Revenant

A lot of expensive high grade Zimbabwe notes sold late last night, so I think she's buying like crazy and it looks like she's coming for me. I guess we'll see what next year brings.

Yeah. Looks like she's going for a full Trillions set in 68 EPQ, which will definitely be a problem for me staying number 1 there but that's a problem for another year. They didn't do a countdown timer this year but we're about 24 hours from the end for this year.

For what its worth I actually find it far easier to scan them in than to take pictures. I can put 2 notes at a time on the scanner bed, scan, flip both over scan again. Get to the computer, copy all the files to make duplicates, open them in paint, select around the note I want and tap the crop button. Save and Done. FAR easier than with the camera.

Getting shots straight on is going to be tricky with a camera because the notes tend to fall over when stood up and putting the camera above almost always results in unattractive shadows and reflections in my experience. Color is its own, special hell. I've found it almost impossible to get consistent and accurate color, even with Photoshop adjustments, unless I'm doing all the shots at the same time because the light profile of most bulbs changes over time and varying amounts of and color profiles for sunlight in different times of year, weather and time of day can also impact your images if you have windows in the room. And that doesn't even get into the tints on different generations of holder. I gave up and just started scanning. The images are at least consistent across the set that way.

Good to hear! They're going to have some work if they want to worry you I think though.

Except you've already admitted that you have a P-86 in the mail. Assuming you bought a 67 EPQ or 68 EPQ you'll be ahead of her soon enough. 😆 Although you've both now convinced me that I'm going to have to bulk up my Billions and Trillions sets if I want to stay on top in those categories. Those may move up in my priorities for 2021. I can't take credit for the current layout of the Categories. PMG did that on their own. I actually would have never asked for the Millions and Billions set - just a Trillions short set. I wouldn't have thought there would have been a demand for that when PMG made those categories in (I think) 2016. Props to them though. They clearly knew something I didn't. You can thank me for the fact that most of the slots have scores populated and that the scoring system has been improved overtime. Hopefully Ali and the Admins don't get too tired of dealing with me on this stuff.

Ha! No! One 100-note project is enough for now! I picked the Venezuelan notes specifically because it was a shorter set and I could do just the Fuertes and expand into the Soberanos when I wanted to. Maybe one of these days I'll look through your galleries for some particularly attractive ones to hunt for or just see if you have graded spares you want to dump. 😆 I do however like the increase in participation that I've been seeing in several of the Zimbabwe categories though and it is sometimes fun to think that, as with you, my work and my writing might be helping to drive some of it. It's nice to see that my 4th dollar set(s) won't be alone anymore. One thing I always find interesting is the people like you and Holly that focus on the 4-6 note short sets of Millions, Billions and Trillions vs the people that open up in the 3rd Dollar P-65 to P-91 set. I'm one of the few that has sets it both it seems.

Interesting... Reminds me of some of this nonsense you see in the US with these private "mints" with names that seem deliberately designed to make it seem like their "gold clad proofs" are more legit / official than they are. I've often felt very lucky in some ways that Zimbabwe used to be a British holding so all their stuff is in English, including the notes. I would love to get into German Weimar notes and 1940s Hungarian hyperinflation notes but the language barrier has been Enough of a barrier to keep me out for now. I just feel like I'm going to need more time to find better resources before I can get into those, and understand them before I consider collecting them seriously. But I'd love to get into the old Hungarian Pengo / Milpengo / Bilpengo.

A couple of weeks ago I was watching several 67 EPQ graded notes listed by Noteshobby for the Venezuela Bolivares Soberanos set. I was thinking I might try to buy them in December if they were still available. It would have been a good way to make quick progress on that set for a good price. Then one day they all sold along with several Zimbabwe notes I was watching. Yesterday, a new set of Soberano notes showed up with those notes in 67 EPQ and the same person just made several new Zimbabwe sets. Okay... I see how it is. I wanted those but there's more out there! I am / was planning to try to make the Soberano set happen next year just because its a short set of relatively inexpensive notes that'll be fun to build now that I have the Fuertes series complete. I've also started building the bones / frame of a new Signature set that I'll use to display and talk about the set the way I want since I'm thinking I'm not going to get exactly what I want in a competitive set New sets popping up that bump you out of #1 less than a week before the cut-off! The sniping is very real this year! Lol not that I'm entirely sure what we're fighting over at this level. PMG doesn't give certificates or display ribbons for Best in Category so I guess it's just pure bragging rights.

I see a lot of variability from our mutual supplier in Thailand. Sometimes I get it in less than a week. Sometimes it takes more than a week for them to reach USPS.

Oh yeah. Totally. The other funny thing is both your Ukrainian set and my Zimbabwe set are mostly a mix of 66 to 68 EPQ graded notes with a lone 69 EPQ. My set also has about three 64 EPQs and a handful of 65 EPQs I have mostly just to fill a couple of holes. At this point the 3rd dollar set, which came into the year at 92%, got one big upgrade and one new note. We'll call that a good year!

This came in the mail today but I'm not going to get it out and enter it until tomorrow. I'm using the seller's pic to support my laziness.

I suspect this will always be a head-scratcher, but it's always in the magic of supply and demand. Its funny to think about because back in the day I remember thinking that I'd pay a little more for the P-91 and get it in 67 EPQ (at the time the highest graded and most expensive note in my small set) because it was going to be the "star of the show." Now, looking back at it, I'm glad I got it then because I'd have a hard time spending $140+ for it now. I ordered a 20-pack of the gold-foil $100 Trillion fakes on eBay for $7 and bought some rigid BCW top-loaders on Amazon. If they arrive in time I think I'll keep one and make the rest cheap, gag stocking stuffers.

Yeah... Not happening for me either. I think I'd think about it if it got to $200. Aww! I love the P-86. It has a good look. I like the colors and it has a special place in my heart because it's part of the story with the P-89 and my wife's "Billions" and "Trillions" confusion. Since my wife did me the favor of getting me a new, higher grade P-89 I think I'm going to be forced, at some point, to upgrade my P-83 and P-85 and remove the rest of those old, lower grade (Hahahah, 65 EPQ is "lower grade") notes I picked up in late 2015. As the number of holes in my signature set is shrinking towards zero its getting more tempting to circle back and beef up some of the weaker notes and keep the 3rd dollar set competitive. When I got some of those in 2015 I was just picking up some of the higher denom notes for giggles and I wasn't thinking this set would turn into what it has become.

Back in early August a P-77 graded by PMG popped up and I got really excited. It would have completed the “Millions” set that PMG featured in an article last year and it would have put me only 1 note away from a complete 3rd dollar set. https://www.pmgnotes.com/news/article/7791/PMG-Registry-News/ Unfortunately, the note went above $80 (after shipping and taxes) and I let it go. I just couldn’t convince myself to bid higher for it. Letting that go was a bitter pill - I wanted that thing. A couple of weeks ago, however, with the deadline for the registry awards looming another one popped up with a starting bid of $30. I won it for about $55 after shipping and taxes - a lot better than $75+. To my great shock and surprise, the note was delivered to my mailbox yesterday, on Thanksgiving day. (Side note: I frequently get confused at first glance with the one million P-77 and the ten million P-78 because they're both predominantly blue and they're only one zero away from each other. The P-78 is just darker blues on the whole. You really have to pay attention to the "ONE" and the "TEN.") (Second Side Note: If this note just had a 0 instead of a 1 or a 1 instead of a 0 it would be a Trinary Radar note. So close and yet... NOPE!) I know some people like to rag on anything that isn’t a 68 EPQ (), but this 67 EPQ is actually TOP POP for this note with a pop of 3 in grade and 10 total graded based on the current population report. So, with that, the “Millions" set is complete and the only note I lack for the 3rd dollar set is the P-72 - a note I never would have thought of or expected to be the last note outstanding when I started this. However, the P-72 is surprisingly hard to find / get in uncirc condition and PMG-graded examples tend to have asking prices in the $250-350 range. Even raw uncirc examples are usually asking $100-200 and you see heavily circulated rags that have prices of $20-$50 on them. People are asking that. I see no evidence that the sellers are getting that much / people are actually buying them at those prices. Still, it makes it difficult to get one. In some ways it makes it harder to swallow that price when I can find no evidence that anyone else is actually paying for that because it makes it feel more like the sellers are just trying to take advantage. Having finally scored the P-77, having this lone white whale out there is going to have me a little stumped and frustrated. That price feels really really REALLY steep (especially given that I got my P-1d in 68 EPQ Star for $110 and got a 68 EPQ 20 Trillion also for $110 and we’re talking people asking $350 for a 65 EPQ), but it would complete the set. I just don't know if I'm willing to pay that though. 3rd Dollars Complete: I'm very proud of how this set has progressed from the end of 2018 to the end of 2020. End of 2018, ~30%, 8/27 slots filled. (and, really, this is how we ended 2016 and it didn't change for 2 years) Today, Ending 2020, at 96% complete, 26/27 slots filled: Millions Set: As you might guess from the above shots of the complete 3rd dollar set, the Millions set didn't even exist really in 2016. It was a Billions and Trillions only set back then. I think I just had an empty place-holder set, and now it is complete. This also gives me a set that is complete from P-73 to P-104 and the P-72 is the only gap from P-47 to P-104… Somehow I need to find a way to attack that double gap at the P-45 and P-46.. and the P-40… One day. Most of those are another story of sellers wanting way above market rates for notes in grades that are less-than-stellar.

So I ran across this and couldn't help but laugh. First: They're showing a picture of a 67 EPQ graded note for the listing but they aren't selling PMG graded notes. They're selling a brick of uncirc notes. But don't worry! The picture is for reference only! It isn't meant to deceive the buyer in any way! Second: At this price, for 5,000 notes, that puts the lot at $2,000 per note. Even if they were selling PMG graded notes these notes would go for ~$200 if you were getting a good price and selling them individually. And there's 2 available! It always makes me laugh when I see these things . The simple fact that these things (the 20 trillion, the 50 trillion, and the 100 trillion) can be bought by the brick in uncirc condition is the best proof you should need that they probably shouldn't be going for $50-200 each! I like this series but I see this and immediately think, "Oh come on now!?!?" … and 607 watchers! Lots of popcorn I think. This can be such an odd series to collect just because there are so many people out there that just don't seem to have gotten the memo that the hype these things had 10 years ago is gone and the supply glut is still real and the bottom fell out of this set. If I remember right I bought my P-91 about 5 years ago in 67 EPQ for $45 and I think that's one of the few notes in the series going for more now than it did 5 yeas ago.

BTW, I don't know if you noticed but our favorite watched pot is "on sale" for only $800. Maybe you should pop for it?

I haven't gotten to her yet, but P-101 is going to be one of the next notes I'm looking to get for the Venezuela set I think, now that I have P-100 and P-102* around it. There actually was a P-101 in 67 EPQ at a good price that I was considering getting next month but someone beat me to it. I'll have to wait for the next one.

Interesting notes and person. I've been wanting to do something similar on the $10 and $20 denoms for Zimbabwe but I don't want to do it until I have the P-3 and the P-40 in my collection. I was disappointed a while back when I looked into the bio of a famous woman on the Venezuelan notes just because it seemed like the thing she was most famous for was marrying a general at 16 and being thrown in prison for it during the war for independence.

Thanks again, Ali! Fortunately (for me) I'm more looking to the future and what I expect my "next steps" for 2021 to be so I don't expect I'll even "feel" the freeze. I think I was only 3 months ahead of myself when I asked for the Soberano set in the first place.

After we get past 12/4, would it be possible to add slots for P-101 through P-111 to this category: Venezuela, 1940-Date, P31-Date, Complete https://notes.www.collectors-society.com/registry/notes/public_sets.aspx?CategoryID=1235&SetTypeID=9550 Would it also be possible to add slots for the 2019 issues (P-109 to P-111, 10,000 BsS to 50,000 BsS) to the Soberano set category: Banco Central de Venezuela, 2018 Issue, P101-P108 https://notes.www.collectors-society.com/registry/notes/public_sets.aspx?CategoryID=1235&SetTypeID=10493&sets=all Given that the 2019 Issues are still BsS notes, and given that there's only 3 of them, I think it would make more sense to add them onto the 2018 Issue set and make it a 2018-2019 set than to make a new category.

So we're about 17 days away from the cut-off for consideration in the 2020 Registry Awards. The ad campaigns so to speak are in full swing - I've gotten the emails, seen the Instagram and Facebook posts. It's hard to miss when you follow their social media and spend time here. Anyway... This has gotten me thinking about how far the Zimbabwe set has come in the last year - something I take a lot of pride in. While my 3rd dollar set has been largely static at 92%, this year I think I've brought my 4th dollars from about 45% to 100%, my 2019-present series from 0% to 100% (as soon as the $20 comes in the mail in a few days) and made by biggest strides by far (IMO) in building out a 1st dollar set with an increasing number of varieties. I think my signature set has gone from having about 65 notes and about 90 slots to (soon) 104 notes with 110 slots. But I'm kind of kicking myself for something - I never screen-capped or made a record of what the set looked like at this time last year. PMG, unlike NGC, doesn't seem to save and post an archived record of what the #1 set in each category is each year - not that this would have completely solved my problem though because not all of my sets are #1 ranked. But it would have helped. So, I'm really kicking myself for that. Because I can't help but feel like it'd be cool to be able to see how the set grew and developed from Dec 2019 to (soon) Dec 2020, not just in terms of % completion but all the work I've been putting into refining my descriptions - including attempts I've made in some areas to reign myself in and make myself say less and not go on unnecessary and self-indulgent tangents too often. Side Note: But as my Venezuela hyperinflation set starts to flush out with a full set of Fuertes notes and some Soberano notes, I think I'm going to make a Signature set for those next year so I can present that set the way I want to. I'm also going to have to decide what i want to call it. I've considered naming the sets "Gradually, then suddenly: Zimbabwe" and "Gradually, then suddenly: Venezuela," but I'm not sure I like that and I'm not sure that the referenced quote fits Venezuela in the same way it fits Zimbabwe (purely IMO).

I can't find any. Near as I can tell, he's an editor and doesn't write many articles himself and I mostly just pull up twitter activity on him. Hold your breath. I dare you. You'll be waiting a bit I think - including for my $20 note to have anything really interesting to say. Things mostly seem quiet over there as the government seems to be slow / reluctant to acknowledge what most people seem to already know - this currency is dead. Now that I have representative pieces for all of those, I don't think I'm going to be in a hurry to upgrade any of it except for maybe doing something about the P-100, because that is going to continue to annoy me I suspect. I'll probably go ahead and bump it to a 68 EPQ just because I see no point in getting a 67 at this point if I have any interest in one day bringing the set up to 68 EPQ. It wouldn't at all surprise me if you beat me on one. I feel like I've made a lot of impulsive and knee-jerk choices with that set - including that I probably could have gotten a 67 EPQ for cheaper or a 68 EPQ for about the same money if I'd just been more patient on the $10 note. My priority this year has consistently been the first dollar set(s). At this point, I want to build back a bit of a cash reserve and wait. There are three big notes left that come up much more infrequently, randomly, and unpredictably and they tend to be more expensive when they come up. Getting the P-1d was a great win for the 1st dollar set and I'm glad to have it but I really want a P-3 and I want it bad. I want that registry set 100% complete - at least of of my 4 first dollar sets anyway. Once I have a little bit of a war-chest saved up for getting those notes if / when they come up I'll either try to finish the Bolivares Soberanos or give some thought to upgrading some of the weaker notes in the Zimbabwe collection. Even then, some of the 65 EPQs in the 3rd dollar sets will probably be more attractive for upgrades than those 67 EPQs.

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.

I'm doing some looking into it. -The series, released in 2007, consisted of just the first six notes (2 Bolivares Fuerte to 100 Bolivares Fuerte, P-88 to P-93). - The economy and the currency collapsed in 2016 - In December of 2016 they pulled all of the first 6 notes from circulation and replaced them with the new sequence of six notes (P-94 to P-99) - So P-88 and P-93 were not supposed to circulate at the same time / in tandem with P-94 to P-99. - The currency kept collapsing and the new 100,000 Bolivares Fuerte note was announced in Nov 2017, just three years ago and less than year after the new sequence. - The Bolivar Soberano was announced in August 2018. - New, higher denomination Soberanos (P-109 to P-111 I think) came out in 2019. I think there's enough visual difference between the P-99 and the P-100 for people to not confuse them with each other - especially with the lack of zeros. I would have been more worried about the P-93 and the P-100 but the P-93 were gone by the time the P-100 hit.. https://www-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.businessinsider.com/venezuelas-new-note-is-worth-just-250-2017-11?amp=&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D&amp_js_v=0.1&fbclid=IwAR2V3ry-BNM7zkO6QVex0A11n-EvY121zhONXkqI09zb16ayzlouuOMJ-dY#aoh=16047666075628&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From %1%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fvenezuelas-new-note-is-worth-just-250-2017-11 Edited to add: I had been putting my descriptions with information on the person and the animal on the back on both sets of 6 / all the notes for now, but my original plan and what I want to do eventually is to have the first six notes talk about the historical figures and animals in the design and have the last 7 talk about the history of the series and the historical context, maybe taking some information out of the set description text and moving it into the note descriptions. I'd like for this Venezuela set to be more like my Zimbabwe set ultimately, just smaller and less intimidating.