Saor Alba

No pics, but I sifted through 9,000 dimes again. Why I do this, I do not know. I ended up with really dirty hands, two hours of sifting and up ending to check the sides and turned up six silver dimes. I was hoping against hope that I would find more silver than the last $900 I searched a couple of weeks ago. Seriously I have much better luck finding silver in nickels. I searched $1200 worth last week and found an 1894, see other post but 13 silver war nickels. I don't think I will be searching dimes too much, might do right after Christmas is over to see if people cash in their silver by spending it.

JT, that more paper is now "hard paper" BTW I love the Italian 100.000 Lire, it is one I want myself. I own several rarer Italian notes, but the 100K is one that has alluded my clutches so far. What an "awful" thought - beauties from classical art on banknotes.

Yesterday I went through $440 in nickels, from five different source banks/financial institutions. I was sort of bummed that I only found one silver war nickel. And only one more Buffalo nickel, this a 1936 that was on the end of the roll - I noticed it just before I opened the roll. And the usual shtuff of 1940s and 1950s including a few of those infernal S mints that I hoard. Oh, I almost forgot in all the ho-hum of yesterdays and todays searches that I found this in a roll from the Credit Union last night: Yup, another Liberty nickel - my earliest nickel found so far, and a not so common date. Just wish it didn't have the gouge on the date. 117 years of circulation apparently with some long breaks before retirement to my nickel orphanage.

A bumper week for me, so far 12 War babies, and three buffers. One of the buffers was from a hand wrapped roll. So far they are 1929, 1934, and 1936. Also found a couple of off centered nickels, and two 1939-S which is a semi-key date. I have gone through $700 worth so far, and will probably get another $50 tomorrow. I sincerely appreciate these tellers ordering up all these boxes and bags for me, I loath hearing people complain about bank tellers because I seem to find a lot of great people.

Daughter got a '29-S in change the other day. A couple of days later I got a '55-D, then later that day got a 1953 nickel.

On Saturday my 7 year old and I went and inspected the Coinstar machine in a wally world, of course I was not permitted to check the reject bin - where she found a 2000 Bahamas 25 cent coin. But I did look behind the machine in the corner I spied a coin with a hole in it that I suspected was a Japanese 50 yen coin. But I could not reach it, and you can guess the only one who could reach it was my Boss - it turned out to be a 1969 Danish 25 Ore coin. I wanted the coins, so after back and forth negotiations she finally agreed to sell them to me for a quarter each. Being the youngest in the family, and the Boss, does have it's unique privilege.

Surely if they were printed by ABNCo. I have notes from several of the ex Portuguese colonies that have the same ship scenes on the reverse.

Nothing but stupid bills. No "United States Tokens", no Daniel Carr restrike coins, no posters from Ukraine. Lousy day, hopefully Monday will be better.

Yes, if they also have beautiful ladies on them.

Texas was it's own country from 1836-45 and was recognised by United Kingdom and France as country. City of Mobile is from Alabama - technically speaking that note might still be redeemable by the city corporation. Texas notes - easily to collect. The Mobile note is very very rare, especially in $3 denomination - less than 5 known examples.

I haven't counted the Buffs and the Libs, but I recently passed the 80 coin mark for silver war nickels. I have literally thousands of 1940s, 1950's and S minted coins. Oldest find since March has been an '03 Liberty, best find value wise is the 39-D. BTW have many dozens of foreign coins, ie British 20p coins, Bahamian, Bermudan etc. Lots of cool Canadians too, back to 1930 so far. Lately I am taking a break from most of my banking institutional sources because I have sort of depleted their stocks for awhile. I have source that has a bus company depositor that I am still searching coins from.

Those are why I love Mexican notes from that era - lots of colour, great imagery etc. And for the most part they are pretty affordable.

Neat Guernsey notes, I like the tenner, I have the earlier example from the late 1960's that had a "borrowed" design from a 19th century note. Their notes are different - the early ones had unique designs that really could not be compared to another places banknotes. The battle scene on the reverse also ties in with American history, that was the battle for the Toronto area when US forces invaded Canada during the War of 1812 - that whole campaign turned out to be a disaster for the Americans. BTW there are some great spots like forts etc to see there in that area from that era.

One that I was sort of holding out for a nicer example, but this one came in from a collection of American obsoletes and I had to have it: The Bank of Toronto has the destinction of having very uniquely designed notes that suggest a very 19th century look, but unlike many other Canadian banks their designs were proprietary to the bank, and not the banknote printers - meaning essentially that the vignettes on them would not be seen on any other notes that American Banknote Company and later Canadian Banknote Company printed for institutions around the world. These arms on the note are actually remarkably similar to the contemporary British coat of arms that appeared then on Scottish banknotes. Unlike their Scottish counterparts though, Canadian banks were not bound by the Lord Lyon's request that the arms be removed from commercial paper as in Britain in the early 1930's. The Bank of Toronto was opened in 1856, with capital of $500,000. It's initial growth was quite conservative by the standards of the day - it kept a high reserve vs. capital ratio and kept expansion to a minimum. The result was a well respected institution with high share prices compared to competitors. The bank was merged with Dominion Bank in 1955 and is now known as TD Bank with locations throughout Canada and the NE USA. Notice the reverse of the note, with the stirring vignette of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria - Canadian institutions were not quite subject to the regulations of portrait usage on commercial paper that their British counterparts were by then bound to. The designs of these banknotes look decidedly 19th century, so by 1929 they appeared to be an anachronism - but incredibly they survived even the downsizing of the notes in the 1935 issue and on up through the consolidation of the Charter banks note issues in the early 1940s by Bank of Canada. The vignette on the left of the note suggest an early portrait of Queen Victoria - but subject to interpretation. This vignette, or rather, it's odd placement in the vertical of a horizontal note is rather curious. I conjecture that perhaps rather than it's placement being a result of tight space, that rather it was part of the design as a different anti-counterfeiting measure as this would create a challenge for a forger having to rotate a printing die.

It is cool to think that the St Pierre note is from North America, but with all those tropical scenes that are so far from reality in StP. I bought one of those years ago when they were pretty affordable, back before all the interest in French printed took off.

Nice 100 zl note Baxuss - I saved a few of them from my trip to Warsaw a few years ago, now I think I would like to collect older Polish paper money along with 1920-1939 era coinage. I would like to collect anything with Queen Jadwiga on it.

Merely looking in the reject slot that is in the front of the machine. I admit to looking under the machine too, my last treasure was a '29-S cent. The previous under the machine treasure from the week before was a 1959 silver Roosevelt dime. But as I am finding out the best place to look is not in the Coinstars because everybody is seemingly checking those now, but the coin counters in banks etc.

First decent find in months - lately I have been finding onesies and twosies only until this morning: A 1943 steel cent, over $6.00 in Canadian change and a US dime and a couple of miscellaneous cents. I have found several steelies in the past couple of years - surprised they are still out there.

I may have seen them, but frankly the newer Dutch coins never held much of an interest - and unless it had Wilhelmina or Juliana on them I didn't even give them a second look. I thought it was curious to still be getting Queen Wilhelmina era coins like the 5 cent in change. Before the Euro the Dutch and German coins were the oldest that you could find in circulation in Europe outside of Switzerland. I do remember getting and spending the 5 florin/gulden coins though.

When I was changing money I would buy the 100FF coins that are silver if I saw them in the window. I kept hearing that they would be worthless - well lets see who had the last laugh. Silver even with the fall today is still worth a lot more than it was then. The coins are worth a lot more than face value. They had demonetised the 50FF coins from the 1970's and I can remember buying them for like 30-35 FF each. I think I still have them all somewhere. I know I saved one of the Marie Curie coins. I know I saved some uncirculated Debussy 20FF notes - I like his music.

My vault teller at one of my bank's branches had been saving these for me since just after my previous visit last week: They came in from a lady that had found them at home and was trying to spend them around town but everybody refused to take them! I have never owned a USN $5 with the red seal before, let alone gotten one from the bank. I churn up Series 1928, 1953, and Series 1963 $2's occasionally and did get the '66-A $100 last year. But this is a first.

I know France had a short period of time for redemption of the Franc notes, but I believe those last issues of the Franc can be redeemed until next year. I think I had one of those 500FF notes when I was there back in 1993, but after that I never took anything larger than 200FF when I changed money. I had saved several of the new 50, 100 and 200FF notes from the last series, but I wished I had kept the large sized Montesqui 200FF from the previous series - it was a cool note. It is kind of funny, every time I have been to France I have bought up loads of stuff and then turned around and sold the most of it for some crazy reason. At least I have kept all or most of the stuff from the other countries I have travelled in or lived in for awhile.

Everybody after the NP quarters and the prexibux, and when I hear about those in the bank, I shudder. I want the old stuff. I have resorted to having a pocket Ike to bring with me to show to tellers in the banks. I have far greater success in digging out Ikes by showing them what they look like. I have foraged out over 130 of the little darlings in the last month.

From experience hand wrapped rolls almost never have Buffers, but I have found them. But war babies are actually more likely. Lately the only rolls I won't buy are ones I know I have searched - I mark them.

I haven't heard about vinegar, but have heard if you heat the coin up in an oven you might be able to discern the date. I just don't care for baking and destroying coins.