Most Popular Collected Currency

[RB3]

I'm posting this for an older friend who wants to start collecting paper money, so his question is:

What are the most collected US paper currency series. He's interested in the old educational notes and gold certificates, but due to his age, 74, he wants to be sure that after he's gone, his wife won't have a hard time selling or having a hard time due to it being "rare". He wants something liquid I would say.

 

Please let me know as I'm not a paper money expert or collector.

[wheat'swheats]

Nationals, educational series and notes of that era ,and not quite US but Confederate. You can break the nationals into several groups. Large size, Small size, all states, specific states just your state. There is also a large following in the broken Bank notes, which can be broken down much like nationals.

[Techwriter]

I'm posting this for an older friend who wants to start collecting paper money, so his question is:

What are the most collected US paper currency series. He's interested in the old educational notes and gold certificates, but due to his age, 74, he wants to be sure that after he's gone, his wife won't have a hard time selling or having a hard time due to it being "rare". He wants something liquid I would say.

 

Please let me know as I'm not a paper money expert or collector.

 

My reply will most likely cause me some grief but here's my take:

1. Join the SPMC. (spmc.org)

2. Subscribe to Bank Note Reporter

3. If he has internet access -- guide him to this site, we're all friendly

4. Have him check out papermoneyguide.com (just type it into the browser and full

disclosure -- I have NO connection with the site.

5. Caution him that 'snakes' and 'schemes' exist and the old adage

"If it sounds too good to be true -- it probably isn't"

 

Education is the KEY to an enjoyable hobby. His choices are good, lots to learn but that's

just the fun of it all.

Also, find a local coin club and visit and find a paper money collector

 

Personal note: do tell him to be careful of TV ads, newspaper ads, etc. Before I knew it

my mom had spent over $1000 on these over-priced "pieces of U.S. history".

 

[RB3]

He's collected stamps for the last 60+ years, so he's kind of familiar with purchasing/selling items. But he has always been interested in paper money and wants to build up a collection, but he realizes that his daughters will inherit them someday and doesn't want them to have a headache selling them. Thanks for all the advice, I will pass it on to him.

[Techwriter]

We're here to assist whenever possible. You're a good friend.

[Nutmeg Coin]

I would avoid nationals from an economic perspective with a few exceptions. You will lose money with those. You could just follow the typical Greensheet bid style offers on ebay and look to pick up the various popular large size notes at safe prices.

[johnny9434]

Nationals, educational series and notes of that era ,and not quite US but Confederate. You can break the nationals into several groups. Large size, Small size, all states, specific states just your state. There is also a large following in the broken Bank notes, which can be broken down much like nationals.

yeah, what he said

[Sheik Sheck]

I agree about Nationals, a very limited market but some folks love to collect a specific state or bank. I would avoid those. Confederate currency is OK but a little creepy to me. Collecting money from a "country" that tried to destroy our Federal government seems weird but that's just me. If their are others out there like me I would think the market for currency of the old South may be more limited. I personally believe large size silver certificates, large size gold certificates and perhaps large size legal tender are the most traded and valuable currency. However I do also have a complete 1928 Gold Certificate small set. Trying to get anything before 1900 in decent shape can be really expensive.

 

My big ordeal is, waiting and saving and buying a single top notch, top grade piece that will always have tremendous value and the chance to really get a huge return or buying a lot of less expensive mid-grade notes. I tend to do the latter because it is collecting after all. I buy PMG 30-40's in gold and silver large size notes, plus a few Legal Tenders and FRBN's. I try never to go below a grade of 30 and EPQ is not always feasible but try to get notes without comments like "foreign substance" or "erasure"...etc...so called problem free notes. Then if I come into some real cash, perhaps adorn one of the collections with a prize 60+ EPQ note. If you really want to see how it's done, check out a member called "Mike's Notes" He pedigrees his notes with "Michael and Esther Savar" His collection of notes will thrill and depress you at the same time. A collector with the utmost taste and finest notes I have seen. ANd he shares the images with us lesser collectors.

 

I am addicted to point counting on PMG registry so getting a lot of mid-grade notes helps bolster the point count.

[jtryka]

Your friend needs to be careful, as even the notes that are popular today my not be as popular in a few years. I think in the 1990s large size notes were largely ignored and you could buy a lot for very little money but today they are popular. Like anything else, there is no sure thing. He may also try dipping his toe in the water with stuff from circulation. I have a teller at my local bank and she saves me older notes that come in, nothing too valuable but still fun to get for face and little downside other than inflation. All these things tend to go in cycles, so in the end he needs to enjoy it, otherwise if he's looking for an investment he'd be better off talking to an investment adviser.

[Sheik Sheck]

I had a really friendly teller during an un-busy time at BofA go through stacks of $100 bills and we found 5 star notes in one go. Two were in AU condition. I showed her an auction web site where people try to sell $100 star notes for $120 on up and she didn't even know what a star note was much less people will pay above face for them. She thanked me for educating her and as I left she was going through all the other stacks. I think I created a collector Another teller there would put aside all star notes for me and we would trade when I went in there. The $100 star notes are basically worth $100 dollars, but it is fun. I try to befriend the tellers so they are on the look out for choice star notes.

[PAT75]

I collect fractional currency. There are only 23 note designs and about 125 major variations, so building a type set is pretty easy. I started collecting in 2004, since then the value of my notes has increase by 2x to 3x. I became interested in these because of their importance during the Civil War. These notes helped save the union from economic disaster