Fenntucky Mike

What do Ontario, CA and Glasgow, KY and Warren, PA have in common?  Those are three towns of many that had National Banks with "Citizens" in their titles.  David Wooster, a general in the American Revolutionary War has at least one municipality named in his honor.  What state is it in?  By the way, it had a Citizens NB and the note I have posted there happens to have a nice radar serial number.  Keene, right?  Yep, it had a Citizens NB and was one of the first banks to have BEP produced plates which was a reason for Series of 1875 National Bank Notes!   

My collection of graded notes exploded in the last couple of years as I've worked on building the Zimbabwe collection. My storage and organization has lagged far behind with the notes just in large plastic sleeve that hold up to 8-10 notes and having those stacked up.
It actually made things a bit of a nightmare for me when trying to look through and enjoy the notes because they were just hard to manage like this.
My wife and I exchanged Valentine's presents early this weekend and she gave me some graded note storage boxes that look like old books on the outside.


They are different colors (I think they're available in 4 colors) but they also have a small label pocket for saying what's in each one.

She got me 2 to start out but I'm going to get to add a 3rd in a couple of days and take advantage of 5% eBay bucks at the same time.
I'd initially been linked to these on eBay by another reddit user when I saw a post by that user showing one. I've had the impression that my wife might have / might be getting me some of these. This paradoxically in the short term made my organizational practices even worse - I lost all interest in fighting my old system to try to get things in order and sort in new notes when I knew these might be coming in a week or two. And, they would have been coming, because if she hadn't bought them for me they probably would have been the next thing I bought myself.
I got really excited when I saw these in that reddit post and saw that the price was reasonable ($20/box). I've been wanting something like this f or a while and prefer something like this to albums and pages.
I clearly haven't finished putting all my notes in them yet but I can already tell they're  going to make life so much easier when dealing with my notes.

Not really, but.... 
Most of the Ukrainian notes coming up for auction/sale as of late are duplicates of examples I already have but some would be upgrades for me. So do I take the opportunity to replace a few low grades in my set or not, I'm not so sure right now. There are many factors in a decision to upgrade your collection, as a collector you would of course want the best examples available (that are within your means). I'm definitely not upgrading anything unless it's a 2+ increase in grade, I do have a few AU notes I would like to get in BU condition. Those are the easy decisions but most of the current notes I'm seeing are only a 1 or 2 tier increase in grade, all BU examples. Those are the notes that I'm having trouble with, I just can't seem to generate enough enthusiasm to want to upgrade those notes. Added to my lack of "want to" is the cost of such upgrades and that I'm currently concentrating on the coin side of my collecting endeavors. 
This question (to upgraded or not) and the number of upgrades available is a bit of a reflection of my collecting style, meaning that I'll tend to grab the best available note for my sets knowing that there are better notes out there (I religiously check population reports). I tend not to wait, at some level this question is self inflected and also unavoidable. So many factors, the increased popularity of Ukrainian notes is yet another. With more collectors will more notes become available? Do I now practice patience and wait? The thought process being, more newly graded notes will become available in the very near future because sellers will have more graded as this latest class of notes are snapped up by new collectors. Then of course there is the question do I submit raw notes, modern Ukrainian notes are readily available raw and in good condition, I'm thinking this will be the route I take in the very near future, especially with the harder to obtain notes (I already have a healthy stash of raw notes). At this time I'm going to wait it out and pass on nonsignificant upgrades, holding out for notes that will complete my collection. Waiting will also have the added benefit of allowing me to focus on the coin side for the moment and to allow me to do some more in-depth research into the Ukrainian notes I currently have. 
Can't have a Journal entry without a picture of a note, got these a few weeks back.


They're basically stamps and there a few unlisted variants, they also have a cool history/story that I'll share one day. 

Here's my card to all here on collectors society.  Indiana, PA The FNB Ch. # 313 J.R. Daugherty and J.P. Blain Strong stamped signatures PMG 30EPQ $10 1902 PB Fr. 624 SN 44344 pp J/995 dtd. Feb. 25, 1903 radar SN and Charter #. Earliest of 3 National banks located here. Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County. The borough and the region as a whole promotes itself as the "Christmas Tree Capital of the World" because the national Christmas Tree Grower's Association was founded there. There are still a large number of Christmas tree farms in the area. The largest employer in the borough today is Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  Two state note, two radars, too good not to share!

I got my gold-foil Zimbabwe 100 Trillion notes in the mail today. I popped them in some top-loaders and they're ready to go in some stockings. My wife likes them, thinks they're neat and thinks they'll be fun to give as gag gifts too.
They're stiffer than I had been expecting. The top loaders might not have been necessary but I like having the "notes" in them for presentation and handling.
I'll be keeping one for myself / my collection. Ben immediately claimed one for himself. Sam took a shine to them and then proceeded to immediately break a top loader by bending and contorting it - the child is both strong and destructive for a 22 month old!
Still working my way through a coin submission with a comedy of errors - realizing my printer doesn't have ink, realizing after 2 days that my pages didn't print because the printer then ran out of paper and I got distracted by kids and work again. Hopefully I'll get my act together in the next couple of days.

I recently read a PMG article titled "Collection Inspiration: Women Writers". In the article a Ukrainian note is referenced, the 200 Hryven banknote, featuring Lesya Ukrainka on the front of the note. In the article a brief description was given about the Poetess and the note, PMG chose to highlight the 2nd series note (good choice) and I thought I would take the opportunity to expand on the evolution of the note itself. 
After Ukraine declared independence from the USSR in 1991 the two countries remained tethered to one another monetarily. Russian rubles circulated freely in Ukraine and were used in conjunction with the newly released karbovantes coupons (karbovantsi for 2 -4 , karbovantsiv for 5 or more). When circumstances dictated that the two countries sever all monetary ties completely, on November 12 1992, this meant that the coupons were now the sole currency in Ukraine, to be used for all transactions. An exchange rate of ruble to karbovantes was established as 1:1 and the sum of exchange was without limit. This parting of ways lead to massive inflation (up to 11,000%) with the coupons and the need for monetary reform was immediate. The Ukrainian government had been working on a national currency as early as 1991 and the first Hryvnia banknotes were designed and printed by CBNC in 1992 with a second issue in 1994 by TDLR, but finalization of the new currency and distribution wouldn't happen until September 2, 1996 when the hryvnia was officially introduced as Ukraine's national currency, the exchange rate of karbobanets to hryvnia was set at 100,000 : 1. The NBU issued 1,2,5,10, 20, 50 and 100 hryvnia banknotes into circulation, these were the 1st issued notes of hryvnia. The first issue notes were a mix match of printers, artists and designs making the fist issue seem inconsistent. There were two different designs for the 1 hryven released on the same date from two different printers (CBNC in 1992 and NBU in 1994), the 2, 5, 10 & 20 were printed by the CBNC in 1992, the 50 and 100 were printed by TDLR in (estimate) 1994 and are a completely different design from the lower denominations. Both the 50 & 100 are considered 2nd issue notes even though they were released at the same time as the 1st issue notes. The 2nd issue notes are again a mix match of printers and designs the 1, 2, & 20 were printed by the NBU the 5, 10, 50, 100 & 200 were printed by TDLR. The 200 hryven note was issued 5 years after the 2nd series was first issued, again this note was presumably printed in 1994 which would mean these notes were in a vault for 7 years prior to being released. The NBU took over all banknote design and printing in 1997 and has printed all Ukrainian banknotes since.
So the first hryvnia series not having a 200 Hryven note means that this denomination does not have as many design changes as some of the lower value notes. (Although the 1, 2, 5 & 10 hryvnia banknotes have since been discontinued (starting with the 4th series) and replaced by coins.) Below is the first 200 hryven note, printed in 1994 and issued in 2001, it was replaced in 2007 by the 3rd series note and remained in circulation until Oct 1, 2020 when it ceased to be a means of payment and was no longer accepted as a cash payment in Ukraine. Artistic design wise, it's a good first effort but not very flattering to the subject. The portrait was taken from images of the poetess later in life. The color pattern, portrait and overall design leave much to be desired.

Here is the 3rd series 200 Hryven note (2nd 200 hryven note), the artists and NBU pretty much knocked it out of the park with this design. This is probably the most popular modern Ukrainian note, design wise, and deservedly so.

Finally, here is the 4th series (3rd 200 hryven note). Just some small tweaks to the overall design from the 3rd series note to this one. A toned down color palette, sharper portrait and more stylized reverse design are the major changes. 

The subject matter of the 200 hryven note has remained the same throughout, a portrait of Lesya Ukranika on the front and a depiction of the entrance tower of Lutsk Castle (or Lubart's Castle) in Lutsk where she live for a short time.
Born Larysa Petrivna Kosach - Kvitka, she was forced to adopt the pseudonym Lesya Ukrainka at the time of here first published poem, as Ukrainian language publications were illegal at that time in the Russian Empire. Because of this many of here Ukrainian language publications were printed in Western Ukraine, which at the time was under Austro-Hungarian rule, and were then smuggled into Kiev for distribution. She was a prolific writer of poems, plays, short stories, and sociopolitical articles and essays. Some of the early inspiration for her early writings came from the works of Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Franko, both of who are featured on Ukrainian currency, the 100 & 20 Hryven notes respectively. Ukrainka was vocal advocate for freedom of speech, women's rights and an independent Ukrainian state free from Czarist rule. On August 1, 1913 after an almost life long battle with extrapulmonary tuberculosis of the bones she died at a Georgian health resort at the age of 42, four years prior to Ukraine gaining a brief but chaotic independence starting in 1917 until 1920.
Here is one of her poems titled Contra Spem Spero (Hope Against Hope)
Thoughts away, you heavy clouds of autumn!
For now springtime comes, agleam with gold!
Shall thus in grief and wailing for ill-fortune
All the tale of my young years be told?

No, I want to smile through tears and weeping.,
Sing my songs where evil holds its sway,
Hopeless, a steadfast hope forever keeping,
I want to live! You thoughts of grief, away!

On poor sad fallow land unused to tilling
I'll sow blossoms, brilliant in hue,
I'll sow blossoms where the frost lies, chilling,
I'll pour bitter tears on them as due.

And those burning tears shall melt, dissolving
All that mighty crust of ice away.
Maybe blossoms will come up, unfolding
Singing springtime too for me, some day.

Up the flinty steep and craggy mountain
A weighty ponderous boulder I shall raise,
And bearing this dread burden, a resounding
Song I'll sing, a song of joyous praise.

In the long dark ever-viewless night-time
Not one instant shall I close my eyes,
I'll seek ever for the star to guide me,
She that reigns bright mistress of dark skies.

Yes, I'll smile, indeed, through tears and weeping
Sing my songs where evil holds its sway,
Hopeless, a steadfast hope forever keeping,
I shall live! You thoughts of grief, away!
(Translations will vary)
In addition to the 200 hryven banknote Lesya Ukrainka is also featured on postage stamps, coins and medals of Ukraine, below is the 1,000,000 karbovantsiv NCLT coin.

 

I finally completed a type set of BB's.
 

I was not aware of this world event or this tweet at the time (I was busy getting started in a new job at this point in 2017), but three years ago the following tweet was made:
 

On Nov 19, 2017 Mugabe was told to resign by the 20th or be removed. When he didn't do it they filed for impeachment on the 21st and he resigned that same day.
I also wasn't aware of this when I named my set "Gradually, then suddenly," when I re-made and re-started it in 2019. But, when I found it online about a week ago, I couldn't help but save it and want to talk about it. It was just a little too perfect given what I named my Zimbabwe set (and I really do swear that I didn't know about this at the time. I learned about the quote when watching Prozac Nation and it stuck with me from there. It is on my bucket list to read "The Sun Also Rises" I guess).
In somewhat unrelated news I won the following two notes last week:


I was pretty thrilled to get the P-30 without much fight. Another P-30 in 68 EPQ sold in late August with a 67 EPQ selling the week after that and I didn't bid on or win either because I just couldn't justify spending that much at the time (my budget wasn't big enough) and I decided the P-15 and some other notes I bought were more important to me / the set. This time I passed on a P-15 (in 67 EPQ this time) to get this P-30. Someone else did bid on and take that P-15 in 67 EPQ for $50 + shipping. It probably wasn't a bad / unreasonable price to get that check in such a high grade but I just couldn't convince myself it was worth that. That, and, having the P-15 that I have, I think the P-30 was now the right choice to move the bigger set forward.
Having won that, I put in a bid on the 2020 $20 and FINALLY won one at a price I was happy with. I was so sure I'd get one a few weeks back and I lost it at the last minute when it was going for $34+. Since I was able to combine shipping on this won with the P-30 the incremental cost to me was only $30. Finally, a good note and grade at a price I was more happy with. My 2019-2020 set may ultimately go through a complete / near complete upgrade cycle just for the joy of giving Mike a run for his money but for now I'm really happy to have a complete set. Although, having everything else in 67 now, I really regret snapping up that $5 bond note in 66 EPQ. It was / is a solid enough grade but now it just looks like the slouch / loser of the set.
These were shipped / the shipping label was created today. I'm going to cross my fingers that they get here in less than 3 weeks and I can add them to my set before the 4th of December. It would just be really nice to have them in place before the cut-off.

When I first started collecting Ukrainian banknotes, three or four years ago, the first purchase I made was the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money (Modern). hereafter Krause. This book gave me the general information I was looking for, what did some of the notes look like, how many different notes are there, etc.. This basic info gave me an idea of #1 did I like the notes (are they interesting and attractive to me), #2 how much was this going to cost (how many different issues and how rare), #3 how long will it take and will I be able to obtain most of the notes (availability). I then used the information in Krause and cross referenced to online sources like eBay and a few different auction sites to verify availability and cost. Once I had answered these questions to my satisfaction I went out and made my first Ukrainian banknote purchase and then my second, third and so on. Once I was about three months in I thought "I still need more information" on these notes especially the pre 91' issues, so I went out and found a few more references to add to my collection (Make no mistake about it, a book about banknotes that you collect IS part of your collection.). As I collect these notes the process continues, get a few notes, get a new reference. I have absolutely spent more time reading (and writing) about these notes than I have spent looking at them, at least 10 to 1 probably way more than that. Which makes me wonder what I enjoy more studying/reading about these notes or actually owning them (A Journal for another time perhaps?). At any rate, the trigger for this entry was that I bought another reference this morning (and I'm still kind of annoyed about the "mushroom" watermark thing), the 2010 NBU Banknotes and Coins of Ukraine for the year 2010. Hopefully this entry will give any new collectors an idea of what they could be getting into and if there are any current or new Ukrainian collectors out there, I consider all of these "must haves" for your collection. PMG if you don't have any of these you may want to add them to your library, just saying. 
Krause: Good for general information, a good first purchase.

Wonderful book, in English. Includes Ukraine along with several Eastern Bloc countries. Full color pictures.

A great "pocket book" it's small (8"x6"x1/2") so it's easy to carry around. Cyrillic with English captions. Full color pictures.

The most thorough book on Ukrainian banknotes there is, lists every known banknote printed including issues specific to banks and territories including during periods of occupation. All text is in Cyrillic but if you can learn a few key words (or use google translate or similar software) you'll be all set. Full color pictures.

The NBU issued catalogs of all coins and banknotes produced in a said year (they stopped in 2013 I think). These are great with descriptions and numbers direct from the NBU. Cyrillic and English, full color.


This is a downloadable .pdf, it covers the modern issues. Not a bad issue, if you wanted to skip Krause and go with this you'd be alright (has Pick #'s for reference). Full color.

Downloadable .pdf's from the NBU. The NBU issued a new catalog in 2019, (for the first time is several years) FREE, and downloadable in English. Full Color.

Finally the NBU website is an invaluable source of information for modern notes, including detailed security descriptions, the website has Ukrainian and English versions. I probably have a few more but I'd have to look for them. I tend to have these books scattered about, as I reference them so much.
Here's another, Banknotes and Coins of Ukraine, Cyrillic so bring your translator. 

So today is my bday and my wife gave me my birthday gift last night.

This journal is going to come in two parts:
1) Why it is freaking hilarious and kind of perfect that she got me this.
2) Why I'm actually happy with it this time.
So in the long ago days of January 2019 my wife was pregnant with our 2nd child and looking for a way to surprise me with something I'd love for our anniversary. It was a stressful time for us. She was in a high risk pregnancy. There was a very real risk that she'd die and that this could be the 4th and final anniversary together. So she goes on a website and sees my wishlist and buys me a 20T note. Thing is... I didn't have a 20T note on my list. I had a 20 BILLION note on my list, but who can blame her with all fhe freakin zeros, right? That note was also ungraded and it just didn't do anything for me with my already graded 65 EPQ. I felt bad at the time because she tried so hard and she was so pleased with herself but I couldn't hide my confusion when I got it. But we laughed it off, we got to return it, I bought a (much cheaper) graded 67 EPQ 20 Billion note for my set and even one or two other notes with the difference. Her getting me that note reignited my interest in this set after it had lain dormant for years after I was laid off in 2016 and that present became the launching point for what has been a 1.5 year obsession with building out this set. I've said before that building this set was a big part of how I dealt with the stress and anxiety of Sam's birth...
And here it is again. She didn't even remember it / that it was the same note. That fact was lost in the fog of the craziness of that. It was just too funny.
So here's why I'm happy with it this time (in addition to it just being hilarious).
1) This note actually was on my wishlist because that old 65 EPQ was kind of an under-performer in my 3rd dollar set and I'd been thinking that the 20 Trillion would be a priority for upgrade if I ever started upgrading. This 3-point move up is pretty fantastic for what is one of the more important notes in the 3rd dollar series. Since it was a present and since I don't see myself wanting to drop big cash for a 69 EPQ I see this one staying in the set long term now.
2) This note is in a new-gen holder and doesn't have the darker tinted plastic that the old one is in. The new note, while it isn't a "low serial number," is much lower than the old one (184955 vs 298832). The low serial (and the fact that it is a 12 year old note in a new holder in pristine condition) has me thinking that this note spent the last decade in an unbroken bundle / brick and someone must have broken a brick to cherry-pick for some gradable examples.

In addition to foreign banknotes I also collect Obsolete and NBN's from the State of Michigan and I recently picked up this beauty.

It's not in the best shape but the price was right and the $3 notes are always hard to find because of the "nonstandard" denomination (the $3's are the most popular because of this and harder to find). It's not a real attractive note in regards to the design, a simple geometric design wreathed in a stylized floral design was used for the left and right dies, then a depiction of an eagle for the center image. The eagle is not well depicted, with an overly large body in relation to the wings and to put it politely is "ratty' looking. Especially when compared to a similarly depicted eagle on say a 1918 FRN.

These "Wildcat" Banks began popping up in 1837 (Michigan was admitted to the Union on March 15, 1837) shortly after the first Michigan State Legislature session ended (March 22nd).  During the first session the General "Banking Law" was passed and went into effect on March 15, this law authorized any 12 persons to make an application to the treasurer of the State for a bank. The capital stock had to be at least $50k and not more than $300k and 30% of this capital had to be in specie by the time of commencing operations. But due to economic hardship, over-trading and mismanagement a large amount of debt, nationally, was accrued, as a result the specie would not meet the outstanding debt. Reacting to this, eastern banks got their states to suspend specie payments this caused a drain of specie out of the State of Michigan so on June 22, 1837 specie was suspended by the Michigan banks enabled by an act of the Michigan legislature. The suspension of specie payments meant that unscrupulous individuals could open a bank/s without having to redeem the bank notes until May 16, 1838 when specie payments were to resume. The state legislature sought to curb this by appointing three bank commissioners instead of just one and have them examine the books and specie of said banks. The examiners found that instead of actual gold and silver, specie certificates were being used and were given by bank officers as a receipt of specie being held on deposit. Also "borrowed" specie was often used and then returned by a fast courier. One such instance of borrowed specie involved another Allegan County wildcat bank, a local Native American was transporting the needed specie, to present to an examiner, from one bank to another but the canoe he was traveling in capsized and the specie fell to the bottom of the Kalamazoo River (another story for another Journal entry). The Bank of Allegan (Organized Dec 30, 1837 - closed 1839) was one of many banks that began operation during this time, it was formed using "borrowed" specie. The opening and closing of this bank falls nicely into the "wildcat" timeline, around $100k was "poofed" when the bank closed.

"It was a dark and stormy night" Not really but it was pretty crappy out so I decided it was a good time to sort through the pile of cr*p (why does crappy show in the Journal but not cr*p, need to work on their censoring) on my desk. In doing so I realized it was a pile of supplemental material that I had saved, news articles, pictures, notes I made, etc. Towards the bottom of the pile was a group of "banknotes" (?), oh yeah, I remember these. It was a set of  commemorative "fantasy" banknotes that I picked up online about a year ago to go with my Ukrainian banknote set. It's a set of seven notes, printed in 2016 on behalf of the Ukrainian numismatic magazine Numismatics & Faleristics (Phaleristics), in an effort to raise funds to support the periodical. The fantasy issue is commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Vernadsky Research Base in Antarctica. They were made in the exact size, style and denominations as the 1991 Control Coupons, Picks 81 - 87. The designs on the "Fantasy" notes are appropriate to the subject matter and mimic the original Coupons nicely. On the obverse of the "Fantasy" notes is a penguin, to the left of which is written in Cyrillic (top to bottom) Ukrainian / Antarctica / Coupon / (denomination) / Karbovantsiv / 2016. On the reverse is a depiction of the Ukrainian Antarctic Base along with a depiction of the Antarctic Continent, with the flag of Ukraine marking the location of the base, printed over the depiction of Antarctica is 20 POKIB (20 Years). At the top center is printed ANTARCTIC STATION (in Cyrillic) at the bottom center is VERNADSKY / ACADEMY (in Cyrillic). Each note is printed in color schemes to match the original Coupons and the paper used has "crescent" shaped watermarks when held to a light. 
These are just a fun set of notes I picked up, notes that I think go well with my Ukrainian set even if they are not legitimate. Items that will never see the light of day in my registry set or probably even in my signature set for that matter, now that I'm thinking about it. Just one of the many items I've accumulated, to aide in research, enhance a collection or just because they're fun.  These notes have been on my mind for the last few weeks as I have read a few different articles on penguin themed coins and I believe I read somewhere that another country issued a "Fantasy" series of penguin notes recently. Anyway, I just thought I'd post these and give them there moment in the sun as they will probably be packed away now for the foreseeable future. Here's the eye candy, enjoy.
Obverse (Oh yeah, the notes came with a postcard)

 
Reverse
 
Crescent watermarks

Side by side obverse (I like how they matched the pose of the penguin to the figurehead, it's even perched on the bow of a ship, like the figurehead. Cracks me up every time, where's DiCaprio when you need him.)

Side by side reverse

 

This probably has made me way way happier than it should, but I am super stoked about this:

My new 2020 $10 note should be arriving in the mail early next week and I really can't wait to get it now! This is making me want the $20 super bad - but I'm probably going to have to wait on that because I'm working on other things and if I spend too much this month my wife may injure me.

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!

Prior to me starting a Ukrainian banknote registry set, I was well aware of two "stopper" notes in it, Pick# 50 (2 Karbowanez) and Pick #125 (50 Hryvnia). The 2 Karbowanez note I may never own or even get the opportunity to (this note has an interesting story behind it, which I will write about in a future journal), but the 50 Hryvnia I will have an opportunity to acquire at some point and that time could be very soon. The 50 Hryvnia is a manufactured rarity (I hate that), a commemorative banknote with only 1,000 being produced (S#'s 00000001 - 0001000) in 2011 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the NBU. Two hundred were sold in a set containing a 4oz silver replica of the note, the remaining 800 were sold individually in a commemorative folder. The notes overall design is identical to the 2004 (Pick 121) 50 Hryvnia issue, the only difference being the addition of a green-to-gold SPARK patch with the phrase “НБУ 20 років” (NBU – 20 years) on the obverse. If I were to acquire this note it would easily be the most expensive in my Ukrainian set to date.

I've been watching the 50 Hryvnia note for the last 2+ years and it just keeps going up in price and down in availability, so my conundrum is do I buy now or wait 10 years and hope it goes down in price and becomes available. A common question that many collectors struggle with and a question that can only be answered by that individual. Recently the UAH has taken a nosedive against the USD and items purchased in Ukraine are much lower in cost compared to a year ago. I have been taking advantage of this recently by purchasing several coins from some of my Ukrainian contacts at much reduced costs, I have a shipment of a dozen coins on the way as I type this. I have also been paring down some of my collections, selling off duplicates and the such. So, with a falling UAH, an influx of funds (hopefully) from selling off some items, a second quarter bonus at work (please, please, please) and a known available 2011 50 Hryvnia note in Ukraine I'm thinking the time is, well. Right now!   (Or at least in the very near future)

To be continued.......

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!!
 

I got the bulk lot of six Venezuelan notes in the mail on Thursday, and, after letting them wait / sit a while I opened them today.

This is such a funny group of notes because, the Bolivar Fuertes series has 6 designs where 6 portraits and 6 animals & nature scenes are paired and this same sequence of 6 note designs is repeated twice in the series in the same order. This group of 6 that I bought together has an odd-ball 2 Bolivar notes and not the 500 Bolivar note that would match up with all the other notes in the sequence from 1,000 to 20,000, so you get all 6 portraits and designs, but in kind of a weird way - with one odd-ball denom from much earlier in the series than the rest of them.

Unlike a lot of the Zimbabwe notes I've been snapping up lately these were NOT graded recently. Many of those new Zimbabwe notes in my set have 807XXXX- cert numbers and some even have the latest gen labels.
These Venezuelan notes have cert numbers ranging from 17409XX- to 25066XX- and they're all in the older gen PMG holders. And you can tell because they're in that older polymer that has a lower transmittance and has a kind of blue tint to it.

I'm really wondering if the seller got these things graded in bulk years ago when the notes where new (circa 2015-2017) and they finally got tired of having them. Maybe these "Medley lot" sales have just been their way of (finally) clearing / dumping old inventory.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining. I'm still thrilled to have gotten to fill out this set on the cheap, but it's still a little funny to think about what the "story" of these notes and this set might be.
The other group of 5 notes I bought during the 4th of July sale arrived in the mail today. I won't open those until Monday or Tuesday probably.

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. 😊

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.