New to the paper collecting

[Mr.Silvestri]

I'm new to this type of collecting but find it very interesting - i have a few questions i'm hoping people can answer.

 

1) how does one find silver certificates $1 in blue or red ink ? do you go to a bank and find them or a coin show ?

 

2) how do you find money that hasn't been issued to the public ?

 

3) is there a big difference in red or blue or even green ink on any type of bills ?

 

I know this sounds stupid but just haven't found info on this stuff yet.

 

Thank you

[Steve in Tampa]

Welcome to paper currency collecting.

You are making a good first step....ask questions.

First thing to do is educate yourself. Buy books, (new or used) pertaining to the type of currency you will be collecting. There is an excellent thread on page 2 with loads of websites pertaining to currency collecting, it's called "I'm in the mood to spend some money - what is your favorite currency site ? "

 

Second thing to do is visit auction houses, ( eBay, Heritage, Lynn Knight, Spink-Smythe, etc ) to compare what's out there you find interesting, and this may help in determining what you like and what you can afford. Coin & Currency shows are an excellent way to see the currency close up and you can start to develop grading skills and building relationships with other collectors and dealers.

 

An educated collector seems to enjoy the hobby more.

 

Notes with red or blue seals are 40 years old and older. Banks seldom have them, but are available in abundence and variable conditions thru dealers, and auction houses. Most collectible CURRENT currency not issued to the public is available thru the BEP online Money Store. EDUCATE YOURSELF FIRST !!!! and have FUN

 

[jtryka]

Wecome Mr. Silvestri!

 

The difference between the different seal colors on small notes is really a difference in the obligation. The green seals which are most common now, are Federal Reserve Notes, which are direct obligations of the Federal Reserve Banks that issued the notes. In the past (before series 1963) these were obligations to pay the bearer on demand a certain number of dollars which were redeemable in lawful money (silver, or prior to 1933 gold). The blue seal notes were silver certificates, which were direct obligations of the US Treasury to pay to the bearer on demand a certain number of silver dollars (standard silver dollars of 412.5 grains 0.900 fine silver). The Treasury defaulted on these notes in 1968 and are no longer redeemable for silver but can be spent for face value. The red seal notes are "legal tender" or United States Notes, which are direct obligations of the Treasury, though they were never expressly redeemable in specie. These trace their roots back to the original "greenbacks" issued during the war between the states. They represent a tiny portion of the notes in circulation and most were recalled in the early 1970s.

 

As for finding these in circulation, green seals absolutely! You can find many interesting notes in the bank, from packs of brand new notes to star notes to any number of older notes going back even to the 1920s. Certainly the older ones are harder to find now with the design change, but they are out there (I got a series 1969 $20 from the ATM not too long ago!). Blue seals are much harder to find in circulation, the last one I got in change was in the 1980s, but you do hear stories on forums like this. Red seals are harder in certain instances. First understand that the most common denomination for red seals were $2 bills, which don't circulate much. I remember in the 1990s, before the Fed started issuing new series 1995 $2 bills the only series of green seal $2 were 1976, and there were still older red seal bills circulating and you could on occasion get them at the bank. Now that the Fed has printed new $2 for series 1995, 2003 and 2003A, these have replaced most of the older notes in circulation, so even the series 1976 are somewhat harder to find now. Beyond the $2 notes, the were fairly common on $5 notes, but since they circulate and have a much shorter life span, so most were retired and shredded. The red seal $1 would be almost impossible to find since the last ones issued were produced in the 1920s. There were no red seal $10, $20 or $50. There were some red seal $100 issued in the 1960s, but I think for each series (1966 and 1966A) there were less than 2 million printed of each, making these very hard to find in circulation.

 

I hope this helps, stick around and learn as much as you can like Steve said, it will save you time, money and headaches in the long run!

[Mr.Silvestri]

Thank you so much for some very insightful information - and i have been in the book stores reading up on as much as i can as well as here on these forums.

 

Both you guys have been great with the info which you provided

[RogerRamjet-migration]

There is also a place to read up on notes and it's free. Go to the ... Library.

Yes, the books may be a year or 2 old, or an older editioin but they are free and you can always decide if you want to upgradeand buy a newer edition.

 

Welcome to the forum!

[MercuryMan]

I agree that you should read and keep asking questions as there is so much to learn.

Welcome to Currency and hope it goes well for you.

[mintcollector]

Hello,

 

Welcome, I am somewhat of a 'newbie' too, but I keep reading, asking questions, learning, and of course...buying!

 

mintcollector