cookey

Here is additional link for PMG about holders, they have holographic patterns, embossed pattern, UV watermarks and etc.:

http://www.pmgnotes.com/pmg-holder.aspx

I would just like to advise caution, many sellers overprice TPG graded notes - they submit common notes for bulk grading and then overprice them 4x,5x it goes even to 10x (I have seen 2$ notes selling for 40$ in holders).

Nice set. You are missing some interesting notes - e.g. the lowest denominations Pick 146 and Pick 148, first note with him - 500 Dinara from 1970 and few others. I can post a full list of banknotes with Tesla, if anyone is interested. They are all very cheap, the most expensive is P146 , all others should be few dollars only (under 5 dollars).

They are looking really nice. I look forward seeing them in real life. Too bad they are a bit expensive to just put into collection.

Thanks a lot for the replies, I learned a lot .

Since I started buying online recently, I have noticed that many sellers mark the notes as UNC and write please look at the scan in the description without listing the imperfections. It is impossible to see the small bends, minor folds and stains in the design on the scan. I assume that note would not sell as well if they did, which is a shame...

Regarding this one:

What I look at is whether or not there are folds. So as such, I would consider a stained note, or a stapled note to be UNC, though of course both would be discounted considerably (except for a note which is usually issued in stapled packs).

Fully agree, however in general I dislike the stains much more than the folds.

To add to that, I have a set of Yugoslav and Zimbabwe notes that are 100% genuine, however there are printing issues (margins offset, different size, print at an angle, slightly different colors). This is quite common.

I have read that in the case of Zimbabwe they had issues finding replacement parts to keep the presses running, since they were under sanctions (same as Yugoslavia). They would not throw out the batch with small issues, also what is the point? - the money will be worthless in few days, the paper will be more worth .

Hello,

Which grading system do you use and which one is the most commonly used?

I find the IBNS system a bit vague.

For a practical question - is it possible for UNC or aUNC note to have small stains on it that are not visible right away? IBNS system mentions stains, smudges and dirt only for the VF note. Does this mean that if the note is otherwise perfect that it will be graded VF - XF at best if it has a small, not very visible stain according to this standard?

Based on PMG paper money grading scale that is using 70-point numerical scale derived from the Sheldon numerical scale, UNC note can have these imperfections.

Hi all,

Do you have any practical tips or links to books and sites, on how to distinguish mold from stains and dirt on the banknotes?

I have started collecting recently and it has not occurred to me that the notes could be moldy and infect the other UNC notes. So after reading on the forums I became super paranoid and quarantined everything that has any stain on it.

Since I would hate to pass on a note to someone and ruin someones collection, and on the other hand would hate to destroy the note with small staining that is still a piece of history, I have started to research this topic, but the information is really hard to find.

For experienced collectors, how big issue is if there is any mold (mildew) on the note, how easily does it spread and what would you recommend to do with such a note?

 

The obvious solution is to use Mylar holders and insert them into the pages, but on the holders I use (Lighthouse 100% polyester) it did seem to cut down the visual appearance, so my preference is just to use one holder, ideally the album page.

 

 

I have to ask, sorry if asking the obvious, you did peel off the protective film?

I have nearly overlooked this since it is written in a very small print and it is not very visible that this layer should be peeled off.

Got some great tips already from lurking and reading the discussions at this forum, so I had to join .

Short info about myself: I got into numismatics as a kid, by getting some coins and banknotes. I decided to dedicate more time and to do it "properly" few months ago, so started expanding my collection and knowledge.

Reason why I started collecting is because of history. I like collecting the notes that tell the story. I primarily collect hyperinflation sets, ww2 and notes from countries that have the strong motifs.

I have a lot to learn, looking forward to that, will try to help where I can.