zimbabwe notes a P64* (PMG 68 EPQ) and a P64 (PMG 68 EPQ). I wasn't going hard on the P64* but I put what I thought was a healthy bid on it, in the end it sold for $129.50 (shipping and sales tax not included). A few days after the P64* auction ended the regular issue P64 was closing, this note I was really keen on getting, more so than the P64* as it would complete my Zimbabwe Agro Check set all in 68 EPQ and all standard issues (no replacements). Again, I put what I thought was a healthy bid on the note and woke up the next morning to find that someone else valued it more than me, the note ended up selling for $88 (shipping and sales tax not included). Sigh.


    Next up on the Crushed list were 6 lots of Ukrainian WWII German issued banknotes, I bid on all of the lots but really only wanted two. Three of the lots were duplicate notes that were in the same grade or lower than my current notes, but I was hoping to get a deal, the fourth lot was a note that I didn't own but was not in the condition that I wanted so I lowballed that one as well. Not surprisingly I lost those four lots. Three of the four lots went for just under auction estimates and the fourth went over by $100, no real loss there. Of the two remaining lots I was actually interested in one was a two-note lot both of which would have been upgrades for me, so I bid the lot up to just over $100 above auction estimate and walked away. When I had woke up the next morning to view the results I had lost the auction by $1, with BP the lot had sold for $307.20 (not including shipping). Again, not a crushing blow as I already have these notes, but it would have been nice to have won that lot. The final lot was the note I was really gunning for a Ukraine P 57 and there was a little something special about this note! I wasn't going to mention this but what the heck the person who won this probably already knows but if they don't here you go, the note was an unlabeled Super Radar! Whomever submitted the note must not have paid to have this checked and added to the label or it just got missed at any rate the serial number was 2171712 and I thought since it was not attributed on the label I might get a really good deal here (Wrong!), I was also willing to bid higher than I normally would have for this note because of the fancy serial number. So, we have a P 57 super-radar, Top Pop 66EPQ banknote from 1942 that I don't currently have in my collection. Oooo, so excited! The auction estimate was $250 + I pre-bid it up to $350 and I'm winning the auction, a few days later I'm out bid and I place a few more bids finally stopping at $600.  I just couldn't justify going any higher than that, super-radar or not. With BP the note sold for $750 (shipping not included). 


    I guess it was just my week to get chewed up and spit out in the auction circuit and loosing just doesn't feel good most days. So, to ease my pain I went out and picked up a few raw notes.   A new 100 UAH commemorative banknote with binary serial #, another 100 UAH commemorative with a ladder serial number (not a true ladder but as close as that note can get with only 30,000 being printed and the serial number being 7 places), and a complete set of Shahiv banknotes.  All for a LOT less money than I would have spent on the auctions that I lost.




    Oh, I picked up a 2021 silver, 30th anniversary 1 hryvnia coin to go with the 30th anniversary banknotes and a couple of 2021 Ukrainian 1/10 gold Archangels as well.  It was too good of a deal to pass up.
    I guess that the high prices realized on these notes is a good thing in the end, that is if I ever choose to sell any of my notes, but I have a feeling I'm really only bidding against a handful of collectors and that these notes will be available again very soon and at much lower prices. At least that has been my experience to date. We'll see. 
  5. Fenntucky Mike
    Written 10/24
    Well, here we are. The End...
    A few weeks ago, approximately on or around Oct. 1, the seller who had originally listed the first lot of 4 Shahiv banknotes listed two more, 10 & 20 Shahiv banknotes. I was excited to see these listed, and therefore justified my incessive PMG Population Report watching, kind of, but I felt little excitement in wanting to acquiring either of the two notes.  The 10 Shahiv note was a lower grade than the first, the first being graded 55 EPQ and the second 50 EPQ, the 20 Shahiv was a higher graded note than the first one listed, the first being a 35 EPQ and the second a 58 EPQ! Having already purchasing the first 20 Shahiv note I wasn't particularly keen on getting the second at a much higher price, so I decided to wait, and the 10 Shahiv is a note that I don't currently have a graded example of ,but I decided to pass on this note as well.  What's going on?
    I watched the two notes expecting to see two additional notes listed, the 30 & 40 Shahiv notes, which were graded at the same time as the others making two groups of four notes each. The groups consisting of 10, 20, 30 & 40 Shahiv banknotes at varying grades. Well the two additional notes never appeared and the 10 & 20 Shahiv notes went unsold in the first go around. 

    I'm just not excited about paying a high price when I have nongraded examples that are in better condition, that being said I'm just not going to do it. No.  Ukrainian notes in general have been getting pricy and I'm too the point where it makes more sense to submit my own notes instead of paying a premium for already graded notes. I've been picking up raw examples of notes for a while now in anticipation of the availability of graded notes not being there, but now due to increasing prices for graded notes (which I didn't see coming) I'm ramping up the raw note purchasing. I have a hard time believing that there are a ton of Ukrainian collectors out there that will continue to drive demand, and prices, for graded notes continually up but I'm hitting the pause button on graded note purchases. That's not to say that I'm not hoping for more Ukrainian collectors, I AM, but these factors are facilitating a change of direction in my collecting. Raw notes are readily available, or at least they were,  and I've been gathering them up like crazy in anticipation of sending them off to PMG. 
    Since the second 10 & 20 Shahiv notes were listed, they've been relisted twice and the 10 Shahiv is now listed at a Buy It Now price of $94. Pfft, think they'll accept an offer of $87?  If these notes get down around to the $40 range I'll think about it but so far this seller has seemed resilient, and has yet to budge much (if at all) on any of the prices for the Ukrainian notes listed, including the 100 & 250 Karbovantsiv notes that were listed at around the same time as the first four Shahiv notes. 
    Tracking the Pop reports is a useful tool and it seems I was correct in anticipating a second set of four notes and determining their relative grades, all good stuff, but I find the end a little anticlimactic. I haven't completed the Shahiv short set, I've 180'd in buying any of the second group notes and I'm pretty sure I've Done A Bad Bad Thing. Probably several. 
    P.S.
    If you've managed to get through all 5 parts of this journal entry and still have basic motor functions I applaud you.  This drivel would have turned most individuals brains to mush after the first paragraph of the second entry. 
     
  6. Fenntucky Mike
    Written 7/29 
    The events to the overall theme of this Journal entry will be playing out over the span of a few weeks and since that is the case and since posting "real time" Journal entries could affect the overall outcome of these events (negatively for me) I'll be logging Journal Entries and then posting them once the chain of events has ended. Here we go.
    I just bid up a note (actually two), BIG TIME, for no good reason other than too (1) be a jerk.  (2) test a theory based off of data I've been gathering from tracking the weekly PMG, Ukrainian Population Reports of graded banknotes. (3) Acquire a higher graded banknote at a lower price. See my Journal entry "Where have all the (Ukrainian banknotes) gone.?" for my population report tracking entries and comments.
    The note/s in question were a Ukrainian 10 Shahiv and to a lesser extent a Ukrainian 20 Shahiv banknote, both were being auctioned off by the same seller along with 40 & 30 Shahiv banknotes and 100 & 250 Karbovantsiv banknotes. The 40 & 30 Shahiv are of the same series and type as the 10 & 20, the 100 & 250 Karbovantsiv are a completely different animal from the Shahiv but would fit nicely into my set along with the Shahiv notes.  I felt all the notes were a little pricey as none were below $43 and two started at over $148 but we'll see if they all sell. The Shahiv are the same size, shape and design of stamps of the same period, most are perforated, but without glue, on thicker paper and the national symbol, Tryzub or Trident, on the back. The postage stamps that circulated at the same time as the notes did not have the Tryzub displayed on the back and were adhesive backed for placement on envelopes, neither were they perforated as they were cut from sheets. Shahiv were issued in denominations of 10, 20, 30, 40 & 50.
    Stamps - imperforated, no Tryzub, adhesive backed, on thin paper.

    Banknotes - perforated, Tryzub, no adhesive, on thick paper.

    These Shahiv issues are well known to me and with the addition of monitoring the Population Report, I feel that I have a pretty good grasp of the situation at hand. This seller listed 10, 20, 30 & 40 Shahiv notes at the same time, since I've been tracking the Population Report there was an increase in the population of the 10, 20, 30 & 40 Shahiv banknotes graded by PMG. On the weekly update of June 15 there was an increase of +2 in each of these categories, along with an increase of +1 in the 100 & 250 Karbovantsiv banknotes. The increase in population along with all the holders having matching PMG Submission numbers indicates to me the possibility that the seller might be holding back additional Shahiv banknotes. The timing is right, listed June 15 in the Population Report then listed on ebay a month later, there was only one graded of each note prior to June 15th and the chances of another individual having graded the exact same Shahiv notes at the same time is slim to none. The person who listed the notes is absolutely a seller, one from whom I've purchased before, and is probably holding back duplicates.  I went ahead and made the assumption that this seller had two each of the Shahiv banknotes graded and was only listing one set at a time. If true I should be able to determine if the seller is holding back higher, lower or identical grade notes. The 20 & 40 Shahiv notes that are being auctioned have populations of 1/2 (one with two graded higher), according to the Population Report, so both are the lowest graded notes of those denominations. Similarly, I'm able to deduce that the 30 Shahiv listed is a Top Pop (1/0). The 10 Shahiv is 1/1 meaning that since there are three graded it is in the middle, so if the seller is holding back another note I don't know if it is a higher or lower grade. I have a feeling that the seller listed two high and two low notes, a total guess on my part.  

    Based on this info and a quick look at my Ukrainian set and I knew that none of these notes were really on my radar if better notes were to be had in a few weeks but to hedge my bet I placed a few bids on the two notes whose auctions were ending today, both of which would be either an upgrade or fill a hole in my collection. I was thinking a few lowball bids just to be safe, one per note, if I loose no big deal as there should be another note right behind this one. If I win I get to check a note off the want list or upgrade, what can go wrong.  The first note had a starting bid of $43 and one current bidder, I already had this note but it would be a slight improvement, I placed a bid of $57 which was not enough to beat the current bid so I shrugged my shoulders and moved on.
    The names have been removed to protect the innocent.

    The next note is a pretty good note and one that I currently don't have a graded example of, the starting bid was $86 with one bidder who had placed two separate bids. Ok, sticking to my lowball guns I place a bid of $97. "Huh. It wasn't enough to overtake the first of two bids from the same individual? Well, I should place at least one more bid to see if I can leapfrog the lower of the two bids and I do need this note. I can go a little higher." I thought to myself and placed another bid. Then another and again and so on until I was up to $281 having still not passed the first of two bids by my now hated rival. Well I had enough at that point and not wanting to get stuck with this note now and kind of feeling a little bad for having driven the price to what I thought was an unreasonable level I left frustrated, relieved, curious and feeling a little bad all at the same time. Why was this note so important to this individual?

    Now with two of the four Shahiv notes gone and not in my collection I'm really hoping I'm right about this seller having duplicates of these in higher grades. There is another Shahiv ending tomorrow and no one seems to be interested in it as there are no current bids on it. It's a note I don't currently have and it's low grade with no EPQ designation but again to hedge my bet that there are more I'll place a lowball bid on it and see what happens.  To whomever won the 10 Shahiv note I apologize, bidding up that note was a bad bad thing.
  7. Fenntucky Mike
    Written 7/30
    The third of four Shahiv banknotes was ending today, the 40 Shahiv banknote, and as planed I would place a lowball bid to hedge against the possibility of me being incorrect in using the Population Reports to determine the seller has another 40 Shahiv banknote that they will post soon after the auctions for the first set end. The bidding started at $43, the note was graded Choice Very Fine 35 by PMG, no EPQ designation, and no bids had been placed as of yet. Since the auction was ending early afternoon I decided to go with a lowball snipe bid, auctions ending during the day give me the rare opportunity to snipe.  As the clock wound down I placed my bid and won with no other competing bids.  I have a feeling that having no EPQ designation may have had something to do with this or have others came to the same conclusion as me? Tracking the population reports or worse yet tracking my updates.  As stated before this note has a total population of three and the note for auction had the lowest grade of the three, and was stated in the auction item description (1/2). One collector of two, whom I consider competition in acquiring Ukrainian banknotes, already had this denomination in a higher grade and the other is a very careful shopper typically only going for the highest quality.  That makes the most sense for the lack of competition on this note as there is really only three individuals typically interested in Ukrainian notes and/or where I see any activity in the PMG registry. 
    Pictures are from the seller.




    PMG used to put postage stamp currency in an additional envelope before sealing them in the holder, I kind of liked that, it helped to keep these tiny notes from floating around inside the holder. Oh well. The note is worthy of its grade and lack thereof an EPQ designation but it's still a fun little note and fills an empty place in my collection allowing me some flexibility for the next set of Shahiv banknotes from this seller (if I'm correct) as I'm now only missing the 10 & 30 Shahiv notes of this series. Only having two of the five notes to focus on means I don't have to worry about acquiring graded examples of the others and upgrading these is just not really important or under consideration at these prices, $300 for one of these is not what I want to spend my collecting budget on. Just one more auction to go and the first set (I think) will be done. The final note is the 30 Shahiv banknote, Top Pop of three graded an Uncirculated 62 but no EPQ designation, the bidding started at $158 and there is currently one bid. So now the question is do I bid this up a little and do a Bad Bad Thing again? 
    P.S.
    Bidding up a note is note necessarily a bad thing, the person who REALLY wanted to win did, the seller gets a better price encouraging them to continue to submit notes or put them up for sale meaning more notes for everyone and I could weaken my competition for the next note which could be even better. Yeah, I'm feeling less bad and if I'm right about whom I was up against/bidding up, even more so. The strange thing is that I won the 40 Shahiv, two different people won the 10 & 20 and there is a fourth bidder who is currently winning the 30 Shahiv auction, is it possible I'm not just going up against my two closest rivals?
  8. Fenntucky Mike
    Written 8/7
    The auction for the 30 Shahiv banknote ended and I didn't place a bid , with only one bidder and a $158 starting price I just couldn't justify the risk of bidding and ending up with this note. That's not to say the note was not worth the price, Top Pop, it's the harder to find "b" variety with the Gray-Violet ink and it's the only note of this variety currently graded (all pluses) but I just couldn't do it. The note just didn't have the good vibrant ink/color that I would like to have with this note, (although the Gray-Violet version is notoriously light when it comes to color) no EPQ designation was a drawback as well but wasn't necessarily the determining factor, I just wanted a note with more color.



     
    The 30 Shahiv note concluded the seller's auctions of all their listed Ukrainian notes, all 4 Shahiv notes sold, the 100 & 250 Karbovantsiv notes did not and the seller has since relisted them. The 100 Karbovantsiv at a Buy Now price and the 250 is again up for auction with a starting bid of $138. I'm watching both and neither will sell, I think, although I did receive an offer from the seller of $10 off on the 100.  The Shahiv notes all sold for pretty good money especially the 10 Shahiv,   and now I'm just waiting for the seller to hopefully list the next four in the near future.

    On a side note the 40 Shahiv I won showed up and it's a real beauty with better than expected ink.  It's only graded 35 but I think it's strong for the grade, similar to how I though the 30 Shahiv looked weak for it's grade. When is a Fourth Party going to show up with fancy stickers to place on the holders to make these determinations?  Like CAC for banknotes,  it will probably happen in the future, if it hasn't already. 


    Now, the agony of waiting in anticipation of the second set of Shahiv notes.
  9. Fenntucky Mike
    Written 9/11
    On Friday (9/3) the 10 & 20 Shahiv notes showed up in a registry set, followed by a slot being added to the Registry and the 30 Shahiv being added to the same set on Tuesday (9/7). As I suspected, one of my fellow Ukrainian collectors in the Registry picked up 3 of the 4 notes (myself having acquired the fourth), the 10 & 30 Shahiv having sold for moon money ($281 & $158 respectively) and the 20 Shahiv selling for considerably less. I had purchased the 40 Shahiv (PMG 35) for $43. One of the strange things about this odyssey so far is that the winning bidder ID for the three notes I did not win, and are now all currently residing in the same registry set, is different for each auction but all three ID's have the same amount of positive feedback. Even the 30-Day Bid History is identical.? I'm not sure if this due to some sort of sniping software or something similar meant to give a bidder an advantage. I guess I never understood the need to do such things, I get waiting to place a snipe bid but even doing that has mixed results both good and bad. In the end you need to determine what you value something at and place that bid at the opportune moment. 
    So far my "predictions" have been on the money, the last piece of the puzzle, the most critical piece to my (hopefully) acquiring all of the Shahiv notes, is that the ebay seller has and will soon list the other graded Shahiv notes.  If not then  but even if the other Shahiv notes graded at the same time as the first batch listed don't become available I still would not have acquired the 10 & 30 notes as I was not willing to pay the prices the notes sold for. So instead of spending BIG money I picked a few notes to add to my collection.
    They were all under $40 and one day might end up at PMG for grading. The are all AU - EF and didn't put a hit on my wallet. 
  10. Fenntucky Mike
    Sigh..... Well, I did it again. Went and completely shot myself in the foot AGAIN. Arrghh! 
    A few weeks ago I wrote a journal entry about how I have been getting skunked at auctions lately and I also eluded to a group of Ukrainian notes being auctioned by Heritage Auctions, a group of WWII issued karbowanez banknotes. Journal entry here...
    I had bid up the notes that I was going for (Way UP!) and had put noncommittal bids on the other lots. Well guess what? While scouring ebay I came across a group of Ukrainian notes. Karbowanez notes. Very familiar looking notes and all new listings. Yep, the same notes I had bid on at the Heritage auction!  Well, this just vigorously inhales! Someone I was bidding against bought these notes to resell on ebay to a Ukrainian banknote collector, like me!  The notes were listed on Sept. 22.

    The 10 and 20 karbowanez were sold as a single lot by Heritage and I wasn't particularly interested in acquiring them so I placed a lowball bid on this lot, hence the winning bidder got these for a decent price and was able to list these on ebay for a reasonable price. The 10 karbowanez has already sold and the 20 will follow soon. I wasn't particularly interested in the 50 karbowanez either as it was not in a grade I wanted, and no EPQ is a bit of a deal breaker for me, so I placed a lowball bid on this note as well. The note sold at Heritage for a low price and is listed on ebay for a fair asking price. This note will probably sell after the 20. The 100 karbowanez is a very attractive note with the grade to prove it, I bid this one up to a respectable price level and it sold at a slightly higher price than others in similar condition, a fair price, but maybe $40 more than I would have expected it to sell for. Since the bidding was higher at Heritage for this note the Buy It Now price on ebay is probably $100 above what I would expect. This note will probably sit for a while but may eventually sell. Finally the 50 karbowanez, one of the three lots I bid way up, a note I would have liked to of won at Heritage but unfortunately lost, and am now forced to look at it on ebay at a ridiculous price.  Well, I currently have zero intention of purchasing this note at that price but I will keep an eye on it and maybe, just maybe if it sits unsold for an extended length of time the seller will drop their price or will be willing to deal, but I doubt it. If I hadn't bid this note would have sold for a lot less, I'd bet over $100 less.
    Yah see, I don't mind a guy or gal trying to make a buck, and I would have gladly paid that buck if I hadn't bid big bucks causing me to not have enough bucks to buy the karbowanez bucks. See.  I probably screwed two people over on this one, me and the seller. I wonder about me sometimes.....
  11. Fenntucky Mike

    Is This Just Fantasy? Umm, Yes. (Part 2)

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Matej Gabris Fantasy Banknotes
    I picked up some more Matej Gabris (he's like the Dan Carr of banknotes ) fantasy notes a few months back to compliment the set I purchased last year. These latest notes are an earlier series having been printed in 2002, the previous series of notes I purchased were dated 2003. I believe these are based, loosely, on Austrian notes towards the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918). The ornamentation, the position of the profiles, the background patterns, etc. have a very close resemblance to Austrian notes of that period. As Gabris likes to base his work, at least in part, on the historic events or times of the subject Nations, the time period of 1917-1920 is an excellent one to draw from for Ukraine as it was a period of brief independence and the Golden Age of Ukrainian banknotes.
    These are some of the best fantasy banknotes I've seen, they hit the mark in regards to aesthetics, capturing a moment in time and plausibility, they are lovely pieces of art and an excellent addition to my collection. Fantasy notes are a nice break or gap filler to my main collecting interests, when things are slow I'll pick a few up to pass the time. 






    My previous Journal Entry on Gabris fantasy notes.
    Some Austrian notes from 1919.

  12. Fenntucky Mike

    In and/(or) Out Of Love/(The Registry Set)?

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Compensation Certificates
    The Ukrainian Compensation Certificates issued in the early 90's are a bit of an odd duck, not really a banknote and not really currency. The presence of them in the PMG Registry is a bit iffy but I suppose an argument can be made that they belong, although I'm not so certain that they do. 
    After the fall of the U.S.S.R and Ukraine's independence, which was ratified in August of 1991 by the Central Rada of Ukraine, there was an immediate need to separate and create new financial institutions and businesses. In addition to new financial entities all businesses previously owned by the government, all businesses were owned by "The People" under the previous Communist regime, had to be "Privatized" and shares auctioned to the public. After the breakup of the Soviet Union the Ruble was in freefall and as a result all savings held in Banks and other entities were worth significantly less than when they were deposited. In a response to this a Presidential Edict (No. 138/92) was issued on March 6, 1992, revaluing all savings accounts, and increasing them by 100% based on their balance on January 2, 1992. The compensation amounts were not deposited into individuals existing savings accounts, but instead new privatization accounts were created in the newly established Savings Bank of Ukraine and held, until a time came where the National Bank of Ukraine and Ukrainian government would release them.

    As it was being decided on how to distribute these funds Coupons with zeros being added every printing were circulating, inflation was still massively out of control, and a mere two plus years later on November 24, 1994 a new Edict was issued. Edict N 698/94 was, again, an effort to compensate individual Ukrainians for monetary losses due to depreciation as the funds were sitting in the Saving Bank of Ukraine. In the Edict all accounts were increased (based on their balance on January 2, 1992) 2,200%! Also, unlike previously, the money would be distributed in the form of "indexation certificates" which would be issued with a nominal value multiple of 1 million rubles (karbovantsiv), all accounts would be rounded up to the nearest multiple of 1 million. Here's the kicker, "To establish that certificates issued for the amount of indexation (hereinafter - certificates) are freely traded and used for privatization of state property, except for integral property complexes of small state enterprises, which are privatized in accordance with the Law of Ukraine.". The certificates were meant to be used to purchase shares of former state-owned businesses that were being auctioned off publicly.

    I'm assuming due to public outcry a third and final Edict was issued on July 20, 1995 in which, was laid out the procedure for accrual of compensation in the institutions of the Saving Bank. People were paid their interest based on several factors which varied "depending on the use of computer technology". Also in the Edict was the nail in the coffin for the compensation certificates, accrual would only continue until August 10, 1995 after which there would be no more money added to the accounts. 

    After August 10, 1995 no more funds would be added to private savings accounts and with the ratification and release of a new monetary system in August - September of 1996 I expect that most if not all compensation certificates were gone by early 1997. According to the NBU, compensation certificates in the amount of UAH 3,335 million, with a minimum face value of UAH 10 (1 million karbovantsiv), were issued. Citizens of Ukraine received 30% of the total number issued certificates (i.e., 97.3 million units). On August 25, 1996 the Hyrvnia (UAH) was adopted as the official monetary unit of Ukraine replacing karbovanets, the exchange rate was established at 100,000 : 1 (UAH 1 = 100,000 rubles (karbovanetsiv)), then on September 2, 1996 banknotes and coins were released into circulation. The privatization of Ukrainian state-owned assets continues to this day with 22 of Ukraine's 3,644 state-owned enterprises scheduled to be auctioned off in 2021. Here's a link to the large scale properties/businesses being auctioned this year. Large privatization Категорія | Privatization in Ukraine I wonder if I could place a bid or buy a few shares of a mining company with one of these still.   Oh, wait! Nope they expired on July 1, 1997 according to the fine print on the back of the certificates. 

    A little clarification Ukrderzhstrakh, used in the front and rear descriptions, is not gibberish, although it may look like it,  it is an acronym for The Ukrainian State Insurance Commercial Organization. It makes more sense if seen in the Ukrainian language, Українська державна страхова комерційна організація or the acronym Укрдержстраху which translates to Ukrderzhstrakh. Yep, still looks like nonsense.  The insurance agency was liable for insurance clams and the payouts established prior to January 2, 1992 which had to be adjusted for inflation, similar to the savings accounts.
    I'm not quite sure of the process for distributing these but there are at least three different stages of the note, remainder, issued and canceled. I imagine that you would go to a bank and withdraw the money form the savings account established for you, the bank would count out the balance in remainders and then have you sign them (or maybe the teller did) then they stamped the certificates with a that branch's ID/number. Once in hand they would then be used, at an auction presumably, then stamped again and cancel punched. Just me speculating.
    1 & 2 million compensation certificates.


    1,000,000 Ukrainian Karbovantsiv remainder.


    1,000,000 Ukrainian Karbovantsiv issued.


    1,000,000 Karbovantsiv canceled.


    There are many, many stamp and signature combinations. The ink stamp typically consisted of the name of the bank on the outer band, the bank branch location and number on the inner band and an operations number in the center with the National coat of arms above. Here are a few that I have in my collection. 

    So, should they be In or Out of the current registry set?
  13. Fenntucky Mike

    Is This Just Fantasy? Umm, yes. (Part 1)

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Matej Gabris Fantasy Banknotes
    I just find this stuff interesting as hell for some reason, anyway....
    I picked up some more Ukrainian fantasy banknotes a few weeks back. After some haggling with the seller and discovering that there was a set of six, not just the three I was initially making offers on, I pulled the trigger on them. I had seen some of these before, selling in auctions (typically hammer for around $20 - $25 each) but I knew absolutely nothing about them. Once the notes arrived I gave them a quick onceover and notice the text "M. GABRIS FEC. 2003" printed at the bottom of the note, ok let's start with that. After a little research it appears that M. Gabris (Matej Gabris) is a graphic designer from Czechoslovakia and designing/creating and printing fantasy banknotes is one of many interests/hobbies. He has quite a portfolio of fantasy notes, if you like that sort of thing. Typically his notes will be inspired by a bit of history, myth or legend associated with the country. Using those topics he will create the artwork for the note, his vision of the country that the note is designed for whether that be in the form of a tribute or a touch of irony. If you're interested in this kind of thing just do an internet search of him (add the word banknote in the search) and you can check out his work. I'm pretty sure his banknotes are on ebay as well, just be sure to check "worldwide" in item location when searching. 
    Banknotes like these always make we wonder if the person/s are crossing a line in regards to, are notes like these deceitful, forgeries, knock offs, works of art, something else or a little bit of everything. To me, notes like these fall solidly into the "Fantasy" category, imaginative fiction. They do not resemble, at all, any past or present Ukrainian banknotes in terms of design, subject or security features, the majority of the text is in Czech and for the lack of a better word whimsical. The only thing Ukrainian about these notes is the text ΓРИΒЕΗƄ (HYRVEN) for the denomination. I see a lot of Russian iconography including a two headed eagle and standing bear with stars and one of the portraits is a straight knock off of a 1912-1919 100 Kronen, Austria-Hungry note. All of which is interesting as both empires (Russia, Austria-Hungry) controlled parts of Ukraine during that time period (1912-19), and the artwork on the notes, to me, screams Art Deco which would also fit into that time period. Maybe that is what the artist was going for, that time period, that piece of history? Hmm, interesting. No doubt to me that these are just fantasy.



    This is the knock off of the 100 Kronen



    P.S.
    I bought some more fake or fantasy notes yesterday, I think I may have a problem here. 
  14. Fenntucky Mike

    99 (100!) Luftballoons

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Collecting
    Recently I acquired a P127b banknote for one of my Ukrainian sets, NBU 1991 - Date, normally this would not result in much fanfare but it just happened to be the 100th note in the set.  A somewhat noteworthy  achievement in my book and a short time coming in the grand scheme of things. Having started this set in February of 2019, it took only a miniscule 28 months to reach 100 banknotes a goal that I would have anticipated being much more drawn out and that there was submitted such a variety of notes so as to allow me to sit here today writing about my 100th note with no submissions of my own is a testament to some of the alert sellers I've purchased from over this time. Really, how many people collect Ukrainian banknotes in a serious manner? I currently tally three, myself included, who I would consider ardent collectors of these notes. 


    In the meantime, since the purchase of this note, I've added three more to the fold and am currently residing at 103 total notes in the set with only 14 more to go. I know at some point I will have to submit raw notes to complete this set and I have already began gathering them in anticipation of this. Of the 14 empty slots left I have 7 raw notes waiting patiently to be sent in and another 5 that are currently not listed in the set that will be added once I, or whomever, send examples in to be graded. So, including the notes not currently listed in the registry set, that would bring the total number of notes required to complete this set to 122! Which is a ridiculous number of notes for a newcomer to try and obtain, I think it would be nice if there were short sets by series for collectors to utilize as well as the complete set but I doubt this will happen unless more Ukrainian banknote collectors appear. Maybe I could help facilitate this but we'll see.
    Collecting by minor Pick number (a, b, c, d, etc..) is really a Signature set  as that is often the only difference between Pick numbers. For modern Ukrainian notes some Pick numbers climb up to "f", that's six notes of the same design the only difference being the signature. I never fancied myself an autograph collector but in essence that is what a majority of this set is.  I guess I never thought I would be that fanatical about collecting Ukrainian banknotes. But I am. 
    PICK # 127 signatures to date. 
     Update 8/3/2021: The 2021 note with Shevchenko signature is now officially Pick #127c.
    The funniest thing to me about this note is that I already had one graded by PMG and hadn't entered it into my set because it wasn't showing up as available, probably due to the fact the Pick number was unlisted at the time of grading, so now I have two and I could have hit 100 notes sooner. Meh, at least the newer one was a higher grade, if I had bought a lower grade duplicate.   
  15. Fenntucky Mike
    Turn over at the executive/legislative level always seems to be high, whether due to term limits, scandal or forced retirement and the NBU is no exception. On July 16, 2020 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine confirmed Kyrylo Shevchenko's appointment as Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, replacing Yakiv Smoliy.  The process is much the same as it is here in the States, the President taps someone on the shoulder, they are grilled before a committee and then a vote to confirm. The previous Governor of the NBU was an old regime appointee and, according to him, was forced to resign. Since the establishment of an Independent Ukrainian government in 1991 there have been 12 sitting Governors averaging a whopping 2.5 years per term. Although, the average term length for the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury is only slightly longer at 2.9 years but it has been more stable in recent decades. At any rate the appointment of a new Governor means the same thing to Ukrainian note collectors as a new Secretary of the Treasury means to U.S. note collectors.... A new signature.

    With a new signature comes a new Pick # (TBD) and another note to collect! Although the change happened last summer I had not been expecting a new note right away, especially with the final new series note just being released earlier in the year (2019, 200 Hryven was released in February 2020) and several being released at the tail end of 2019. Ukrainians were sitting on a nice pile of newly designed/freshly printed notes, then COVID hits and cash usage plummets, to be honest I'm slightly surprised that a new run of notes is being printed so soon considering the circumstances. At any rate, I'll take it. Drum roll please, the first note issued with the new signature of the current sitting Governor is, the 500 Hryven note! This makes sense since it was a high denomination, with a low number printed and was one of the first notes released, (February of 2019, dated 2018) along with the 20 Hryven note. So far I have only seen the new notes with prefix EA, the NBU BPMW (Banknote Printing and Minting Works) is not as transparent as the BEP, so it is tough to come up with run/block numbers and totals printed.


    While we're on the subject of a new signature/notes and also Pick #'s, the # for this note has yet to be determined and although I'm calling this a new series note but the design has been used since 2015, starting with Pick # 127a. The previous series (2006 - 2015) 500 Hryven notes were Pick #'s 124a - d, with the last printing in early 2015 prior to Pick # 127a being printed and released later that year.
    Pick #124d, the last note of that series. Ended early 2015.

    Pick # 127a, the first note of the new series. Began late 2015.

    In 2018 the same series note was printed with a new signature. At the time I acquired this note the Pick # was Unlisted and to the best of my knowledge is still Unlisted 3 years later.

    Which means we'll have a second note of this series/denomination with an unlisted Pick #. If I was to use common sense, I would guess that the 2018 note would eventually become #127b and the 2021 note #127c but some of the new Pick #'s being assigned to the new series notes have been kind of screwy and the registry slots aren't making sense to me yet with separate slots available, in the 1917 - Date Issued Notes Complete set, for the Pick #127a and the UNL (2018) 500 Hryven note. This is most likely due to the delays with Pick #'s, so I'm just going to wait it out for now until they are assigned for the two newest notes of this series. I feel like I've walked a thousand miles for this note,  havering the whole way.
  16. Fenntucky Mike
    I was rearranging my books and making/installing a new shelf for them in my office at work, the ones that I keep there anyway, and it got me thinking about why I decided to acquire the books that I did for my Ukrainian banknote collection. The rhyme and reason behind my acquisitions of these tomes has swung wildly from start to present, I say present because I'm not done building my library and currently have two more references on the way after winning two auctions last night.  In the beginning my purchases were of the very general type, The SCWPM (modern issues), Banknote Book and The Catalog of Paper Money of Ukraine to name a few of the firsts and since I was really only focusing on the modern issues I didn't purchase any references that included notes prior to 1991. As my collection has expanded so to has my library, which now includes such references as Museum exhibit catalogs, biographies of artists, newspapers and out of print references dating back to 1953. Not to mention my multitudes of articles, images and documents I've accumulated from online sources and stored away like literary nuts for winter. (HA! literary nuts.)
    Newest books on the way, both are from the early 70's.

    Another thing that has struck me is how one book/reference has led to another, for example. I was reading an article in The Ukrainian Weekly which mentioned a museum exhibition that led me to purchasing the exhibition catalog Full Circle - Ukraine's Struggle for Independence 100 years ago, this in turn leads me to purchasing In Metal, On Paper and Narbut which was quickly followed by Money on Paper and finally the chain was broken when I picked up this note, just because I fell in love with the design when I saw it in Money on Paper. 


    I now realize that most if not all of my book purchases are connected in some similar manner. I would say a third of my Ukrainian reference books are in languages I can't read without my phone translator or hours spent typing out sentences in a Word document and then copy and pasting to an internet translator when the phone translation is not making complete sense but each book has proven invaluable to me in my collecting endeavors.
    It's funny, your library grows as your collection grows and that's just the way of the world but it really hadn't dawned on me until I had to find a place to put all these dang books.  No matter how many times I heard or read someone say it, I just never thought it would happen to me.  
    Let's see everyone's libraries, here's what I have going on at work!


    I'm working on getting rid of that stupid cable, just need to pick up an extension and it's gone. 
  17. Fenntucky Mike

    Who's BAD? (Me?)

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Ukrainian Banknotes
    Ok, time to fess up.
    A month or so ago a Ukrainian banknote went up for auction but not just any note a P 125! A note I've been pining over for the last few years and a note whose acquisition has been proving most difficult, so much so that I will have another journal entry about in the near future. A NOTE THAT......OH WAIT A mechanical error. A mislabeled note, the seller had it described as such, interesting.  Now, being the narcissistic panophobic conspiracy theorist that I am, my first thoughts go to "What if someone were to purchase this note and use it in a registry set (against me if I'm being honest here) unknowingly or worse yet on purpose.  I better pick this note up!". It's a 5 day auction on Ebay and as the days tick by a token bid rolls in then silence, with one day to go I see that the auction is scheduled to end a 11AM EST. Perfect! That's a wonderful time, for me,  to jump in and snipe bid this note. As the clock tics down I place my bid with four seconds to go and I WIN, out bidding two others with snipe bids. The price paid was what I would have expected to pay if the note was labeled correctly so I don't think anyone was placing a premium on this note other than me.
    The "mechanical error" note

    Now, I have no intention of placing this note in any of my sets, although the thought had crossed my mind for a fleeting second, mainly as a curiosity of whether or not the system would accept it, never intending to leave it there for more than a minute. However I do have a feeling that there are a few more of these out there, the PMG population report shows 11 graded and I'm severely skeptical of that number. For one I seem to remember a significant jump in notes graded for that Pick # about a month prior to the auction, although that was before I started tracking such numbers,  and with only a 1,000 printed I doubt that many notes were submitted from overseas persons. As graded collectables is more of a U.S. thing, although certification does seem to be growing in popularity overseas. At any rate the highest grade for Pick 125 is 68, which this note is, so I guess the only other question is if there are more "mechanical errors" out there and if someone participating in the registry purchased one, stuck it in there registry set and it was the one note that moved their set past mine would I use the "mechanical error" note and/or would I try to boo-hoo to PMG? Well I say no to both but feel free to let me have it if I welch, now that I've rejected the thought of this.  Not that it is a very likely scenario, I'd say that there is a less than 1% chance of that happening but you never know and I like contemplating such things. So now with my mind at ease and the mislabeled note safely tucked away awaiting the day that I might return it to PMG for a correction there is really only one question left to be asked. Am I a bad guy?
    The actual P 125, only 1,000 printed.


  18. Fenntucky Mike
    Banknotes, when playing Guess The Grade.
    As you go along your collecting journey it is almost impossible to NOT end up with a few duplicate notes, whether do to buying a bulk lot that contained a note you already owned, upgrades, winning an auction with a lowball bid, you purposely wanted a second note or you were running up the bid and got stuck with it. Ahem!  No matter the reason I really enjoy having duplicates as it give me an opportunity to further study and learn about the note. My most recent duplicate was a Ukrainian 1918, (Pick# 23) 500 Hryven PMG graded banknote. You don't get to see two of these in the same room very often so I was very pleased when I won this on a lowball bid. When it arrived the first thing I did was measure the thickness of the holder because it felt very thin/flimsy to me and because I'm a maniac.  Turns out the new holder (current generation) was the same thickness as the old (previous generation) holder.  The reason it felt floppy to me is the size of the note/holder, the OD of the holder measures 8 x 6.5. I measured the thickness using my Starrett calipers.
    Make sure the jaws are clean and measure between the note and the weld on the edge
    Don't touch the weld with the jaws.

    The measurement, .025, in that location.

    Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, duplicates. Side by side comparison is the major reason I don't mind having a few duplicates, you can measure the notes, log S/Ns, compare the ink and printing qualities, watermark positions, overprint size, ink and positions, characteristics of the notes in relation to the S/N, etc.. The other reason I enjoy graded duplicates is that it gives you an opportunity to hone your grading skills. So lets get to the game. Below are scans of the two PMG graded notes, front and back. Any guesses? 
    Note #1


    Note #2


  19. Fenntucky Mike
    I was taking a stroll through the internet, a week or so ago, searching for information on the paper used by the National Bank of Ukraine - Banknote Printing and Minting Works for banknote production, and stumbled upon a really wonderful document titled Banknote Paper Deterioration Factors: Circulation Simulator Method, authored by Tetiana Kyrychok, Anatolii Shevchuk, Victor Nesterenk, and Petro Kyrychok. Normally I like to skim over items such as this, gleaning what I think is pertinent to my field of interest, but after "skimming" I saw that a Ukrainian banknote was used for testing in the simulator, I was hooked (a 2 Hryvnia, pre 2014 issued note was used, as the banknote paper composition has been changed by the NBU since publishing). The paper is 15 pages of technical jargon and I loved every word of it.  
    While the paper strictly focuses on banknote "Deterioration" I think that it also translates well to other areas of banknote collecting, for example. Knowing how/why the breaking down (deterioration) of notes happens and the root causes help with grading (I think), in that you are better able to identify problem areas such as types of waviness, changes in color in certain areas of the note and in certain color spectrums, yellowing, brightness, effects of thermal effects, UV degradation, weight loss and on and on and on.. It also helped shed more light on (again for me) proper storage, mainly what not to do, and how climate/storage area will effect notes. 
    While the simulation results are probably not going to be relatable to most notes as banknote paper composition is frequently changing, polymer is becoming evermore popular, and the results are no longer valid for post 2016 Ukrainian notes as the paper makeup was changed at that time but the reasons for deterioration all remain valid. Below are a couple of charts from the paper showing general methods of deterioration and factors from circulation.

     
    If you have a free moment or a quite evening this paper is definitely worth checking out. 
    Banknote paper deterioration factors: Circulation simulator method :: BioResources (ncsu.edu) 
    Ukraine 2013 issue 2 Hryven banknote. This series was printed from 2004 - 2013, presumably this series note was used during testing.


  20. Fenntucky Mike
    **WARNING:READING THIS JOURNAL ENTRY MAY CAUSE SEVERE BRAIN PAIN, DO NOT READ THIS ENTRY IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ANYTHING WORTH RETAINING.**
    I was looking at my Ukrainian banknotes yesterday and after inspecting the reverse of the 1992 5 Hryven note I couldn't help but say to myself "Damn, that's one crazy stash! What's with all the hair on these notes?". Yep, that thought was all the encouragement my brain needed to leap from the structure of reality and plunge frontal lobe first into the "default mode network". Now having fully left reality I start to wonder if the portrait of Bogdan Khmelnytsky turns into a younger version of him if you turn the bill upside down, kind of like the old "before 10 beers / after 10 beers" joke. Ehhhh No. But the stash did give the feathers a run for their money. 

    Next, I'm wondering who has the best coif on a Ukrainian note? Not a contest you would necessarily want to win, but after extensive research I would have to give first prize to Mikhail Hrushevsky on the 50 Hryven note. In this case I would think less is more, at least in this contest. Not may lookers here so far, but plenty of personal hygiene and style choice questions.

    Next thought is, who would win Best in Show competing in the Banknotes of Any Denomination with Hair, Also Including Rugs class, better known as the B.A.D.H.A.I.R. category. A few hours later, after scouring the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, my thought process continuing to spiral downward. I've now been sidetracked into "what if I combined some of the greatest bad hair days on banknotes and combined them". Now I'm breaking the notes into categories like best neck beard, mutton chops, stashes, fur coats and hats, etc. Being a little technologically challenged and my imagination being restricted to the tools at hand, I ended up with a cross between James Mason and a Oompa Loompa. 

    The portrait is made from seven different notes, 10 points if you can guess 4 of the 7.
    To wrap it up, my brain run amok was stopped by the arrival of new parcel yesterday. Huzzah, a new banknote has arrived....... Oh,...Yep, more hair. 

    If you made it this far the short answer is, NO! I do not know how to unread this, blank your memory or poke out your minds eye. All I can say is that I'll be going to the liquor store in about five minutes, in an effort to wipe this from my memory banks. Two days without the structure of work is apparently to long a period for my brain to handle. 
    Feel free to share some Bad Hair Day Banknotes.
    GOOD LUCK forgetting this and don't say I didn't warn you.
  21. Fenntucky Mike
    Moving past the you/you'll lyric debate, , and now having grabbed all the low hanging fruit of Ukrainian banknotes, I'm realizing that further progress will be slow in the acquisition department. In my Ukrainian 1917-Date set I have 37 slots left to fill, out of 112, two of those empty slots (Picks 50 & 125) are $1,000 + notes in any grade so I don't really consider them required for completion. Another two slots (Picks 87A & 87B) were never printed/issued, other than proofs and specimens, so I don't see those as required for the set either. Not to mention I have never even seen either one of those two notes available, anywhere, ever. Just to be clear I'm not advocating for the removal of those slots, they should absolutely stay. If anything I'd like to see a few more slots added and more sets added to the Ukrainian registry but that's a topic for another day. So, that leaves me with 33 slots that I would consider required to complete the set and I'm thinking I'd be very lucky to fill 6 of them with purchases of already graded notes this year. In true obsessive collector fashion I've been scouring the depths of the internet for graded notes/sellers and have found a few new potential sources/opportunities, one an old acquaintance from Ebay, we'll see what comes of these new found sources if anything. More to come later if I do end up getting anything, got to keep all buying activity on the hush hush for now , the bidding on Ukrainian notes has been very active.
    In the meantime I've been scratching the collecting bug itch by purchasing a few random notes here and there, along with contemplating a few signature set ideas. I haven't decided to focus on another area yet, mainly just floating along and picking up pieces that I like. I'll probably knuckle down and start updating the descriptions of my Ukrainian notes along with more in depth research, I have a lot of material to go through, but I will also continue to pick up ungraded examples of notes I don't have for a future submission. A submission that will probably wrap up most of my Ukrainian sets but that is probably a year or more away. For now I'm happy to be adrift for a little bit, enjoying my notes, researching, writing descriptions and realizing I'll just have to wait.
    Here's an ungraded specimen I picked up awhile ago. Printed by TDLR


    Just pulled the trigger on this one today, these are the sellers pics. Printed by ISBF


  22. Fenntucky Mike
    In late 2019 the NBU announced that it was reviving it's annual "Banknotes and Coins of Ukraine" catalog. They followed that announcement with the free release of the catalog for the years 2015 - 2019 in .pdf format, 2014 being the last year the catalog was released prior to 2019. Now here we are, 2020, and the NBU has remained true to their word, releasing the 2020 catalog just a few days ago.  They had some big releases in their commemorative coin line up but the banknote issues/releases were relatively quiet in 2020 beyond the issue of a souvenir note commemorating Ukraine's first astronaut. The only new issue was the 200 Hryven banknote from the latest series of notes, way back on February 25. The catalog is free to download in English language and is again in .pdf format. Check it out. https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/banknoti-i-moneti-ukrayini-2020-rik 
    I'll save those of you the suspense of downloading the entire catalog just for the banknote section, here it is.


  23. Fenntucky Mike

    Take A Look At My New Toy!

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Ukrainian Banknotes (Security Features)
    In part to help enhance a Journal entry I'm currently working on, also to "level up" my current banknote skills and what the heck because it's fun and cool I've added a new contraption to my banknote collecting arsenal, an IR Camera. I've been reading up on Infrared, lights, wavelengths, and cameras for a few weeks now along with researching the IR ink features on banknotes. I was considering constructing my own Infrared station for banknotes but since I had a bunch of Rewards Points through Amazon I figured I'd try this out first.

    The Royal Sovereign Dual Band Infrared Camera! On sale and Available now from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Sovereign-Infrared-Counterfeit-RCD-4000D/dp/B00S1IKHEC/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Royal+Sovereign+Dual+Band+Infrared+Camera+Counterfeit+Detector+(RCD-4000D)&qid=1616956248&sr=8-1 
    It's nothing special and very lightly made, as most things are today but what do you want for under $35. The only negative would be the size, it would be nice if it was bigger and/or had a taller pedestal so you could view the whole note for imaging purposes. Other than that it's been working great. Dual Band, I'm assuming this means it emits IR on both the 850nm and 940nm wavelengths but in true guy fashion I opened everything up, removed the parts, threw all the packaging out including instructions and then put it together.  I'll never outgrow this instinct. At any rate for modern note collector's equipment such as this is invaluable, one for counterfeits and two to enjoy notes on a whole new level if you want. The first thing that gravitates me towards a note is the design/artistic appeal, then history of the design or subject, security features and finally the economics. 
    So now armed with my books, loupe, UV and IR lights I'm feeling pretty well prepared for now and think I need to simmer down for a few days. But I still want to build my own desk, area or whatever it turns out to be for banknotes that includes bigger/better UV and IR light stations and I might as well work photography in there while I'm at it. More to come...
    Here are a few examples (images) of banknotes placed under UV and IR lighting and scanned. All three of which will display security features on modern notes.
    2020, Zimbabwe $20
    Scan

    UV Light

    IR Light

     
    2005, Ukraine 100 UAH
    Scan

    UV Light

    IR Light

    Ok, there goes my day. Pfft, whom am I kidding, there goes my week. I'll be busy using this thing for a while.
  24. Fenntucky Mike
    The International Journal of Central Banking, often referred to as Central Banking, a well respected global publication for policymakers and researchers in the field of monetary policy has announced the winners for the 2021 Central Banking Awards. An annual event recognizing "excellence in a community facing difficult monetary policy and financial stability challenges that will need to be tackled and effectively communicated, while prudently embracing technological change in reserves, financial services, payments, currency management and data." That's a mouth full. The awards are presented yearly and currently consist of 29 awards in two categories, Market Practitioner Awards & Central Bank Awards, the awards range from Governor of the year, Central Bank of the year to Green Initiative, Transparency & Website of the year. The Central Banking Awards began in 2014 with the inaugural event. It's an interesting publication and one worth checking out if you have the time and are interested in such things, here's a link to the 2021 awards article.   https://www.centralbanking.com/awards/7815281/central-banking-awards-2021-winners-in-full#cxrecs_s   FYI, The FED won Central Bank of the year.
    Drumroll please. May I have the envelope, this year's winner for Best Currency Manager.... Oh geez, can't open it [zip].... The National Bank of Ukraine! For having taken decisive steps to upgraded it's series of banknotes. Here to accept the award on the NBU's behalf, Viktor Zaivenko, director of the NBU's Cash Circulation Department. "Over the last few years, the National Bank of Ukraine has put a lot of effort into the large-scale optimization of Ukrainian currency notes and coins. Having researched the best global practices, we started to implement gradual and systemic changes aimed at improvement of the cash cycle." It may not have happened exactly like that.
    In 2014, after being allowed to float to meet IMF requirements the Hryvnia dropped from .12 to below .04 on the dollar, and remains at that level today,  prompting an evaluation of the monetary system in place. After exhaustive study a decision was made and plan put into motion. In 2018 the NBU began implementing the currency reform initiative when the 1 & 2 Hryvnia coins were introduced into circulation and banknotes of the same denomination began to be withdrawn, the process culminated in October of last year, 2020, when all 25 Kopiika coins were withdrawn from circulation and all banknotes printed prior to 2003 ceased to be legal tender. Reducing the number of denominations from 16 to 12 and making the 1st & 2nd series Hryvnia notes obsolete. If you care to read more here is a link to the 2021 Currency Manager Award article,  https://www.centralbanking.com/awards/7744481/currency-manager-national-bank-of-ukraine and here is a link to the NBU's response to winning the award. https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-otrimav-nagorodu-central-banking-awards-za-osuchasnennya-natsionalnoyi-valyuti
    And since I hate having a Journal entry without at least one image of a banknote here you go, bye bye 1st & 2nd series and 1, 2, 5 & 10 Hryvnia banknotes. 




    RIP
              
     
  25. Fenntucky Mike
    When I first started collecting Ukrainian coins and banknotes I was prepared for the worst, meaning I thought I would have to translate everything, that there would be a lack of transparency and information from the NBU, archaic website, and few to no references. I was wrong. Ukrainian coins and currency are some of the most well documented that I have come across. I have mentioned some of the reference books that I use in a previous entry, this time I would like to focus on the resources provided by The National Bank of Ukraine. Lets use the NBU's latest release as an example, a new souvenir banknote was released a few days ago commemorating Leonid Kadenyuk, the first cosmonaut of independent Ukraine. The notes release was predated by a press release from the NBU (see below, left), followed by a description in their commemorative numismatic product list (below right). Each one is slightly different with small tidbits of information that the other doesn't have. This is typical of the NBU and it benefits them to advertise their products in such a manner. The website of the NBU is actually very good and it has two versions one in Ua (Ukrainian) and one in En (English), you can toggle between the two by clicking the initials located in the upper right of the webpage, next to the search icon. I typically toggle back and forth between the two as one version will have more or different information than the other and sometimes one version will have auxiliary documents and the other will not. In addition to specific releases about individual coins and notes they also published a free catalog this year which is available for download. If that wasn't enough they publish press releases of known counterfeits and frequently release information on their processes in general in regards to anticounterfeiting procedures, monetary reform and the move towards digital currency. If you are collecting or thinking about collecting Ukrainian coins and/or currency the getting familiar with the NBU's website is a must. The NBU is kind of like NGC in that they maintain two websites the old version and the new, both are useful. Here is a link to the old website, you'll need google translate for this one https://old.bank.gov.ua/control/uk/currentmoney/cmcoin/list and here is a link to the new, where you can download the 2015-2019 catalog https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/banknoti-i-moneti-ukrayini-20152019-rokiv .
                      
    The NBU also provides booklets with descriptions of the notes and security features, below are the booklets for the 2019 1,000 Hryven and 2001 200 Hryven notes.

    Here's a press release of a medal circulating in the region falsely claiming to be an issue of the NBU. This press release actually contained a small tidbit of information that I hadn't know and will have to go back and update my coin descriptions. The logotype of the Banknote Printing and Minting Works of the NBU is a lily with three petals. I knew that the symbol was the logo for the BPMW but didn't know exactly what it was until I read this article. 
    (I ran out of space I'll post a picture in a response.)
    I'm not saying that the NBU is as transparent or as good as the BEP but I thought I'd give them some well deserved props
    FYI, the new commemorative banknote is currently available for purchase on ebay